arXiv subjects

Leigh M. Norris

Publications and source records attributed to Leigh M. Norris.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Improving Dynamical Decoupling for Trapped-Ion QCCD Quantum Computers

We examine the impact of scheduling errors on dynamical decoupling (DD) in trapped-ion quantum charge-coupled devices (QCCDs) and develop better strategies for reducing memory errors. In the QCCD architecture, qubit transport and control introduce stochastic pulse delays that impact the efficiency of DD. Using the filter-function formalism, we analyze the performance of DD in the presence of scheduling-induced timing errors, showing that they increase the sensitivity of standard DD to low-frequency fluctuations. For typical memory errors in trapped-ion platforms, we numerically demonstrate that increasing the DD pulse frequency beyond 2 Hz is generally counterproductive due to scheduling-induced timing errors. Furthermore, we introduce a real-time DD protocol that inserts refocusing pulses opportunistically during idle periods. We demonstrate our methods on Quantinuum H2-1 with Ramsey delay-type experiments.

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arXiv2026

Separate and efficient characterization of state-preparation and measurement errors using single-qubit operations

In many platforms, errors from state-preparation and measurement (SPAM) dominate over single-qubit gate errors. To inform further hardware improvements and the development of more effective SPAM mitigation strategies, it is necessary to separately characterize the error contributions from state-preparation (SP) and measurement (M). Here, we show how to construct a protocol that can efficiently and separately characterize the SP and M error parameters by using only high-fidelity single-qubit gates and repeated single-qubit measurements without reset. The measurements are assumed to be non-destructive and M errors are taken to be (spatially and temporally) uncorrelated and classical. Notably, the circuit depth of the protocol is independent of system size, and the target parameters may be characterized to a precision that is only limited by the number of experimental repetitions. We employ our protocol for the parallel characterization of SPAM errors on multiple qubits in the IBM Quantum Platform devices, where we find SP infidelities up to $6.57\%$ and readout assignment errors up to $19.1\%$. Using numerical simulations, we also demonstrate how measurement-error mitigation that does not properly account for SP errors generally leads to a biased estimate of measured observable expectation values.

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arXiv2026

Superresolution in Quantum Noise Spectroscopy via Filter Design

Resolving signals with closely spaced frequencies is central to applications in communications, spectroscopy and sensing. Recent results have shown that quantum sensing protocols can exhibit superresolution, the ability to discriminate between spectral lines with arbitrarily small frequency separation. Here, we revisit this problem from the perspective of quantum control theory, utilizing the filter function formalism to derive general, analytic conditions on quantum control protocols for achieving superresolution. Building on these conditions, we develop an optimal control framework, the utility of which is demonstrated through numerical identification of superresolution control protocols in the presence of realistic, experimentally-relevant constraints. We further extend our results to entangled initial states and assess their potential advantage. Our approach is broadly applicable to a wide variety of quantum sensing platforms, and it provides a systematic path to discover novel protocols that surpass conventional resolution limits in these systems.

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arXiv2024

SPAM-Robust Multi-axis Quantum Noise Spectroscopy in Temporally Correlated Environments

Characterizing temporally correlated (``non-Markovian'') noise is a key prerequisite for achieving noise-tailored error mitigation and optimal device performance. Quantum noise spectroscopy can afford quantitative estimation of the noise spectral features; however, in its current form it is highly vulnerable to implementation non-idealities, notably, state-preparation and measurement (SPAM) errors. Further to that, existing protocols have been mostly developed for dephasing-dominated noise processes, with competing dephasing and relaxation effects being largely unaccounted for. We introduce quantum noise spectroscopy protocols inspired by spin-locking techniques that enable the characterization of arbitrary temporally correlated multi-axis noise on a qubit with fixed energy splitting, while remaining resilient to realistic static SPAM errors. By validating our protocol's performance in both numerical simulation and cloud-based IBM quantum processors, we demonstrate the successful separation and estimation of native noise spectrum components as well as SPAM error rates. We find that SPAM errors can significantly alter or mask important noise features, with spectra overestimated by up to 26.4% in a classical noise regime. Clear signatures of non-classical noise are manifest in the reconstructed IBM-qubit dephasing spectra, once SPAM-error effects are compensated for. Our work provides a timely tool for benchmarking realistic sources of noise in qubit devices.

