arXiv subjects

Jan A. Krzywda

Publications and source records attributed to Jan A. Krzywda.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Adaptive Spectroscopy of Fast Two-Level-System Dynamics in Superconducting Qubits

Parasitic two-level-system (TLS) defects are a major source of energy relaxation and temporal instability in superconducting quantum processors. Our sub-second adaptive spectroscopy reveals telegraphic switching of TLSs with a characteristic timescale of a few seconds and spectral diffusion with diffusivity $D \approx 0.9~\mathrm{MHz}^2/\mathrm{s}$. These timescales are about $3 \times 10^2$ times faster than what is observed in conventional nonadaptive spectroscopy, which typically requires hours of measurement time. We resolve such fast dynamics on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based controller that enables measurement of frequency- and time-resolved relaxations with sub-second temporal resolution in flux-tunable superconducting qubits. We observe similar defect dynamics across multiple qubits in independently fabricated devices measured in different laboratories. We correlate TLS-induced fluctuations with gate-level errors using randomized benchmarking. Our results reveal a previously inaccessible regime of frequency-resolved TLS dynamics and redefine the timescales relevant to TLS-aware characterization and calibration of superconducting quantum processors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Frequency-resolved decoherence spectroscopy of a semiconductor charge qubit coupled to a high-impedance resonator

Superconducting resonators coupled to semiconductor quantum dots provide a powerful platform to investigate light-matter interaction and decoherence mechanisms in solid-state quantum systems. Here we study a hybrid circuit quantum electrodynamics architecture consisting of a GaAs double-quantum-dot charge qubit capacitively coupled to a high-impedance, frequency-tunable SQUID-array resonator. By tuning the qubit transition frequency over the range $ω_\mathrm{q}/2π\sim 3$-$6$ GHz, we perform frequency-resolved decoherence spectroscopy of the charge qubit across a broad energy window. Time-resolved measurements enable us to disentangle relaxation and pure dephasing processes and to identify distinct decoherence regimes as a function of qubit frequency. We find that at lower frequencies ($\leq 4.5$ GHz) dephasing dominates the qubit linewidth, whereas at higher frequencies energy relaxation becomes the leading contribution. The measured frequency dependence of the relaxation rate exhibits a cubic scaling, consistent with charge-qubit decay dominated by coupling to a piezoelectric phonon bath and providing frequency-resolved access to the corresponding phonon-induced spectral density. Our results show that hybrid semiconductor--superconducting circuits can serve as sensitive spectroscopic tools to probe microscopic decoherence mechanisms relevant for a wide range of hybrid quantum devices.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Evidence of Quantum Machine Learning Advantage with Tens of Noisy Qubits

Learning problems involving quantum data are natural candidates for demonstrating an advantage in quantum machine learning. Recent results indicate that, for certain tasks and under noiseless conditions, coherent processing of quantum data outperforms fixed-measurement schemes followed by classical processing. It remained uncertain whether this performance gap persists at a finite scale, and in the presence of noise that is unavoidable with current quantum devices. In this work, we present simulations and analysis of the performance of existing hardware on a learning problem known to exhibit asymptotic advantage, now subjected to noisy quantum data. Comparing coherent quantum processing directly against fixed-measurement schemes, our results demonstrate a clear performance separation at a scale of just 30 to 40 noisy qubits. Already at this scale, the fundamental bottleneck is no longer classical computation but data acquisition; matching the noisy coherent protocol with measure-first strategies would still require months or even years of measurements. By systematically evaluating hardware constraints such as state preparation, gate errors, readout errors, connectivity, and coherence times, we provide evidence that a demonstration of such a strong learning advantage is accessible on near-term devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Operating a bistable qubit

Parasitic two-level-system (TLS) defects limit the stability and performance of solid-state quantum processors. Their interaction with a qubit can cause discrete, stochastic shifts of the qubit frequency, making the qubit bistable. We experimentally demonstrate an adaptive protocol for operating a bistable qubit with high fidelity using a classical controller powered by a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Our "1-bit feedback" protocol estimates the qubit's bistable frequency from only one single-shot measurement, reaching the information limit set by the qubit's intrinsic entropy. We validate the protocol in a superconducting qubit by suppressing TLS-induced Ramsey beating, and deploy it to stabilize gate fidelities over time with approximately 136 kHz estimation bandwidth and a 77% error reduction. Our approach provides a simple, yet fundamentally efficient strategy for mitigating dephasing errors induced by strongly coupled TLS defects, and may enable the operation of large future qubit arrays suffering from few remaining, discrete instabilities.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Real-time adaptive tracking of fluctuating relaxation rates in superconducting qubits

