arXiv subjects

Hoi-Kwan Lau

Publications and source records attributed to Hoi-Kwan Lau.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Engineering Non-Gaussian Bosonic Gates through Quantum Signal Processing

Non-Gaussian operations are essential for most bosonic quantum technologies. Yet, realizable non-Gaussian gates are rather limited in type and generally suffer from accuracy-duration trade-offs. In this work, we propose to use quantum signal processing (QSP) techniques to engineer non-Gaussian gates on hybrid qumode-qubit systems. For systems with dispersive coupling, our scheme can generate a new non-Gaussian gate that produces a phase shift depending on the modulus of the boson number. This gate reproduces the selective number-dependent arbitrary phase (SNAP) gates under certain parameter choices, but with higher accuracy within a short, fixed and excitation-independent interaction time. The gate unlocks new applications, for example, in entangling logical qudits and deterministically generating multi-component cat states. Additionally, our versatile QSP formalism can be extended to systems with other interactions, and also engineer non-unitary operations, such as noiseless linear amplification and generalized-parity measurement.

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arXiv2026

Quantum error correction for an unresolvable spin ensemble

Spin ensembles are promising quantum technological platforms, but their utility relies on the ability to perform quantum error correction (QEC) for the specific decoherence in these systems. Typical QEC for ensembles requires addressing individually resolved qubits, but this is practically challenging in most realistic architectures. Here, we propose QEC schemes for unresolvable spin ensembles. By using degenerate superpositions of excited states, which are fundamentally mixed, we find codes that can protect against both individual and collective errors, including dephasing, decay, and pumping. We show how information recovery can be achieved with only collective measurement and control, and illustrate its applications in extending memory lifetime and loss-tolerant sensing.

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arXiv2026

Programming anharmonic potentials in a superconducting harmonic oscillator

Continuous-variable quantum systems offer a resource-efficient route to universal quantum information processing and analogue quantum simulation of real-world processes, such as molecular physics and chemical reactions. Realising these applications, however, requires non-Gaussian operations that implement anharmonic potentials, which are challenging to engineer on demand. Here, we demonstrate a systematic framework to implement programmable non-Gaussian phase gates $e^{-iV(\hat{X})}$, corresponding to the impulsive action of a potential $V(\hat{X})$, in a superconducting harmonic oscillator coupled to a transmon qubit. Using modular circuits derived from bosonic quantum signal processing, we realise a range of target anharmonic potentials on a single piece of hardware by varying a set of qubit rotations interleaved with a fixed calibrated control unitary. We first demonstrate a cubic phase gate, a key ingredient for universal quantum information processing. The resulting high-fidelity non-Gaussian states and the potential reconstructed using our pointwise force reconstruction method jointly confirm the cubic nature of the target gate. We then engineer a family of double-well potentials, relevant models of tunnelling and biased transfer processes, and experimentally validate the double-well topology and the tunable asymmetry. Finally, we engineer an approximate Morse gate, a step towards realistic potentials of molecular vibrational systems, and provide a concrete path towards high-quality engineering and reconstruction of the exponential form. Together, these results establish a practical and reconfigurable route towards continuous-variable quantum information processing and anharmonic quantum simulation.

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arXiv2026

Analysis of Superradiance-Based Quantum Metrology under Independent Markovian Pure Dephasing

Recently, a DC magnetometry protocol utilizing $N$-spin-ensemble superradiance was proposed. This method physically amplifies the acquired signal, suppressing estimation errors from measurement noise and achieving $\mathcal{O}(1/N)$ precision scaling when measurement noise dominates quantum fluctuations. However, quantum metrology is generally vulnerable to independent Markovian pure dephasing. For instance, the scaling of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state-based magnetometry deteriorates from $\mathcal{O}(1/N)$ to $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{N})$. Although pure dephasing likely degrades superradiant sensing, its quantitative impact remains unclear. Here, we investigate the effect of independent Markovian pure dephasing on this protocol using numerical simulations and mean-field analysis. We demonstrate that, in the large-$N$ limit, the estimation error increase is limited to a constant factor. This sharply contrasts with GHZ-state-based sensing, where the error increases by a factor of $\sqrt{N}$. Our analytical solutions elucidate the physical origin of this robustness qualitatively. These findings establish the high robustness of superradiance-based DC magnetometry against independent Markovian pure dephasing.