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arXiv2023

Quantum Control Noise Spectroscopy with Optimal Suppression of Dephasing

We extend quantum noise spectroscopy (QNS) of amplitude control noise to settings where dephasing noise or detuning errors make significant contributions to qubit dynamics. Previous approaches to characterize amplitude noise are limited by their vulnerability to low-frequency dephasing noise and static detuning errors, which can overwhelm the target control noise signal and introduce bias into estimates of the amplitude noise spectrum. To overcome this problem, we leverage optimal control to identify a family of amplitude control waveforms that optimally suppress low-frequency dephasing noise and detuning errors, while maintaining the spectral concentration in the amplitude filter essential for spectral estimation. The waveforms found via numerical optimization have surprisingly simple analytic forms, consisting of oscillating sine waves obeying particular amplitude and frequency constraints. In numerically simulated QNS experiments, these waveforms demonstrate superior robustness, enabling accurate estimation of the amplitude noise spectrum in regimes where existing approaches are biased by low-frequency dephasing noise and detuning errors.

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arXiv2022

Frequency estimation under non-Markovian spatially correlated quantum noise: Restoring superclassical precision scaling

We study the estimation precision attainable by entanglement-enhanced Ramsey interferometry in the presence of spatiotemporally correlated non-classical noise. Our analysis relies on an exact expression of the reduced density matrix of the qubit probes under general zero-mean Gaussian stationary dephasing, which is established through cumulant-expansion techniques and may be of independent interest in the context of non-Markovian open dynamics. By continuing and expanding our previous work [Beaudoin et al., Phys. Rev. A 98, 020102(R) (2018)], we analyze the effects of a non-collective coupling regime between the qubit probes and their environment, focusing on two limiting scenarios where the couplings may take only two or a continuum of possible values. In the paradigmatic case of spin-boson dephasing noise from a thermal environment, we find that it is possible to suppress, on average, the effect of spatial correlations by randomizing the location of the probes, as long as enough configurations are sampled where noise correlations are negative. As a result, superclassical precision scaling is asymptotically restored for initial entangled states, including experimentally accessible one-axis spin-squeezed states.

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arXiv2021

Frame-Based Filter-Function Formalism for Quantum Characterization and Control

We introduce a theoretical framework for resource-efficient characterization and control of non-Markovian open quantum systems, which naturally allows for the integration of given, experimentally motivated, control capabilities and constraints. This is achieved by developing a transfer filter-function formalism based on the general notion of a frame and by appropriately tying the choice of frame to the available control. While recovering the standard frequency-based filter-function formalism as a special instance, this control-adapted generalization affords intrinsic flexibility and, crucially, it permits an efficient representation of the relevant control matrix elements and dynamical integrals if an appropriate finite-size frame condition is obeyed. Our frame-based formulation overcomes important limitations of existing approaches. In particular, we show how to implement quantum noise spectroscopy in the presence of nonstationary noise sources, and how to effectively achieve control-driven model reduction for noise-optimized prediction and quantum gate design.