The fidelity of operations on a solid-state quantum processor is fundamentally bounded by environmental decoherence. Characterizing environmental fluctuations is challenging because the acquisition time of nonadaptive experimental protocols limits temporal precision and can average out rapid features of the underlying dynamics. Here, we overcome this temporal-resolution limit by two orders of magnitude using a field-programmable gate-array (FPGA) powered classical controller that adaptively and continuously tracks the relaxation-time fluctuations of two fixed-frequency superconducting transmon qubits, which exhibit average relaxation times of approximately 0.17 ms and occasionally exceed 0.5 ms. We report events in which the relaxation time switches by nearly an order of magnitude over timescales of just tens of milliseconds, rather than minutes or hours as previously reported. Our real-time Bayesian estimation protocol estimates relaxation times within a few milliseconds, close to the decoherence timescale itself. Our statistical analysis further suggests that some of these fast fluctuations arise from two-level systems switching at rates up to 10 Hz, four orders of magnitude faster than earlier reports. These results redefine the timescales relevant for calibration in superconducting quantum processing units, establish a reference for rapid relaxation-rate characterization in device screening, and improve our understanding of fast relaxation dynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Coherence Protection for Mobile Spin Qubits in Silicon

Mobile spin qubit architectures promise flexible connectivity for efficient quantum error correction and relaxed device layout constraints, but their viability rests on preserving spin coherence during transport. While shuttling transforms spatial disorder into time-dependent noise, its net impact on spin coherence remains an open question. Here we demonstrate systematic noise mitigation during spin shuttling in a linear $^{28}$Si/SiGe quantum dot device. First, by passively reducing magnetic field gradients, we minimize charge-noise coupling to the spin and double the spatially averaged dephasing time $T_2^*(x_n)$ from $4.4$ to $8.5\,μ\text{s}$. Next, we exploit motional narrowing by periodically shuttling the qubit, achieving a further enhancement in coherence time up to $T_{2}^{*,sh} = 11.5\,μ\text{s}$. Finally, we incorporate dynamical decoupling techniques while periodically shuttling over distances exceeding $200\,\text{nm}$, reaching $T_\text{2}^{H,sh}= 32\,μ\text{s}$. For the same setup, we demonstrate that dressed-state shuttling provides robust protection against low-frequency noise with a decay time $T_R^{\text{sh}} = 21\,μ\text{s}$, without the overhead of pulsed control and allowing protection during one-way spin transport. By preserving coherence over timescales exceeding typical gate and readout operations, the demonstrated strategies establish mobile spin qubits as a viable solution for scalable silicon quantum processors.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Statistical Structure of Charge Disorder in Si/SiGe Quantum Dots

Properties of quantum dot based spin qubits have significant inter-device variability due to unavoidable presence of various types of disorder in semiconductor nanostructures. A significant source of this variability is charge disorder at the semiconductor-oxide interface, which causes unpredictable, yet, as we show here, correlated fluctuations in such essential properties of quantum dots like their mutual tunnel couplings, and electronic confinement energies. This study presents a systematic approach to characterize and mitigate the effects of such disorder. We utilize finite element modeling of a Si/SiGe double quantum dot to generate a large statistical ensemble of devices, simulating the impact of trapped interface charges. This work results in a predictive statistical model capable of generating realistic artificial data for training machine learning algorithms. By applying Principal Component Analysis to this dataset, we identify the dominant modes through which disorder affects the multi-dimensional parameter space of the device. Our findings show that the parameter variations are not arbitrary, but are concentrated along a few principal axes, i.e. there are significant correlations between many properties of the devices. We finally compare that against control modes generated by sweeping the gate voltages, revealing limitations of the plunger-only control. This work provides a framework for enhancing the controllability and operational yield of spin qubit devices, by systematically addressing the nature of electrostatic disorder that leads to statistical correlations in properties of double quantum dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Efficient Qubit Calibration by Binary-Search Hamiltonian Tracking

We present and experimentally implement a real-time protocol for calibrating the frequency of a resonantly driven qubit, achieving exponential scaling in calibration precision with the number of measurements, up to the limit imposed by decoherence. The real-time processing capabilities of a classical controller dynamically generate adaptive probing sequences for qubit-frequency estimation. Each probing evolution time and drive frequency are calculated to divide the prior probability distribution into two branches, following a locally optimal strategy that mimics a conventional binary search. The scheme does not require repeated measurements at the same setting, as it accounts for state preparation and measurement errors. Its use of a parametrized probability distribution favors numerical accuracy and computational speed. We show the efficacy of the algorithm by stabilizing a flux-tunable transmon qubit, leading to improved coherence and gate fidelity. As benchmarked by gate-set tomography, the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) powered control electronics partially mitigates non-Markovian noise, which is detrimental to quantum error correction. The mitigation is achieved by dynamically updating and feeding forward the qubit frequency. Our protocol highlights the importance of feedback in improving the calibration and stability of qubits subject to drift and can be readily applied to other qubit platforms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Decoherence of electron spin qubit during transfer between two semiconductor quantum dots at low magnetic fields

