arXiv subjects

Luming Duan

Publications and source records attributed to Luming Duan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

QuCtrl-BELL: A Compiler-Driven Sub-Microsecond Feedback Control Stack for Scalable Trapped-Ion Quantum Experiments

As trapped-ion quantum computing scales to larger qubit registers and more complex control protocols, classical control systems face a fundamental tradeoff: sub-microsecond board-level feedback requires tight hardware coupling, whereas maintainability and extensibility require clean, modular software abstractions. This paper presents QuCtrl-BELL (Bell), a compiler-driven software stack for trapped-ion quantum control. The design resolves this tradeoff by decoupling control flow -- including loops, branches, and synchronization -- from hardware state data. A Python-embedded domain-specific language (DSL) is lowered through a six-stage transpilation pipeline covering control flow graph (CFG) construction, static single-assignment (SSA) conversion, liveness analysis, and graph-coloring register allocation. The compiler generates deterministic distributed board-level programs and compact step-table data. A cross-board synchronization protocol supports feedback loops with latency below 700~ns without host intervention. Bell is deployed and evaluated on the QuCtrl-BELL platform (RISC-V + PXIe), demonstrating that a compiler-based infrastructure can provide programmability, deterministic timing, and modularity for scalable trapped-ion quantum control.

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arXiv2026

Global Parametric Gates for Multi-qubit Entanglement

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a global parametric gate that generates multi-qubit entangled states in a single step. By applying a parametric drive to a common qubit at precise detunings relative to computational qubits, we directly produce two-, three-, and four-qubit entanglement with state fidelities of 99.4\%\pm0.2\%, 93.4\%\pm0.3\%, and 91.4\%\pm0.3\%, respectively. This scheme enables efficient, reconfigurable control using only microwave drives and is compatible with fixed-frequency qubits. Error analyses indicate that infidelity stems primarily from decoherence and coherent control errors, with negligible contributions from static ZZ coupling and flux noise. Furthermore, simulations with state-of-the-art parameters predict this global gate can generate high-fidelity (99.70\%) entanglement in systems of up to six qubits.

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arXiv2025

Scalable and modular generation of multipartite entangled states through memory-enhanced fusion

Efficient generation of large-scale multipartite entangled states is a critical but challenging task in quantum information processing. Although generation of multipartite entanglement within a small set of individual qubits has been demonstrated, further scale-up in system size requires the connection of smaller entangled states into a larger state in a scalable and modular manner. Here we achieve this goal by implementing memory-enhanced fusion of two multipartite entangled states via photonic interconnects. Through asynchronous preparation of two tripartite W-state entanglements in two spatially-separated modules of atomic quantum memories and on-demand fusion via single-photon interference, we demonstrate the creation of a four-partite W-state entanglement shared by two remote quantum memory modules in a heralded way. We further transfer the W state from the memory qubits to the photonic qubits, and confirm the genuine four-partite entanglement through witness measurements. We then demonstrate memory-enhanced scaling in efficiencies in the entanglement fusion. The demonstrated scalable generation and fusion of multipartite entangled states pave the way towards realization of large-scale distributed quantum information processing in the future.

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arXiv2025

Scalable Low-overhead Superconducting Non-local Coupler with Exponentially Enhanced Connectivity

Quantum error correction codes with non-local connections such as quantum low-density parity-check (qLDPC) incur lower overhead and outperform surface codes on large-scale devices. These codes are not applicable on current superconducting devices with nearest-neighbor connections. To rectify the deficiency in connectivity of superconducting circuit system, we experimentally demonstrate a convenient on-chip coupler of centimeters long and propose an extra coupler layer to map the qubit array to a binary-tree connecting graph. This mapping layout reduces the average qubit entangling distance from O(N) to O(logN), demonstrating an exponentially enhanced connectivity with eliminated crosstalk. The entangling gate with the coupler is performed between two fluxonium qubits, reaching a fidelity of 99.37 % while the system static ZZ rate remains as low as 144 Hz without active cancellation or circuit parameter targeting. With the scalable binary tree structure and high-fidelity non-local entanglement, novel quantum algorithms can be implemented on the superconducting qubit system, positioning it as a strong competitor to other physics systems regarding circuit connectivity.

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arXiv2025

Performance Analysis for Crosstalk Errors between Parallel Entangling Gates in Trapped Ion Quantum Error Correction

The ability to execute a large number of quantum gates in parallel is a fundamental requirement for quantum error correction, allowing an error threshold to exist under the finite coherence time of physical qubits. Recently, two-dimensional ion crystals have been demonstrated as a plausible approach to scale up the qubit number in a trapped ion quantum computer. However, although the long-range Coulomb interaction between the ions enables their strong connectivity, it also complicates the design of parallel gates and leads to intrinsic crosstalk errors. Here we examine the effects of crosstalk errors on a rotated surface code. We show that, instead of the distance-3 code considered in previous works, a distance-5 code is necessary to correct the two-qubit crosstalk error. We numerically calculate the logical error rates and coherence times under various crosstalk errors, gate infidelities and coherence times of the physical qubits, and we optimize the parallelism level according to the competition between different error sources. We show that a break-even point can be reached under realistic parameters. We further analyze the spatial dependence of the crosstalk, and discuss the scaling of the logical error rate versus the code distance for the long-term goal of a logical error rate below $10^{-10}$.

