arXiv subjects

Wen-Long Ma

Publications and source records attributed to Wen-Long Ma.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno Responses: Universal Spectral Criterion for Measurement-Induced Decay

We develop a general framework for characterizing the response of an evolving quantum system to repetitive quantum measurements. Modeling each evolution-measurement cycle as a quantum channel induced by an effective Liouvillian generator, we find that the Liouvillian spectral gap determines the measurement-induced decay rate. We analyze how the spectral gap responds to the measurement frequency, and define a quantum Zeno response as a decrease in the gap with increasing measurement frequency, and an anti-Zeno response as the opposite. We illustrate this criterion for both discrete-time and continuous-time quantum measurements. In an exactly solvable discrete-time qubit model, the exceptional-point spectral coalescence or spectral crossings mark the transition between Zeno and anti-Zeno responses, which can be experimentally distinguished from the long-time decay envelope of the survival probability. In a continuous-time superconducting-qubit defect model, the same transition manifests as smooth extrema of the spectral gap. Our results establish a universal spectral criterion for measurement-induced decay, offering a practical route to identify and manipulate these effects in generic quantum systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Sequential quantum nonlocality sharing under local noisy quantum channels

Sequential sharing of quantum nonlocality (SSQN) is crucial for device-independent tasks in quantum information processing, wherein relaying the post-measurement qubit through a local quantum channel to a subsequent observer constitutes an essential operational step. Here we present a theoretical analysis of noise robustness of sequential sharing for bipartite Bell and tripartite Mermin nonlocality under the influence of local phase-flip, bit-flip, and depolarizing quantum channels. It is proved that arbitrarily many independent observers can sequentially share the quantum nonlocality of Bell, Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger, and W states via respective noise-immune channels, whereas such unbound feature of SSQN is lost under other local noisy quantum channels. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the noise-immune channel enabling unbounded SSQN can be switched by employing our newly designed measurement strategies assisted by local unitary operations on the initial entangled states. Moreover, as illustrative examples of noise robustness, we propose two concrete schemes for sharing Bell and Mermin nonlocality with two sequential local observers on one side subject to local noisy channels. Our work establishes a practical framework for realizing the SSQN under noisy quantum channels, and reveals the connection between noise robustness and measurement strategies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Universal Characterization of Classical Qubit Noise

We propose a general method to fully characterize a classical stochastic noise process causing qubit dephasing through repetitive Ramsey interferometry measurements (RIMs) on the qubit. Compared to filter-function-based spectroscopy, our method does not require complicated dynamical decoupling pulses and can directly detect arbitrary-order correlation functions of such noise processes. We show that each RIM with a short evolution time and suitably chosen control pulses can perform a direct sampling of the noise field and the $n$-point correlations of the RIM outcomes are proportional to the $n$-point correlation functions of the noise processes. Then we numerically demonstrate this method for characterizing two typical examples of classical noises, including the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes producing Gaussian noises and an ensemble of TLFs producing non-Gaussian noises. Our method is independent of qubit lifetime and robust against qubit decoherence and measurement errors, thus offering a universal and efficient protocol for qubit noise spectroscopy across diverse platforms.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Pontryagin's Principle for Leakage-Immune Adiabatic Quantum State Transfer

The standard stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) protocol enables high-fidelity quantum state transfer in an ideal three-level system via adiabatic following of a dark state evolution. However, in practical systems with more energy levels, control pulses with finite spectral selectivity often couple the three-level subspace to the remaining subspace, introducing leakage that fundamentally limits the transfer performance. Here, we adopt a multilevel chain model for STIRAP that explicitly incorporates this leakage subspace. Using Pontryagin's maximum principle, we formulate a leakage-penalized quantum optimal control problem with the control pulses constrained to experimentally feasible Gaussian pulse families. We derive explicit gradients of the objective functional with respect to the pulse parameters, enabling efficient low-dimensional optimization that suppresses leakage while preserving the counterintuitive STIRAP pulse ordering. Numerical simulations for a superconducting transmon platform demonstrate that the optimized control pulses can significantly enhance the target-state transfer fidelity and provide enhanced robustness to amplitude miscalibration and detuning drifts.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Resource-Efficient Noise Spectroscopy for Generic Quantum Dephasing Environments

