arXiv subjects

Marina Radulaski

Publications and source records attributed to Marina Radulaski.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Photonic Analog Quantum Simulation of (1+1)-Dimensional $U(1)$ Lattice Gauge Theory with Dynamical Matter

We propose a photonic scheme for analog quantum simulation of a $U(1)$ Lattice Gauge Theory (LGT) with dynamical matter based on the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard (JCH) model. Here, an array of interacting cavities in the strong-coupling regime of cavity Quantum Electrodynamics is mapped onto the alternating matter and gauge-field sites of the spin-1/2 Quantum Link Model. In contrast to other analog LGT quantum simulation methods, our approach implements the desired gauge-invariant dynamics through the hopping of polaritonic excitations among the array sites. The hopping is mapped to the gauge theory via precise tuning of polaritonic resonances in individual cavities. Using exact diagonalization, we show that the real-time evolution of the JCH model accurately replicates that of a Quantum Link Model. Finally, we discuss feasible routes to the beyond-classical simulation capability with scalable implementations in photonic and superconducting systems. This provides a novel route towards understanding the real-time dynamics of lattice gauge theories with matter in higher dimensions.

hep-lat↗

arXiv2026

Cryogenic Systems for Quantum Photonic Technologies: A Practical Review

While nonclassical light sources are fundamental to quantum communication and computing, solid-state platforms like color centers and quantum dots require cryogenic temperatures to reach the performance levels necessary for practical applications. Over the past decade, low-temperature engineering has transitioned from manual handling of liquid cryogens to automated closed-cycle cryostats. This review details the principles behind modern cooling hardware ranging from flow cryostats to mechanical cryocoolers and dilution refrigerators, with a specific focus on the requirements of optical quantum devices. Aimed at the practicing scientist, this overview provides the technical insights and historical context needed to navigate the current cryogenic landscape and evaluate its role in the future of quantum technology deployment.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Seeing the forbidden: overcoming optical selection rules through nanophotonic integration

Optically addressable spin defects in silicon carbide, including the neutral divacancy (VV$^0$) and the negative nitrogen-vacancy (NV$^-$), are among leading building blocks of solid-state quantum technologies. Integrating these defects into photonic structures such as nanopillars improves photon collection efficiency, but the consequences extend further. We show that the sub-wavelength geometry of nanopillars drastically modifies the local electromagnetic environment, providing optical access to defect transitions that are otherwise suppressed by selection rules in bulk material. Using low-temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy, we observe that emission from the PL3 divacancy, which is nearly absent in planar devices, becomes pronounced in nanopillars owing to a polarization transformation of the excitation field within the pillar. We further leverage the orientation-dependent collection of nanopillars to resolve the origin of previously ambiguous spectral lines. In particular, the NV4$'$ feature displays the signal enhancement expected for axially oriented NV$^-$ centres, consistent with assignment to a higher excited state of the $kh$ defect configuration. Our results establish nanophotonic integration as a symmetry-sensitive probe that can both activate nominally dark transitions and identify the dipole character of poorly understood defect states.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Observation of Photon Blockade in a Tavis-Cummings System

We observe blockade of microwave photons in a Tavis-Cummings system comprising a superconducting cavity and up to $N=3$ transmon qubits. The effect is characterized with photon number-resolving spectroscopy using an additional dispersively coupled transmon "witness" qubit to directly probe the cavity's photon number distribution. We first observe polariton formation with splitting proportional to $\sqrt{N}$, confirming the Tavis-Cummings coupling, and subsequently obtain sub-Poissonian cavity photon statistics when the cavity is driven at polariton frequencies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Digital Quantum Simulations of the Non-Resonant Open Tavis-Cummings Model