Electron shuttling is one of the current avenues being pursued to scale semiconductor quantum dot-based spin qubits. Adiabatic spin qubit transfer along a chain of tunnel-coupled quantum dots is one of the possible schemes. In this scheme, we theoretically analyze the dephasing of a spin qubit that is adiabatically transferred between two tunnel-coupled quantum dots. We focus on the regime where the Zeeman splitting is lower than the tunnel coupling, such that interdot tunneling with spin flip is absent. We analyze the sources of errors in spin-coherent electron transfer for Si- and GaAs-based quantum dots. In addition to the obvious effect of fluctuations in spin splitting within each dot, leading to finite $T_{2}^{*}$ for the stationary spin qubit, we consider the effects activated by detuning sweeps: failure of charge transfer due to charge noise and phonons, spin relaxation due to the enhancement of spin-orbit mixing at the tunnel-induced anticrossing of states localized in the two dots, and spin dephasing caused by low- and high-frequency noise coupling to the electron's charge. We show that the latter effect is activated by differences in Zeeman splittings between the two dots. Importantly, all the error mechanisms are more dangerous at low tunnel couplings. Our results indicate that away from micromagnets, maximizing the fidelity of coherent transfer aligns with minimizing charge transfer error that was previously considered in J. A. Krzywda and L. Cywiński, Phys. Rev. B 104 075439 (2021). For silicon, we suggest having tunnel coupling fulfilling $ 2t_c \gtrsim 60 \, μ$eV when one aims to coherently transfer a spin qubit across a $\sim \!10$ $μ$m long array of $\sim \! 100$ quantum dots with error less than $10^{-3}$.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

QDarts: A Quantum Dot Array Transition Simulator for finding charge transitions in the presence of finite tunnel couplings, non-constant charging energies and sensor dots

We present QDarts, an efficient simulator for realistic charge stability diagrams of quantum dot array (QDA) devices in equilibrium states. It allows for pinpointing the location of concrete charge states and their transitions in a high-dimensional voltage space (via arbitrary two-dimensional cuts through it), and includes effects of finite tunnel coupling, non-constant charging energy and a simulation of noisy sensor dots. These features enable close matching of various experimental results in the literature, and the package hence provides a flexible tool for testing QDA experiments, as well as opening the avenue for developing new methods of device tuning.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Correlations of spin splitting and orbital fluctuations due to 1/f charge noise in the Si/SiGe Quantum Dot

Fluctuations of electric fields can change the position of a gate-defined quantum dot in a semiconductor heterostructure. In the presence of magnetic field gradient, these stochastic shifts of electron's wavefunction lead to fluctuations of electron's spin splitting. The resulting spin dephasing due to charge noise limits the coherence times of spin qubits in isotopically purified Si/SiGe quantum dots. We investigate the spin splitting noise caused by such process caused by microscopic motion of charges at the semiconductor-oxide interface. We compare effects of isotropic and planar displacement of the charges, and estimate their densities and typical displacement magnitudes that can reproduce experimentally observed spin splitting noise spectra. We predict that for defect density of $10^{10}$ cm$^{-2}$, visible correlations between noises in spin splitting and in energy of electron's ground state in the quantum dot, are expected.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Physics-informed tracking of qubit fluctuations

Environmental fluctuations degrade the performance of solid-state qubits but can in principle be mitigated by real-time Hamiltonian estimation down to time scales set by the estimation efficiency. We implement a physics-informed and an adaptive Bayesian estimation strategy and apply them in real time to a semiconductor spin qubit. The physics-informed strategy propagates a probability distribution inside the quantum controller according to the Fokker-Planck equation, appropriate for describing the effects of nuclear spin diffusion in gallium-arsenide. Evaluating and narrowing the anticipated distribution by a predetermined qubit probe sequence enables improved dynamical tracking of the uncontrolled magnetic field gradient within the singlet-triplet qubit. The adaptive strategy replaces the probe sequence by a small number of qubit probe cycles, with each probe time conditioned on the previous measurement outcomes, thereby further increasing the estimation efficiency. The combined real-time estimation strategy efficiently tracks low-frequency nuclear spin fluctuations in solid-state qubits, and can be applied to other qubit platforms by tailoring the appropriate update equation to capture their distinct noise sources.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Efficient adaptive Bayesian estimation of a slowly fluctuating Overhauser field gradient