We present a resource-efficient method based on repetitive weak measurements to directly measure the noise spectrum of a generic quantum environment that causes qubit phase decoherence. The weak measurement is induced by a Ramsey interferometry measurement (RIM) on the qubit and periodically applied during the free evolution of the environment. We prove that the measurement correlation of such repetitive RIMs approximately corresponds to a direct sampling of the noise correlation function, thus enabling direct noise spectroscopy of the environment. Compared to dynamical-decoupling-based noise spectroscopy, this method can efficiently measure the full noise spectrum with the detected frequency range not limited by qubit coherence time. This method is also more resource-efficient than the correlation spectroscopy, as for the same detection accuracy with $N$ sampling times, it takes total detection time $O(N)$ while the latter one takes time $O(N^2)$. We numerically demonstrate this method for both bosonic and spin baths.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Spectrum measurement of quantum channels and application to Hamiltonian parameter estimation

Quantum channels describe the most general dynamics of open quantum systems. A quantum channel, as a linear map on vectorized quantum states, can be represented by a single matrix, whose spectrum is called the channel spectrum. Here we propose a general method to measure the channel spectrum and apply this method to Hamiltonian parameter estimation. We first demonstrate that the channel spectrum can be measured by tracking the probability of a specific outcome in repeated application of the same channel. Then we construct and analyze {a class of concatenated channels, with each one being a unitary channel followed by a weak-measurement channel induced by a Ramsey sequence of a probe qubit}. We show that the spectrum measurement of such concatenated channels can be utilized for estimating the parameters in the free Hamiltonians generating the unitary channels of the target system. As practical examples, we numerically demonstrate that a probe spin qubit can accurately sense nuclear spin clusters for nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Long-range bipartite entanglement in XXZ spin chains with the exponential and power-law long-range interactions

Long-range bipartite entanglement (LBE) and its distribution properties are studied in XXZ spin chains with the exponential and power-law long-range interactions (ELRIs and PLRIs). LBE quantified by two-qubit concurrence decays exponentially along with two-site distance in the infinite chain with ELRIs in the thermodynamic limit, and the long-range behavior of two-spin entanglement can detect the quantum phase transition and identify different quantum phases away from the critical point. Moreover, a fine-grained LBE distribution relation is obtained for the infinite XXZ spin chain. On the other hand, in the finite XXZ spin chain with the conventional PLRIs, the long-range concurrence decays algebraically and the total one is no longer monotonic along with the chain length. The total LBE distribution property can exhibit a piecewise function, which has a close relationship with the decaying mode and strength of PLRIs. These LBE relations can be regarded as the generalization of Koashi-Bužek-Imoto bound for the prototypical long-range XXZ model, having potential applications in quantum information processing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum-Classical Boundary Engineering in Weak-to-Strong Measurements via Squeezed Vacua

This study establishes a post-selected von Neumann framework to regulate non-classical features of single-photon-subtracted squeezed vacuum (SPSSV) and two-mode squeezed vacuum (TMSV) states during weak-to-strong measurement transitions. By synergizing Wigner-Yanase skew information, Amplitude Squared (AS) squeezing, sum squeezing, and photon statistics, we demonstrate weak value amplification as a unified control mechanism for quantum properties. Phase-space analysis via the Husimi Kano Q function reveals a critical transition: as coupling strength increases, SPSSV and TMSV states evolve from quantum non-Gaussianity to classical single-peak separability, marking a quantum-classical boundary crossing. This critical point is validated as the optimal threshold for noise suppression and signal enhancement in quantum metrology. The work provides a tunable platform for quantum sensing and weak-signal detection technologies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

General Approach to Error Detection of Bosonic Codes via Phase Estimation

We present a general approach to error detection of bosonic quantum error-correction codes via an adaptive quantum phase estimation algorithm assisted by a single ancilla qubit. The approach is applicable to a broad class of bosonic codes whose error syndromes are described by symmetry or stabilizer operators, including the rotation-symmetric codes and Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) codes. The detection precision scales inversely with the total evolution time and thus reaches the Heisenberg limit. We numerically demonstrate the approach for several examples, such as detecting bosonic excitation loss errors in high-order cat or binomial codes and displacement errors in finite-energy GKP codes. We also extend the approach to efficiently generate arbitrary Fock states. Our schemes are feasible in present-day experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Observation of metastability in open quantum dynamics of a solid-state system