The open Tavis--Cummings model consists of $N$ quantum emitters interacting with a common cavity mode, accounts for losses and decoherence, and is frequently explored for quantum information processing and designing quantum devices. As $N$ increases, it becomes harder to simulate the open Tavis--Cummings model using traditional methods. To address this problem, we implement two quantum algorithms for simulating the dynamics of this model in the inhomogeneous, non-resonant regime, with up to three excitations in the cavity. We show that the implemented algorithms have gate complexities that scale polynomially, as $O(N^2)$ and $O(N^3)$, while the number of qubits used by these algorithms (space complexity) scales linearly as $O(N)$. One of these algorithms is the sampling-based wave matrix Lindbladization algorithm, for which we propose two protocols to implement its system-independent fixed interaction, resolving key open questions of [Patel and Wilde, Open Sys. & Info. Dyn., 30:2350014 (2023)]. We benchmark our results against a classical differential equation solver in a variety of scenarios and demonstrate that our algorithms accurately reproduce the expected dynamics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Triangular cross-section grating couplers for integrated quantum nanophotonic hardware in silicon carbide

We design, fabricate, and characterize fishbone grating couplers for triangular cross-section photonics in silicon carbide compatible with color center integration. The periodic and aperiodic grating coupler designs are optimized to outcouple up to 31% of light in the fundamental TE mode of a triangular waveguide. The devices are fabricated using an ion beam etching process in a 4H-SiC sample implanted with NV center ensembles. The room-temperature transmission and the cryogenic NV center photoluminescence collection measurements indicate experimental grating coupler efficiency of up to 24%. This result provides a scalable method to efficiently extract color center light from SiC quantum nanophotonic devices to free-space optics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Wafer-Scale Integration of Freestanding Photonic Devices with Color Centers in Silicon Carbide

Color center platforms have been at the forefront of quantum nanophotonics for applications in quantum networking, computing, and sensing. However, large-scale deployment of this technology has been stifled by a lack of ability to integrate photonic devices at scale while maintaining the properties of quantum emitters. We address this challenge in silicon carbide which has both commercially available wafer-scale substrates and is a host to color centers with desirable optical and spin properties. Using ion beam etching at an angle, we develop a 5-inch wafer process for the fabrication of triangular cross-section photonic devices in bulk 4H-SiC. The developed process has a variability in etch rate and etch angle of 5.4% and 2.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the integrated color centers maintain their optical properties after the etch, thus achieving the nanofabrication goal of wafer-scale nanofabrication in quantum-grade silicon carbide.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Digital Quantum Simulation of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics: Insights from Superconducting and Trapped Ion Quantum Testbeds

We explore the potential for hybrid development of quantum hardware where currently available quantum computers simulate open Cavity Quantum Electrodynamical (CQED) systems for applications in optical quantum communication, simulation and computing. Our simulations make use of a recent quantum algorithm that maps the dynamics of a singly excited open Tavis-Cummings model containing N atoms coupled to a lossy cavity. We report the results of executing this algorithm on two noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers: a superconducting processor and a trapped ion processor, to simulate the population dynamics of an open CQED system featuring N = 3 atoms. By applying technology-specific transpilation and error mitigation techniques, we minimize the impact of gate errors, noise, and decoherence in each hardware platform, obtaining results which agree closely with the exact solution of the system. These results can be used as a recipe for efficient and platform-specific quantum simulation of cavity-emitter systems on contemporary and future quantum computers.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Sub-2 Kelvin characterization of nitrogen-vacancy centers in silicon carbide nanopillars

The development of efficient quantum communication technologies depends on the innovation in multiple layers of its implementation, a challenge we address from the fundamental properties of the physical system at the nano-scale to the instrumentation level at the macro-scale. We select a promising near infrared quantum emitter, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in 4H-SiC, and integrate it, at an ensemble level, with nanopillar structures that enhance photon collection efficiency into an objective lens. Moreover, changes in collection efficiency in pillars compared to bulk can serve as indicators of color center orientation in the lattice. To characterize NV center properties at the unprecedented sub-2 Kelvin temperatures, we incorporate compatible superconducting nanowire single photon detectors inside the chamber of an optical cryostat and create the ICECAP, the Integrated Cryogenic system for Emission, Collection And Photon-detection. ICECAP measurements show no significant linewidth broadening of NV ensemble emission and up to 14-fold enhancement in collected emission. With additional filtering, we measure emitter lifetimes of NV centers in a basal ($hk$) and an axial ($kk$) orientation unveiling their cryogenic values of 2.2 ns and 2.8 ns.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Efficient quantum algorithms for testing symmetries of open quantum systems