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arXiv2026

Discrete-variable assisted error correction of continuous-variable quantum information

Robust continuous-variable (CV) quantum information processing requires correcting realistic errors in bosonic systems, but all existing schemes rely on auxiliary Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states which the preparation and operation are demanding in many platforms. In this work, we propose a novel CV quantum error correction (QEC) scheme that utilizes a broadly accessible resource: discrete-variable (DV) ancilla. Our scheme extracts information about CV displacement to the DV ancilla, measuring that allows counteracting the unwanted displacement error. We show that a simple single-qubit ancilla can already suppress CV infidelity by more than 20%. By concatenating with DV QEC codes, our scheme is robust against the physical errors in hybrid CV-DV systems, and yields a new class of oscillator-in-oscillator code that does not involve GKP states. Our work facilitates the implementation of CV QEC on realistic platforms.

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arXiv2026

Optimal Continuous- to Discrete-Variable Bipartite Entanglement Conversion

Discrete-variable (DV) entanglement is crucial for numerous quantum applications, yet its deterministic generation in many bosonic systems remains experimentally challenging. In contrast, continuous-variable (CV) entanglement can be produced efficiently. We propose two optimal schemes for converting CV bipartite entanglement into DV entanglement using only local operations and classical communication. The first scheme extracts maximally entangled qubit pairs at the theoretically maximal rate, while the second probabilistically produces a maximally entangled qudit pair with the highest average entanglement. In both schemes, we quantify the optimal performance and identify the measurement operators required for implementation. Notably, using only a sequence of binary measurements, our approach can succeed in a finite number of measurement rounds on average, even though the CV resource is infinite-dimensional. Our schemes improve the feasibility of implementing DV-based quantum technologies on bosonic platforms.

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arXiv2026

Downloading many-qubit entanglement from continuous-variable cluster states

Many-body entanglement is an essential resource for many quantum technologies, but its scalable generation has been challenging on qubit platforms. However, the generation of continuous-variable (CV) entanglement can be extremely efficient, but its utility is rather limited. In this work, we propose a scheme to combine the best of both qubit and CV approaches: a systematic method to download useful many-qubit entanglement from the efficiently generated CV cluster states. Our protocol is based on one-bit teleportation of the qubit correlation encoded in the displaced Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill basis. To characterize the practical performance of our scheme, we develop an equivalent circuit to map dominant CV errors to single-qubit preparation errors. Particularly, we relate finite squeezing error to qubit erasure, and show that only 5.4 dB squeezing is sufficient to implement robust qubit memory or quantum computation (QC), and 11.9 dB for fault-tolerant QC. Our protocol can be implemented with the operations that are common in many bosonic platforms.

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arXiv2025

Exact quantification of bipartite entanglement in unresolvable spin ensembles

Quantifying mixed-state entanglement in many-body systems has been a formidable task. In this work, we quantify the entanglement of states in unresolvable spin ensembles, which are inherently mixed. By exploiting their permutationally invariant properties, we show that the bipartite entanglement of a wide range of unresolvable ensemble states can be calculated exactly. Our formalism is versatile; it can be used to evaluate the entanglement in an ensemble with an arbitrary number of particles, effective angular momentum, and bipartition. We apply our method to explore the characteristics of entanglement in different physically motivated scenarios, including states with definite magnetization and metrologically useful superpositions such as Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states and spin-squeezed states. Our method can help understand the role of entanglement in spin-ensemble-based quantum technologies.

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arXiv2024

Efficient in-situ generation of photon-memory entanglement in a nonlinear cavity

Parametrically driving an optical cavity that simultaneously couples to an atomic ensemble quantum memory enables in-situ generation of multimode photon-memory entanglement. A high-rate bi-party photon-memory entanglement can be generated even after discarding one entangled optical mode. This protocol can be realized with existing technologies based on photonic resonators integrated with a rare-earth-ion doped quantum memory. The proposed scheme shows significant advantages in entanglement generation rates compared with prevailing quantum memory protocols and experiments, with theoretical Ebit rates of tens of MHz without fine-tuned operating conditions. Such a photon-memory entanglement source offers a versatile resource for quantum networking and interconnect applications.