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arXiv2020

Squeezing the angular momentum of an ensemble of complex multi-level atoms

Squeezing of collective atomic spins has been shown to improve the sensitivity of atomic clocks and magnetometers to levels significantly below the standard quantum limit. In most cases the requisite atom-atom entanglement has been generated by dispersive interaction with a quantized probe field, or by state dependent collisions in a quantum gas. Such experiments typically use complex multilevel atoms like Rb or Cs, with the relevant interactions designed so atoms behave like pseudo-spin-$1/2$ particles. We demonstrate the viability of spin squeezing for collective spins composed of the physical angular momenta of $\sim 10^6$ Cs atoms, each in an internal spin-4 hyperfine state. A peak metrological squeezing of $\gtrsim -5$dB was generated by quantum backaction from a dispersive quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement, implemented using a two-color optical probe that minimizes tensor light shifts without sacrificing measurement strength. Other significant developments include the successful application of composite pulse techniques for accurate dynamical control of the collective spin, enabled by broadband suppression of background magnetic fields inside a state-of-the-art magnetic shield. The absence of classical noise has allowed us to compare the observed quantum projection noise and squeezing to a theoretical model that properly accounts for both the relevant atomic physics and the spatial mode of the collective spin, finding good quantitative agreement and thereby validating its use in other contexts. Thus, our work sets the stage for experiments on quantum feedback, deterministic squeezing, closed-loop magnetometry, and new types of quantum simulation based on continuous QND measurement and feedback.

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arXiv2020

Simultaneous spectral estimation of dephasing and amplitude noise on a qubit sensor via optimally band-limited control

The fragility of quantum systems makes them ideally suited for sensing applications at the nanoscale. However, interpreting the output signal of a qubit-based sensor is generally complicated by background clutter due to out-of-band spectral leakage, as well as ambiguity in signal origin when the sensor is operated with noisy hardware. We present a sensing protocol based on optimally band-limited "Slepian functions" that can overcome these challenges, by providing narrowband sensing of ambient dephasing noise, coupling additively to the sensor along the ${z}$-axis, while permitting isolation of the target noise spectrum from other contributions coupling along a different axis. This is achieved by introducing a finite-difference control modulation, which linearizes the sensor's response and affords tunable band-limited "windowing" in frequency. Building on these techniques, we experimentally demonstrate two spectral estimation capabilities using a trapped-ion qubit sensor. We first perform efficient experimental reconstruction of a "mixed" dephasing spectrum, composed of a broadband $1/f$-type spectrum with discrete spurs. We then demonstrate the simultaneous reconstruction of overlapping dephasing and control noise spectra from a single set of measurements, in a setting where the two noise sources contribute equally to the sensor's response. Our approach provides a direct means to augment quantum-sensor performance in the presence of both complex broadband noise environments and imperfect control signals, by optimally complying with realistic time-bandwidth constraints.

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arXiv2019

Two-qubit spectroscopy of spatiotemporally correlated quantum noise in superconducting qubits

Noise that exhibits significant temporal and spatial correlations across multiple qubits can be especially harmful to both fault-tolerant quantum computation and quantum-enhanced metrology. However, a complete spectral characterization of the noise environment of even a two-qubit system has not been reported thus far. We propose and experimentally validate a protocol for two-qubit dephasing noise spectroscopy based on continuous control modulation. By combining ideas from spin-locking relaxometry with a statistically motivated robust estimation approach, our protocol allows for the simultaneous reconstruction of all the single-qubit and two-qubit cross-correlation spectra, including access to their distinctive non-classical features. Only single-qubit control manipulations and state-tomography measurements are employed, with no need for entangled-state preparation or readout of two-qubit observables. While our experimental validation uses two superconducting qubits coupled to a shared engineered noise source, our methodology is portable to a variety of dephasing-dominated qubit architectures. By pushing quantum noise spectroscopy beyond the single-qubit setting, our work paves the way to characterizing spatiotemporal correlations in both engineered and naturally occurring noise environments.