Symmetry is an important and unifying notion in many areas of physics. In quantum mechanics, it is possible to eliminate degrees of freedom from a system by leveraging symmetry to identify the possible physical transitions. This allows us to simplify calculations and characterize potentially complicated dynamics of the system with relative ease. Previous works have focused on devising quantum algorithms to ascertain symmetries by means of fidelity-based symmetry measures. In our present work, we develop alternative symmetry testing quantum algorithms that are efficiently implementable on quantum computers. Our approach estimates asymmetry measures based on the Hilbert--Schmidt distance, which is significantly easier, in a computational sense, than using fidelity as a metric. The method is derived to measure symmetries of states, channels, Lindbladians, and measurements. We apply this method to a number of scenarios involving open quantum systems, including the amplitude damping channel and a spin chain, and we test for symmetries within and outside the finite symmetry group of the Hamiltonian and Lindblad operators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Singly-excited resonant open quantum system Tavis-Cummings model with quantum circuit mapping

Tavis-Cummings (TC) cavity quantum electrodynamical effects, describing the interaction of $N$ atoms with an optical resonator, are at the core of atomic, optical and solid state physics. The full numerical simulation of TC dynamics scales exponentially with the number of atoms. By restricting the open quantum system to a single excitation, typical of experimental realizations in quantum optics, we analytically solve the TC model with an arbitrary number of atoms with linear complexity. This solution allows us to devise the Quantum Mapping Algorithm of Resonator Interaction with $N$ Atoms (Q-MARINA), an intuitive TC mapping to a quantum circuit with linear space and time scaling, whose $N+1$ qubits represent atoms and a lossy cavity, while the dynamics is encoded through $2N$ entangling gates. Finally, we benchmark the robustness of the algorithm on a quantum simulator and superconducting quantum processors against the quantum master equation solution on a classical computer.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Triangular Cross-Section Beam Splitters in Silicon Carbide for Quantum Information Processing

Triangular cross-section color center photonics in silicon carbide is a leading candidate for scalable implementation of quantum hardware. Within this geometry, we model low-loss beam splitters for applications in key quantum optical operations such as entanglement and single-photon interferometry. We consider triangular cross-section single-mode waveguides for the design of a directional coupler. We optimize parameters for a 50:50 beam splitter. Finally, we test the experimental feasibility of the designs by fabricating triangular waveguides in an ion beam etching process and identify suitable designs for short-term implementation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Utilizing photonic band gap in triangular silicon carbide structures for efficient quantum nanophotonic hardware

Silicon carbide is among the leading quantum information material platforms due to the long spin coherence and single-photon emitting properties of its color center defects. Applications of silicon carbide in quantum networking, computing, and sensing rely on the efficient collection of color center emission into a single optical mode. Recent hardware development in this platform has focused on angle-etching processes that preserve emitter properties and produce triangularly shaped devices. However, little is known about the light propagation in this geometry. We explore the formation of photonic band gap in structures with a triangular cross-section, which can be used as a guiding principle in developing efficient quantum nanophotonic hardware in silicon carbide. Furthermore, we propose applications in three areas: the TE-pass filter, the TM-pass filter, and the highly reflective photonic crystal mirror, which can be utilized for efficient collection and propagating mode selection of light emission.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Triangular Quantum Photonic Devices with Integrated Detectors in Silicon Carbide