Metastability is a ubiquitous phenomenon in non-equilibrium physics and classical stochastic dynamics.It arises when the system dynamics settles in long-lived states before eventually decaying to true equilibria. Remarkably, it has been predicted that quantum metastability can also occur in continuous-time and discrete-time open quantum dynamics. However, the direct experimental observation of metastability in open quantum systems has remained elusive. Here, we experimentally observe metastability in the discrete-time evolution of a single nuclear spin in diamond, realized by sequential Ramsey interferometry measurements of a nearby nitrogen-vacancy electron spin. We demonstrate that the metastable polarization of the nuclear spin emerges at around 60,000-250,000 sequential measurements, enabling high-fidelity single-shot readout of the nuclear spin under a small magnetic field of 108.4 gauss. An ultra-long spin relaxation time of more than 10 s has been observed at room temperature. By further increasing the measurement number, the nuclear spin eventually relaxes into the maximally mixed state. Our results represent a concrete step towards uncovering non-equilibrium physics in open quantum dynamics, which is practically relevant for the utilization of metastable information in various quantum information processing tasks, such as accurate quantum operations, quantum channel discrimination and quantum error correction.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Diverse methods and practical aspects in controlling single semiconductor qubits: a review

Quantum control allows a wide range of quantum operations employed in molecular physics, nuclear magnetic resonance and quantum information processing. Thanks to the existing microelectronics industry, semiconducting qubits, where quantum information is encoded in spin or charge degree freedom of electrons or nuclei in semiconductor quantum dots, constitute a highly competitive candidate for scalable solid-state quantum technologies. In quantum information processing, advanced control techniques are needed to realize quantum manipulations with both high precision and noise resilience. In this review, we first introduce the basics of various widely-used control methods, including resonant excitation, adabatic passage, shortcuts to adiabaticity, composite pulses, and quantum optimal control. Then we review the practical aspects in applying these methods to realize accurate and robust quantum gates for single semiconductor qubits, such as Loss-DiVincenzo spin qubit, spinglet-triplet qubit, exchange-only qubit and charge qubit.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Channel-based framework for phase esimation of multiple eigenvalues

Quantum phase estimation (QPE) of the eigenvalues of a unitary operator on a target quantum system is a crucial subroutine in various quantum algorithms. Conventional QPE is often expensive to implement as it requires a large number of ancilla qubits and the ability to perform quantum Fourier transform. Recent developments in iterative QPE reduce the implementation cost by repetitive uses of a single ancilla and classical post-processing. However, both conventional and iterative schemes often require preparation of the target system in an eigenstate of the unitary operator, while it remains ambiguous to achieve QPE of multiple eigenvalues with no need of initial state preparation. Here we clarify this issue by developing a theoretical framework based on sequential quantum channels for iterative QPE. We find that QPE of multiple eigenvalues can be efficiently realized for arbitrary initial target system state by actively utilizing the measurement backaction of iterative QPE on the target system with a long coherence time. Specifically, we investigate two iterative QPE schemes based on sequential Ramsey interferometry measurements (RIMs) of an ancilla qubit: (a) the repetitive scheme, which conducts repetitive RIMs to achieve the standard quantum limit in estimating the eigenvalues; (b) the adaptive scheme, which adjusts the parameters of each RIM based on prior measurement outcomes to attain the Heisenberg limit. In both schemes, sequential ancilla measurements generate sequential quantum channels on the target system, gradually steering it to the eigenstates of the estimated unitary operator, while the measurement statistics of the ancilla can reveal the embedded information about its eigenvalues with proper post-processing. We demonstrate the analysis by simulating a central spin model, and evaluate the performance and noise resilience of both schemes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

How coherence measurements of a qubit steer its quantum environment

Repetitive Ramsey interferometry measurements (RIMs) are often used to measure qubit coherence, assuming that the environment remains unaffected after each measurement and the outcomes of all measurements are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.). While this assumption is valid for a classical environment, it may not hold for a quantum environment due to the non-negligible backaction from qubit to environment. Here we present a general theoretical framework to incorporate the measurement backaction from qubit to environment in sequential RIMs. We show that a RIM of a qubit induces a quantum channel on the quantum environment, and sequential RIMs gradually steer the quantum environment to the fixed points of the channel. We reveal three distinct environment steering effects -- polarization, depolarization and metastable polarization, depending on the commutativity of the noise operator $B$ and the free environment Hamiltonian $H_e$: (1) if $B$ commutes with $H_e$, i.e., $[B,H_e]=0$, the quantum environment is gradually polarized to different eigenstates of $B$ as the number $m$ of repetitive RIMs increases; (2) When $[B,H_e]\neq 0$, the quantum environment is gradually depolarized to a maximally mixed state of its whole Hilbert space or a Hilbert subspace; (3) When $[B,H_e]\neq 0$ but one of $H_e$ and $B$ is a small perturbation on the other, metastable polarization can happen, such that the quantum environment is first polarized for a finite range of $m$ but becomes gradually depolarized as $m$ increases further. The environment steering also makes the measurement statistics of sequential RIMs develop non-i.i.d. features, such that the measurement result distribution can display multiple peaks for a small quantum environment, corresponding to different fixed points of the quantum channel.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Theory of Metastability in Discrete-Time Open Quantum Dynamics