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arXiv2019

Non-Gaussian noise spectroscopy with a superconducting qubit sensor

Accurate characterization of the noise influencing a quantum system of interest has far-reaching implications across quantum science, ranging from microscopic modeling of decoherence dynamics to noise-optimized quantum control. While the assumption that noise obeys Gaussian statistics is commonly employed, noise is generically non-Gaussian in nature. In particular, the Gaussian approximation breaks down whenever a qubit is strongly coupled to discrete noise sources or has a non-linear response to the environmental degrees of freedom. Thus, in order to both scrutinize the applicability of the Gaussian assumption and capture distinctive non-Gaussian signatures, a tool for characterizing non-Gaussian noise is essential. Here, we experimentally validate a quantum control protocol which, in addition to the spectrum, reconstructs the leading higher-order spectrum of engineered non-Gaussian dephasing noise using a superconducting qubit as a sensor. This first experimental demonstration of non-Gaussian noise spectroscopy represents a major step toward demonstrating a complete spectral estimation toolbox for quantum devices.

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arXiv2019

Extending comb-based spectral estimation to multiaxis quantum noise

We show how to achieve full spectral characterization of general multiaxis additive noise. Our pulsed spectral estimation technique is based on sequence repetition and frequency-comb sampling and is applicable even to models where a large qubit energy-splitting is present (as is typically the case for spin qubits in semiconductors, for example), as long as the noise is stationary and a second-order (Gaussian) approximation to the controlled reduced dynamics is viable. Our new result is crucial to extending the applicability of these protocols, now standard in dephasing-dominated platforms such as silicon-based qubits, to experimental platforms where both $T_1$ and $T_2$ processes are significant, such as superconducting qubits.

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arXiv2018

Ramsey Interferometry in Correlated Quantum Noise Environments

We quantify the impact of spatio-temporally correlated Gaussian quantum noise on frequency estimation by Ramsey interferometry. While correlations in a classical noise environment can be exploited to reduce uncertainty relative to the uncorrelated case, we show that quantum noise environments with frequency asymmetric spectra generally introduce additional sources of uncertainty due to uncontrolled entanglement of the sensing system mediated by the bath. For the representative case of collective noise from bosonic sources, and experimentally relevant collective spin observables, we find that the uncertainty can increase exponentially with the number of probes. As a concrete application, we show that correlated quantum noise due to a lattice vibrational mode can preclude superclassical precision scaling in current amplitude sensing experiments with trapped ions.

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arXiv2018

Optimally band-limited spectroscopy of control noise using a qubit sensor

Classical control noise is ubiquitous in qubit devices, making its accurate spectral characterization essential for designing optimized error suppression strategies at the physical level. Here, we focus on multiplicative Gaussian amplitude control noise on a driven qubit sensor and show that sensing protocols using optimally band-limited Slepian modulation offer substantial benefit in realistic scenarios. Special emphasis is given to laying out the theoretical framework necessary for extending non-parametric multitaper spectral estimation to the quantum setting by highlighting key points of contact and differences with respect to the classical formulation. In particular, we introduce and analyze two approaches (adaptive vs. single-setting) to quantum multitaper estimation, and show how they provide a practical means to both identify fine spectral features not otherwise detectable by existing protocols and to obtain reliable prior estimates for use in subsequent parametric estimation, including high-resolution Bayesian techniques. We quantitatively characterize the performance of both single- and multitaper Slepian estimation protocols by numerically reconstructing representative spectral densities, and demonstrate their advantage over dynamical-decoupling noise spectroscopy approaches in reducing bias from spectral leakage as well as in compensating for aliasing effects while maintaining a desired sampling resolution.