Triangular cross-section SiC photonic devices have been studied as an efficient and scalable route for integration of color centers into quantum hardware. In this work, we explore efficient collection and detection of color center emission in a triangular cross-section SiC waveguide by introducing a photonic crystal mirror on its one side and a superconducting nanowire single photon detector (SNSPD) on the other. Our modeled triangular cross-section devices with a randomly positioned emitter have a maximum coupling efficiency of 89 % into the desired optical mode and a high coupling efficiency (> 75 %) in more than half of the configurations. For the first time, NbTiN thin films were sputtered on 4H-SiC and the electrical and optical properties of the thin films were measured. We found that the transport properties are similar to the case of NbTiN on SiO2 substrates, while the extinction coefficient is up to 50 % higher for 1680 nm wavelength. Finally, we performed Finite-Difference Time-Domain simulations of triangular cross-section waveguide integrated with an SNSPD to identify optimal nanowire geometries for efficient detection of light from TE and TM polarized modes.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Quantum photonics in triangular-cross-section nanodevices in silicon carbide

Silicon carbide is evolving as a prominent solid-state platform for the realization of quantum information processing hardware. Angle-etched nanodevices are emerging as a solution to photonic integration in bulk substrates where color centers are best defined. We model triangular cross-section waveguides and photonic crystal cavities using Finite-Difference Time-Domain and Finite-Difference Eigensolver approaches. We analyze optimal color center positioning within the modes of these devices and provide estimates on achievable Purcell enhancement in nanocavities with applications in quantum communications. Using open quantum system modeling, we explore emitter-cavity interactions of multiple non-identical color centers coupled to both a single cavity and a photonic crystal molecule in SiC. We observe polariton and subradiant state formation in the cavity-protected regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics applicable in quantum simulation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Effect of Emitters on Quantum State Transfer in Coupled Cavity Arrays

Over the last decade, conditions for perfect state transfer in quantum spin chains have been discovered, and their experimental realizations addressed. In this paper, we consider an extension of such studies to quantum state transfer in a coupled cavity array including the effects of atoms in the cavities which can absorb and emit photons as they propagate down the array. Our model is equivalent to previously examined spin chains in the one-excitation sector and in the absence of emitters. We introduce a Monte Carlo approach to the inverse eigenvalue problem which allows the determination of the inter-cavity and cavity-emitter couplings resulting in near-perfect quantum state transfer fidelity, and examine the time dependent polariton wave function through exact diagonalization of the resulting Tavis-Cummings-Hubbard Hamiltonian. The effect of inhomogeneous emitter locations is also evaluated.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Polariton Creation in Coupled Cavity Arrays with Spectrally Disordered Emitters

Integrated photonics has been a promising platform for analog quantum simulation of condensed matter phenomena in strongly correlated systems. To that end, we explore the implementation of all-photonic quantum simulators in coupled cavity arrays with integrated ensembles of spectrally disordered emitters. Our model is reflective of color center ensembles integrated into photonic crystal cavity arrays. Using the Quantum Master Equation and the Effective Hamiltonian approaches, we study energy band formation and wavefunction properties in the open quantum Tavis-Cummings-Hubbard framework. We find conditions for polariton creation and (de)localization under experimentally relevant values of disorder in emitter frequencies, cavity resonance frequencies, and emitter-cavity coupling rates. To quantify these properties, we introduce two metrics, the polaritonic and nodal participation ratios, that characterize the light-matter hybridization and the node delocalization of the wavefunction, respectively. These new metrics combined with the Effective Hamiltonian approach prove to be a powerful toolbox for cavity quantum electrodynamical engineering of solid-state systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Quantum Information Processing With Integrated Silicon Carbide Photonics

Color centers in wide band gap semiconductors are prominent candidates for solid-state quantum technologies due to their attractive properties including optical interfacing, long coherence times, spin-photon and spin-spin entanglement, as well as the potential for scalability. Silicon carbide color centers integrated into photonic devices span a wide range of applications in quantum information processing, in a material platform with quantum-grade wafer availability and advanced processing capabilities. Recent progress in emitter generation and characterization, nanofabrication, device design, and quantum optical studies have amplified the scientific interest in this platform. We provide a conceptual and quantitative analysis of the role of silicon carbide integrated photonics in three key application areas: quantum networking, simulation, and computing.

quant-ph↗