Metastability in open system dynamics describes the phenomena of initial relaxation to longlived metastable states before decaying to the asymptotic stable states. It has been predicted in continuous-time stochastic dynamics of both classical and quantum systems. Here we present a general theory of metastability in discrete-time open quantum dynamics, described by sequential quantum channels. We focus on a general class of quantum channels on a target system, induced by an ancilla system with a pure-dephasing coupling to the target system and under Ramsey sequences. Interesting metastable behaviors are predicted and numerically demonstrated by decomposing the average dynamics into stochastic trajectories. Examples and applications are also discussed.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Diagnosing Quantum Phases Using Long-Range Two-Site Quantum Resource Behaviors

We propose and demonstrate that the behaviors of long-range, two-site quantum resources can effectively diagnose quantum phases. In an XX spin chain with symmetry-breaking quantum phase transitions, we reveal that the asymptotic and oscillating decay modes of quantum coherence or quantum discord, along with two-site distance, can identify two spin-liquid phases. Furthermore, based on our analytical results of spin correlation functions, we confirm the existence of long-range entanglement in the system and establish a connection between two-site entanglement and quantum phases. Additionally, for the extended Ising model with topological phase transitions, we find that coherence and quantum discord behaviors can also signify topological quantum phases. In particular, we discover the quantum resource freezing phenomenon, where topologically protected long-range quantum resources may have potential applications in quantum information processing.

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arXiv2022

Sequential generalized measurements: Asymptotics, typicality and emergent projective measurements

The relation between projective measurements and generalized quantum measurements is a fundamental problem in quantum physics, and clarifying this issue is also important to quantum technologies. While it has been intuitively known that projective measurements can be constructed from sequential generalized or weak measurements, there is still lack of a proof of this hypothesis in general cases. Here we prove it from the perspective of quantum channels. We show that projective measurements naturally arise from sequential generalized measurements in the asymptotic limit. Specifically, a selective projective measurement arises from a set of typical sequences of selective generalized measurements. We provide an explicit scheme to construct projective measurements of a quantum system with sequential generalized measurements. Remarkably, a single ancilla qubit is sufficient to mediate sequential generalized measurements for constructing arbitrary projective measurements of a generic system.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Algebraic structure of path-independent quantum control

Path-independent (PI) quantum control has recently been proposed to integrate quantum error correction and quantum control [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 110503 (2020)], achieving fault-tolerant quantum gates against ancilla errors. Here we reveal the underlying algebraic structure of PI quantum control. The PI Hamiltonians and propagators turn out to lie in an algebra isomorphic to the ordinary matrix algebra, which we call the PI matrix algebra. The PI matrix algebra, defined on the Hilbert space of a composite system (including an ancilla system and a central system), is isomorphic to the matrix algebra defined on the Hilbert space of the ancilla system. By extending the PI matrix algebra to the Hilbert-Schmidt space of the composite system, we provide an exact and unifying condition for PI quantum control against ancilla noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

The emergent linear Rashba spin-orbit coupling offering the fast manipulation of hole-spin qubits in germanium

The electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) combining strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) and electric-dipole transitions facilitates fast spin control in a scalable way, which is the critical aspect of the rapid progress made recently in germanium (Ge) hole-spin qubits. However, a puzzle is raised because centrosymmetric Ge lacks the Dresselhaus SOC, a key element in the initial proposal of the hole-based EDSR. Here, we demonstrate that the recently uncovered finite k-linear Rashba SOC of 2D holes offers fast hole spin control via EDSR with Rabi frequencies in excellent agreement with experimental results over a wide range of driving fields. We also suggest that the Rabi frequency can reach 500 MHz under a higher gate electric field or multiple GHz in a replacement by [110]oriented wells. These findings bring a deeper understanding for hole-spin qubit manipulation and offer design principles to boost the gate speed.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