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arXiv2016

Multiqubit Spectroscopy of Gaussian Quantum Noise

We introduce multi-pulse quantum noise spectroscopy protocols for spectral estimation of the noise affecting multiple qubits coupled to Gaussian dephasing environments including both classical and quantum sources. Our protocols are capable of reconstructing all the noise auto- and cross-correlation spectra entering the multiqubit dynamics. We argue that this capability is crucial not only for metrological purposes, as it provides access to the asymmetric spectra associated with non-classical environments, but ultimately for achieving quantum fault-tolerance, as it enables the characterization of bath correlation functions. Our result relies on (i) an exact analytic solution for the reduced multiqubit dynamics that holds in the presence of an arbitrary Gaussian environment and dephasing-preserving control; (ii) the use of specific timing symmetries in the control, which allow for a frequency comb to be engineered for all filter functions of interest, and for the spectra to be related to experimentally accessible qubit observables. We show that quantum spectra have distinctive dynamical signatures, which we explore in two paradigmatic open-system models describing spin and charge qubits coupled to bosonic environments. Complete multiqubit noise spectroscopy is demonstrated numerically in a realistic setting consisting of two-exciton qubits coupled to a phonon bath. The estimated spectra allow us to accurately predict the exciton dynamics as well as extract the temperature and spectral density of the quantum environment.

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arXiv2015

Qubit noise spectroscopy for non-Gaussian dephasing environments

We introduce open-loop quantum control protocols for characterizing the spectral properties of non-Gaussian noise, applicable to both classical and quantum dephasing environments. The basic idea is to engineer a multi-dimensional frequency comb via repetition of suitably designed pulse sequences, through which the desired high-order noise spectra may be related to observable properties of the qubit probe. We prove that access to a high time resolution is key to achieve spectral reconstruction over an extended bandwidth, overcoming limitations of existing schemes. Non-Gaussian spectroscopy is demonstrated for a classical noise model describing quadratic dephasing at an optimal point, as well as a quantum spin-boson model out of equilibrium. In both cases, we obtain spectral reconstructions that accurately predict the qubit dynamics in the non-Gaussian regime.

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arXiv2014

Internal Spin Control, Squeezing and Decoherence in Ensembles of Alkali Atomic Spins

This dissertation studies spin squeezing, entanglement and decoherence in large ensembles of cold, trapped alkali atoms with hyperfine spin f interacting with optical fields. Restricting the state of each atom to a qutrit embedded in the 2f+1 dimensional hyperfine spin enables us to efficiently model the coherent and dissipative dynamics of the ensemble. This formalism also allows us to explore the effects of local control on the internal hyperfine spins of the atoms. State preparation using such control increases the entangling power of the atom-light interface for f>1/2. Subsequent control of the internal spins converts entanglement into metrologically relevant spin squeezing. In the case of squeezing by quantum nondemolition measurement, we employ a numerical search to find state preparations that maximize spin squeezing in the presence of decoherence. Dissipative dynamics on our system include optical pumping due to spontaneous emission. While most works ignore optical pumping or treat it phenomenologically, we employ a master equation derived from first principles. This work is extended to the case of an atomic ensemble interacting with a non-homogeneous paraxial probe. The geometries of the ensemble and the probe are optimized to maximize both spatial mode matching and spin squeezing.

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arXiv2013

Three-dimensional light-matter interface for collective spin squeezing in atomic ensembles

We study the three-dimensional nature of the quantum interface between an ensemble of cold, trapped atomic spins and a paraxial laser beam, coupled through a dispersive interaction. To achieve strong entanglement between the collective atomic spin and the photons, one must match the spatial mode of the collective radiation of the ensemble with the mode of the laser beam while minimizing the effects of decoherence due to optical pumping. For ensembles coupling to a probe field that varies over the extent of the cloud, the set of atoms that indistinguishably radiates into a desired mode of the field defines an inhomogeneous spin wave. Strong coupling of a spin wave to the probe mode is not characterized by a single parameter, the optical density, but by a collection of different effective atom numbers that characterize the coherence and decoherence of the system. To model the dynamics of the system, we develop a full stochastic master equation, including coherent collective scattering into paraxial modes, decoherence by local inhomogeneous diffuse scattering, and backaction due to continuous measurement of the light entangled with the spin waves. This formalism is used to study the squeezing of a spin wave via continuous quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement. We find that the greatest squeezing occurs in parameter regimes where spatial inhomogeneities are significant, far from the limit in which the interface is well approximated by a one-dimensional, homogeneous model.

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