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arXiv2024

A High Performance Compiler for Very Large Scale Surface Code Computations

We present the first high performance compiler for very large scale quantum error correction: it translates an arbitrary quantum circuit to surface code operations based on lattice surgery. Our compiler offers an end to end error correction workflow implemented by a pluggable architecture centered around an intermediate representation of lattice surgery instructions. Moreover, the compiler supports customizable circuit layouts, can be used for quantum benchmarking and includes a quantum resource estimator. The compiler can process millions of gates using a streaming pipeline at a speed geared towards real-time operation of a physical device. We compiled within seconds 80 million logical surface code instructions, corresponding to a high precision Clifford+T implementation of the 128-qubit Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT). Our code is open-sourced at \url{https://github.com/latticesurgery-com}.

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arXiv2024

Anomalous Long-Distance Coherence in Critically-Driven Cavity Magnonics

Developing quantum networks necessitates coherently connecting distant systems via remote strong coupling. Here, we demonstrate long-distance coherence in cavity magnonics operating in the linear regime. By locally setting the cavity near critical coupling with travelling photons, non-local magnon-photon coherence is established via strong coupling over a 2-meter distance. We observe two anomalies in this long-distance coherence: first, the coupling strength oscillates twice the period of conventional photon-mediated couplings; second, clear mode splitting is observed within the cavity linewidth. Both effects cannot be explained by conventional coupled-mode theory, which reveal the tip of an iceberg of photon-mediated coupling in systems under critical driving. Our work shows the potential of using critical phenomena for harnessing long-distance coherence in distributed systems.

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arXiv2024

Characterization and optimized engineering of bosonic quantum interfaces under single-mode operational constraints

Controlling the quantum interface between two bosonic modes is essential in countless implementations of quantum information processing. However, full controllability is rarely achieved in most platforms due to specific physical limitations. In this work, we completely characterize the linear two-mode interfaces under the most pessimistic restriction that only single-mode operation is available. When arbitrary Gaussian single-mode operations can be applied to both modes, we find that every interface can be characterized by an invariant transmission strength. Moreover, in the practical situation that squeezing is restricted in one of the modes, we discover two additional quantities, irreducible squeezing and irreducible shearing, that are invariant under the allowable controls. By using this characterization, we develop systematic strategies to engineer an arbitrary linear interface through cascading multiple fixed component interfaces. Without squeezing restriction, our protocol is optimal and requires at most three component interfaces. Under the squeezing constraint, our protocol can be extended to engineer also the additional invariants by using no more than two more rounds of cascade. We also propose the remote squeezing scheme to tackle the squeezing restriction through interfacing with an active auxiliary mode.

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arXiv2022

Dissipative superradiant spin amplifier for enhanced quantum sensing

Quantum metrology protocols exploiting ensembles of $N$ two-level systems and Ramsey-style measurements are ubiquitous. However, in many cases excess readout noise severely degrades the measurement sensitivity; in particular in sensors based on ensembles of solid-state defect spins. We present a dissipative "spin amplification" protocol that allows one to dramatically improve the sensitivity of such schemes, even in the presence of realistic intrinsic dissipation and noise. Our method is based on exploiting collective (i.e., superradiant) spin decay, an effect that is usually seen as a nuisance because it limits spin-squeezing protocols. We show that our approach can allow a system with a highly imperfect spin readout to approach SQL-like scaling in $N$ within a factor of two, without needing to change the actual readout mechanism. Our ideas are compatible with several state-of-the-art experimental platforms where an ensemble of solid-state spins (NV centers, SiV centers) is coupled to a common microwave or mechanical mode.