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arXiv2024

Observation of quantum superposition of topological defects in a trapped ion quantum simulator

Topological defects are discontinuities of a system protected by global properties, with wide applications in mathematics and physics. While previous experimental studies mostly focused on their classical properties, it has been predicted that topological defects can exhibit quantum superposition. Despite the fundamental interest and potential applications in understanding symmetry-breaking dynamics of quantum phase transitions, its experimental realization still remains a challenge. Here, we report the observation of quantum superposition of topological defects in a trapped-ion quantum simulator. By engineering long-range spin-spin interactions, we observe a spin kink splitting into a superposition of kinks at different positions, creating a ``Schrodinger kink'' that manifests non-locality and quantum interference. Furthermore, by preparing superposition states of neighboring kinks with different phases, we observe the propagation of the wave packet in different directions, thus unambiguously verifying the quantum coherence in the superposition states. Our work provides useful tools for non-equilibrium dynamics in quantum Kibble-Zurek physics.

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arXiv2024

Experimental realization of direct entangling gates between dual-type qubits

Dual-type qubits have become a promising way to suppress the crosstalk error of auxiliary operations in large-scale ion trap quantum computation. Here we demonstrate a direct entangling gate between dual-type qubits encoded in the $S_{1/2}$ and $D_{5/2}$ hyperfine manifolds of $^{137}\mathrm{Ba}^{+}$ ions. Our scheme is economic in the hardware, requiring only a single $532\,$nm laser system to entangle both qubit types by driving their Raman transitions. We achieve a Bell state fidelity of $96.3(4)\%$ for the dual-type Molmer-Sorensen gate between an $S$-$D$ ion pair, comparable to that for the same-type $S$-$S$ or $D$-$D$ gates. This technique can reduce the overhead for back-and-forth conversions between dual-type qubits in the quantum circuit with wide applications in quantum error correction and ion-photon quantum networks.

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arXiv2024

Electromagnetically-Induced-Transparency Cooling of High-Nuclear-Spin Ions

We report the electromagnetically-induced-transparency (EIT) cooling of $^{137}\mathrm{Ba}^{+}$ ions with a nuclear spin of $I=3/2$, which are a good candidate of qubits for future large-scale trapped ion quantum computing. EIT cooling of atoms or ions with a complex ground-state level structure is challenging due to the lack of an isolated $\Lambda$ system, as the population can escape from the $\Lambda$ system to reduce the cooling efficiency. We overcome this issue by leveraging an EIT pumping laser to repopulate the cooling subspace, ensuring continuous and effective EIT cooling. We cool the two radial modes of a single $^{137}\mathrm{Ba}^{+}$ ion to average motional occupations of 0.08(5) and 0.15(7) respectively. Using the same laser parameters, we also cool all the ten radial modes of a five-ion chain to near their ground states. Our approach can be adapted to atomic species possessing similar level structures. It allows engineering of the EIT Fano-like spectrum, which can be useful for simultaneous cooling of modes across a wide frequency range, aiding in large-scale trapped-ion quantum information processing.

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arXiv2024

A cryogenic on-chip microwave pulse generator for large-scale superconducting quantum computing

For superconducting quantum processors, microwave signals are delivered to each qubit from room-temperature electronics to the cryogenic environment through coaxial cables. Limited by the heat load of cabling and the massive cost of electronics, such an architecture is not viable for millions of qubits required for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Monolithic integration of the control electronics and the qubits provides a promising solution, which, however, requires a coherent cryogenic microwave pulse generator that is compatible with superconducting quantum circuits. Here, we report such a signal source driven by digital-like signals, generating pulsed microwave emission with well-controlled phase, intensity, and frequency directly at millikelvin temperatures. We showcase high-fidelity readout of superconducting qubits with the microwave pulse generator. The device demonstrated here has a small footprint, negligible heat load, great flexibility to operate, and is fully compatible with today's superconducting quantum circuits, thus providing an enabling technology for large-scale superconducting quantum computers.