Slow fluctuations of Overhauser fields are an important source for decoherence in spin qubits hosted in III-V semiconductor quantum dots. Focusing on the effect of the field gradient on double-dot singlet-triplet qubits, we present two adaptive Bayesian schemes to estimate the magnitude of the gradient by a series of free induction decay experiments. We concentrate on reducing the computational overhead, with a real-time implementation of the schemes in mind. We show how it is possible to achieve a significant improvement of estimation accuracy compared to more traditional estimation methods. We include an analysis of the effects of dephasing and the drift of the gradient itself.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Real-time two-axis control of a spin qubit

Optimal control of qubits requires the ability to adapt continuously to their ever-changing environment. We demonstrate a real-time control protocol for a two-electron singlet-triplet qubit with two fluctuating Hamiltonian parameters. Our approach leverages single-shot readout classification and dynamic waveform generation, allowing full Hamiltonian estimation to dynamically stabilize and optimize the qubit performance. Powered by a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), the quantum control electronics estimates the Overhauser field gradient between the two electrons in real time, enabling controlled Overhauser-driven spin rotations and thus bypassing the need for micromagnets or nuclear polarization protocols. It also estimates the exchange interaction between the two electrons and adjusts their detuning, resulting in extended coherence of Hadamard rotations when correcting for fluctuations of both qubit axes. Our study emphasizes the critical role of feedback in enhancing the performance and stability of quantum devices affected by quasistatic noise. Feedback will play an essential role in improving performance in various qubit implementations that go beyond spin qubits, helping realize the full potential of quantum devices for quantum technology applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2023

Blueprint of a scalable spin qubit shuttle device for coherent mid-range qubit transfer in disordered Si/SiGe/SiO$_2$

Silicon spin qubits stand out due to their very long coherence times, compatibility with industrial fabrication, and prospect to integrate classical control electronics. To achieve a truly scalable architecture, a coherent mid-range link that moves the electrons between qubit registers has been suggested to solve the signal fan-out problem. Here, we present a blueprint of such a $\approx 10\,μ$m long link, called a spin qubit shuttle, which is based on connecting an array of gates into a small number of sets. To control these sets, only a few voltage control lines are needed and the number of these sets and thus the number of required control signals is independent of the length of this link. We discuss two different operation modes for the spin qubit shuttle: A qubit conveyor, i.e. a potential minimum that smoothly moves laterally, and a bucket brigade, in which the electron is transported through a series of tunnel-coupled quantum dots by adiabatic passage. We find the former approach more promising considering a realistic Si/SiGe device including potential disorder from the charged defects at the Si/SiO$_2$ layer, as well as typical charge noise. Focusing on the qubit transfer fidelity in the conveyor shuttling mode, we discuss in detail motional narrowing, the interplay between orbital and valley excitation and relaxation in presence of $g$-factors that depend on orbital and valley state of the electron, and effects from spin-hotspots. We find that a transfer fidelity of 99.9 \% is feasible in Si/SiGe at a speed of $\sim$10 m/s, if the average valley splitting and its inhomogeneity stay within realistic bounds. Operation at low global magnetic field $\approx 20$ mT and material engineering towards high valley splitting is favourable for reaching high fidelities of transfer.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Interplay of charge noise and coupling to phonons in adiabatic electron transfer between quantum dots

Long-distance transfer of quantum information in architectures based on quantum dot spin qubits will be necessary for their scalability. One way of achieving it is to simply move the electron between two quantum registers. Precise control over the electron shuttling through a chain of tunnel-coupled quantum dots is possible when interdot energy detunings are changed adiabatically. Deterministic character of shuttling is however endangered by coupling of the transferred electron to thermal reservoirs: sources of fluctuations of electric fields, and lattice vibrations. We theoretically analyse how the electron transfer between two quantum dots is affected by electron-phonon scattering, and interaction with sources of $1/f$ and Johnson charge noise in both detuning and tunnel coupling. The electron-phonon scattering turns out to be irrelevant in Si quantum dots, while a competition between the effects of charge noise and Landau-Zener effect leads to an existence of optimal detuning sweep rate, at which probability of leaving the electron behind is minimal. In GaAs quantum dots, on the other hand, coupling to phonons is strong enough to make the phonon-assisted processes of interdot transfer dominate over influence of charge noise. The probability of leaving the electron behind depends then monotonically on detuning sweep rate, and values much smaller than in silicon can be obtained for slow sweeps. However, after taking into account limitations on transfer time imposed by need for preservation of electron's spin coherence, minimal probabilities of leaving the electron behind in both GaAs- and Si-based double quantum dots turn out to be of the same order of magnitude. Bringing them down below $10^{-3}$ requires temperatures $\leq \! 100$ mK and tunnel couplings above $20$ $μ$eV.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