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arXiv2022

Asymmetry-Based Quantum Backaction Suppression in Quadratic Optomechanics

As the field of optomechanics advances, quadratic dispersive coupling (QDC) promise an increasingly feasible class of qualitatively new functionality. However, the leading QDC geometries also generate linear dissipative coupling, and an associated quantum radiation force noise that is detrimental to QDC applications. Here, we propose a simple modification that dramatically reduces this noise without altering the QDC strength. We identify optimal regimes of operation, and discuss advantages within the examples of optical levitation and nondestructive phonon measurement.

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arXiv2022

Reservoir-engineered spin squeezing: macroscopic even-odd effects and hybrid-systems implementations

We revisit the dissipative approach to producing and stabilizing spin-squeezed states of an ensemble of $N$ two-level systems, providing a detailed analysis of two surprising yet generic features of such protocols. The first is a macroscopic sensitivity of the steady state to whether $N$ is even or odd. We discuss how this effect can be avoided (if the goal is parity-insensitive squeezing), or could be exploited as a new kind of sensing modality to detect the addition or removal of a single spin. The second effect is an anomalous emergent long timescale and a "prethermalized" regime that occurs for even weak single-spin dephasing. This effect allows one to have strong spin squeezing over a long transient time even though the level of spin squeezing in the steady state is very small. We also discuss a general hybrid-systems approach for implementing dissipative spin squeezing that does not require squeezed input light or complex multi-level atoms, but instead makes use of bosonic reservoir-engineering ideas. Our protocol is compatible with a variety of platforms, including trapped ions, NV defect spins coupled to diamond optomechanical crystals, and spin ensembles coupled to superconducting microwave circuits.

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arXiv2020

Ground state cooling and high-fidelity quantum transduction via parametrically-driven bad-cavity optomechanics

Optomechanical couplings involve both beam-splitter and two-mode-squeezing types of interactions. While the former underlies the utility of many applications, the latter creates unwanted excitations and is usually detrimental. In this work, we propose a simple but powerful method based on cavity parametric driving to suppress the unwanted excitation that does not require working with a deeply sideband-resolved cavity. Our approach is based on a simple observation: as both the optomechanical two-mode-squeezing interaction and the cavity parametric drive induce squeezing transformations of the relevant photonic bath modes, they can be made to cancel one another. We illustrate how our method can cool a mechanical oscillator below the quantum back-action limit, and significantly suppress the output noise of a sideband-unresolved optomechanical transducer.

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arXiv2020

Heisenberg-limited spin-squeezing via bosonic parametric driving

Spin-spin interactions generated by a detuned cavity are a standard mechanism for generating highly entangled spin squeezed states. We show here how introducing a weak detuned parametric (two-photon) drive on the cavity provides a powerful means for controlling the form of the induced interactions. Without a drive, the induced interactions cannot generate Heisenberg-limited spin squeezing, but a weak optimized drive gives rise to an ideal two-axis twist interaction and Heisenberg-limited squeezing. Parametric driving is also advantageous in regimes limited by dissipation, and enables an alternate adiabatic scheme which can prepare optimally squeezed, Dicke-like states. Our scheme is compatible with a number of platforms, including solid-state systems where spin ensembles are coupled to superconducting quantum circuits or mechanical modes.

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arXiv2019

High-fidelity bosonic quantum state transfer using imperfect transducers and interference

We consider imperfect two-mode bosonic quantum transducers that cannot completely transfer an initial source-system quantum state due to insufficient coupling strength or other non-idealities. We show that such transducers can generically be made perfect by using interference and phase-sensitive amplification. Our approach is based on the realization that a particular kind of imperfect transducer (one which implements a swapped quantum non-demolition (QND) gate) can be made into a perfect one-way transducer using feed-forward and/or injected squeezing. We show that a generic imperfect transducer can be reduced to this case by repeating the imperfect transduction operation twice, interspersed with amplification. Crucially, our scheme only requires the ability to implement squeezing operations and/or homodyne measurement on one of the two modes involved. It is thus ideally suited to schemes where there is an asymmetry in the ability to control the two coupled systems (e.g. microwave-to-optics quantum state transfer). We also discuss a correction protocol that requires no injected squeezing and/or feed-forward operation.

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