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arXiv2024

Realization of a programmable multi-purpose photonic quantum memory with over-thousand qubit manipulations

Quantum networks can enable various applications such as distributed quantum computing, long-distance quantum communication, and network-based quantum sensing with unprecedented performances. One of the most important building blocks for a quantum network is a photonic quantum memory which serves as the interface between the communication channel and the local functional unit. A programmable quantum memory which can process a large stream of flying qubits and fulfill the requirements of multiple core functions in a quantum network is still to-be-realized. Here we report a high-performance quantum memory which can simultaneously store 72 optical qubits carried by 144 spatially separated atomic ensembles and support up to a thousand consecutive write or read operations in a random access way, two orders of magnitude larger than the previous record. Due to the built-in programmability, this quantum memory can be adapted on-demand for several functions. As example applications, we realize quantum queue, stack, and buffer which closely resemble the counterpart devices for classical information processing. We further demonstrate the synchronization and reshuffle of 4 entangled pairs of photonic pulses with probabilistic arrival time and arbitrary release order via the memory, which is an essential requirement for the realization of quantum repeaters and efficient routing in quantum networks. Realization of this multi-purpose programmable quantum memory thus constitutes a key enabling building block for future large-scale fully-functional quantum networks.

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arXiv2024

Fast delivery of heralded atom-photon quantum correlation over 12km fiber through multiplexing enhancement

Distributing quantum entanglement between distant parties is a significant but difficult task in quantum information science, as it can enable numerous applications but suffers from exponential decay in the quantum channel. Quantum repeater is one of the most promising approaches towards this goal. In a quantum repeater protocol, it is essential that the entanglement generation speed within each elementary link is faster than the memory decoherence rate, to enable the scale-up of the quantum repeater by connecting neighboring repeater segments. This stringent requirement has not been implemented over a fiber of metropolitan scale so far. As a step towards this challenging goal, in this work we experimentally realize multiplexing-enhanced generation of heralded atom-photon quantum correlation over a 12km fiber. We excite the memory modes in a multiplexed quantum memory successively to generate 280 pairs of atom-photon quantum correlations with a train of photonic time-bin pulses filling the long fiber. After successful detection of a heralding signal, the excited memory mode can be identified and retrieved into idler photons on demand with either fixed or variable storage time. With the multiplexing enhancement, the heralding rate of atom-photon correlation can reach 1.95kHz, and the ratio between the quantum correlation generation rate to memory decoherence rate can be improved to 0.46 for a fiber length of 12km, which is so far the best for long fiber length (>10km) to our knowledge. This work therefore constitutes an important step towards the realization of a large-scale quantum repeater network.

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arXiv2023

Frequency-tunable microwave quantum light source based on superconducting quantum circuits

A nonclassical light source is essential for implementing a wide range of quantum information processing protocols, including quantum computing, networking, communication, and metrology. In the microwave regime, propagating photonic qubits that transfer quantum information between multiple superconducting quantum chips serve as building blocks of large-scale quantum computers. In this context, spectral control of propagating single photons is crucial for interfacing different quantum nodes with varied frequencies and bandwidth. Here we demonstrate a microwave quantum light source based on superconducting quantum circuits that can generate propagating single photons, time-bin encoded photonic qubits and qudits. In particular, the frequency of the emitted photons can be tuned in situ as large as 200 MHz. Even though the internal quantum efficiency of the light source is sensitive to the working frequency, we show that the fidelity of the propagating photonic qubit can be well preserved with the time-bin encoding scheme. Our work thus demonstrates a versatile approach to realizing a practical quantum light source for future distributed quantum computing.

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arXiv2023

Probing Complex-energy Topology via Non-Hermitian Absorption Spectroscopy in a Trapped Ion Simulator

Non-Hermitian systems generically have complex energies, which may host topological structures, such as links or knots. While there has been great progress in experimentally engineering non-Hermitian models in quantum simulators, it remains a significant challenge to experimentally probe complex energies in these systems, thereby making it difficult to directly diagnose complex-energy topology. Here, we experimentally realize a two-band non-Hermitian model with a single trapped ion whose complex eigenenergies exhibit the unlink, unknot or Hopf link topological structures. Based on non-Hermitian absorption spectroscopy, we couple one system level to an auxiliary level through a laser beam and then experimentally measure the population of the ion on the auxiliary level after a long period of time. Complex eigenenergies are then extracted, illustrating the unlink, unknot or Hopf link topological structure. Our work demonstrates that complex energies can be experimentally measured in quantum simulators via non-Hermitian absorption spectroscopy, thereby opening the door for exploring various complex-energy properties in non-Hermitian quantum systems, such as trapped ions, cold atoms, superconducting circuits or solid-state spin systems.

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arXiv2023

Deterministic quantum teleportation between distant superconducting chips

Quantum teleportation~\cite{Bennett1993} is of both fundamental interest and great practical importance in quantum information science. To date, quantum teleportation has been implemented in various physical systems~\cite{Pirandola2015}, among which superconducting qubits are of particular practical significance as they emerge as a leading system to realize large-scale quantum computation~\cite{Arute2019,Wu2021}. Nevertheless, the number of superconducting qubits on the same chip is severely limited by the available chip size, the cooling power, and the wiring complexity. Realization of quantum teleportation and remote computation over qubits on distant superconducting chips is a key quantum communication technology to scaling up the system through a distributed quantum computational network~\cite{Gottesman1999,Eisert2000,Jiang2007,Kimble2008,Monroe2014}. However, this goal has not been realized yet in experiments due to the technical challenge of making a quantum interconnect between distant superconducting chips and the inefficient transfer of flying microwave photons over the lossy interconnects~\cite{Kurpiers2018,Axline2018,Campagne2018,Magnard2020}. Here we demonstrate deterministic teleportation of quantum states and entangling gates between distant superconducting chips connected by a 64-meter-long cable bus featuring an ultralow loss of 0.32~dB/km at cryogenic temperatures, where high fidelity remote entanglement is generated via flying microwave photons utilizing time-reversal-symmetry~\cite{Cirac1997,Korotkov2011}. Apart from the fundamental interest of teleporting macroscopic superconducting qubits over a long distance, our work lays a foundation to realization of large-scale superconducting quantum computation through a distributed computational network~\cite{Gottesman1999,Eisert2000,Jiang2007,Kimble2008,Monroe2014}.

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arXiv2022

An ultra-high gain single-photon transistor in the microwave regime

A photonic transistor that can switch or amplify an optical signal with a single gate photon requires strong non-linear interaction at the single-photon level. Circuit quantum electrodynamics provides great flexibility to generate such an interaction, and thus could serve as an effective platform to realize a high-performance single-photon transistor. Here we demonstrate such a photonic transistor in the microwave regime. Our device consists of two microwave cavities dispersively coupled to a superconducting qubit. A single gate photon imprints a phase shift on the qubit state through one cavity, and further shifts the resonance frequency of the other cavity. In this way, we realize a gain of the transistor up to 53.4 dB, with an extinction ratio better than 20 dB. Our device outperforms previous devices in the optical regime by several orders in terms of optical gain, which indicates a great potential for application in the field of microwave quantum photonics and quantum information processing.

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arXiv2022

Experimental preparation of generalized cat states for itinerant microwave photons

Generalized cat states represent arbitrary superpositions of coherent states, which are of great importance in various quantum information processing protocols. Here we demonstrate a versatile approach to creating generalized itinerant cat states in the microwave domain, by reflecting coherent state photons from a microwave cavity containing a superconducting qubit. We show that, with a coherent control of the qubit state, a full control over the coherent state superposition can be realized. The prepared cat states are verified through quantum state tomography of the qubit state dependent reflection photon field. We further quantify quantum coherence in the prepared cat states based on the resource theory, revealing a good experimental control on the coherent state superpositions. The photon number statistic and the squeezing properties are also analyzed. Remarkably, fourth-order squeezing is observed in the experimental states. Those results open up new possibilities of applying generalized cat states for the purpose of quantum information processing.

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arXiv2022

Experimental Realization of the Rabi-Hubbard Model with Trapped Ions

Quantum simulation provides important tools in studying strongly correlated many-body systems with controllable parameters. As a hybrid of two fundamental models in quantum optics and in condensed matter physics, the Rabi-Hubbard model demonstrates rich physics through the competition between local spin-boson interactions and long-range boson hopping. Here we report an experimental realization of the Rabi-Hubbard model using up to $16$ trapped ions and present a controlled study of its equilibrium properties and quantum dynamics. We observe the ground-state quantum phase transition by slowly quenching the coupling strength, and measure the quantum dynamical evolution in various parameter regimes. With the magnetization and the spin-spin correlation as probes, we verify the prediction of the model Hamiltonian by comparing theoretical results in small system sizes with experimental observations. For larger-size systems of $16$ ions and $16$ phonon modes, the effective Hilbert space dimension exceeds $2^{57}$, whose dynamics is intractable for classical supercomputers.

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arXiv2022

A flying Schrödinger cat in multipartite entangled states

Schrödinger's cat originates from the famous thought experiment querying the counterintuitive quantum superposition of macroscopic objects. As a natural extension, several "cats" (quasi-classical objects) can be prepared into coherent quantum superposition states, which is known as multipartite cat states demonstrating quantum entanglement among macroscopically distinct objects. Here we present a highly scalable approach to deterministically create flying multipartite Schrödinger cat states, by reflecting coherent state photons from a microwave cavity containing a superconducting qubit. We perform full quantum state tomography on the cat states with up to four photonic modes and confirm the existence of quantum entanglement among them. We also witness the hybrid entanglement between discrete-variable states (the qubit) and continuous-variable states (the flying multipartite cat) through a joint quantum state tomography. Our work demonstrates an important experimental control method in the microwave region and provides an enabling step for implementing a series of quantum metrology and quantum information processing protocols based on cat states.

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