arXiv subjects

Youwei Zhao

Publications and source records attributed to Youwei Zhao.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

How to Design a Classically Difficult Random Quantum Circuit for Quantum Computational Advantage Experiments

Quantum computational advantage is a critical milestone for near-term quantum technologies and an essential step towards building practical quantum computers. Recent successful demonstrations of quantum computational advantage owe much to specifically designed random quantum circuit (RQC) protocols that enable hardware-friendly implementation and, more importantly, pose great challenges for classical simulation. Here, we report the automated protocol design approach used for finding the optimal RQC in the \textit{Zuchongzhi} quantum computational advantage experiment [Phys. Rev. Lett. 127 (18), 180501 (2021)]. Without a carefully designed protocol, the classical simulation cost of the \textit{Zuchongzhi}'s 56-qubit 20-cycle RQC experiment would not be considerably higher than Google's 53-qubit 20-cycle experiment, even though more qubits are involved. For Google's latest RQC experiment using $70$ qubits and $24$ cycles [arXiv:2304.11119 (2023)], we estimate that its classical simulation cost can be increased by at least one order of magnitude using our approach. The proposed method can be applied to generic planar quantum processor architectures and addresses realistic imperfections such as processor defects, underpinning quantum computational advantage experiments in future generations of quantum processors.

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arXiv2024

Low-Overhead Defect-Adaptive Surface Code with Bandage-Like Super-Stabilizers

To make practical quantum algorithms work, large-scale quantum processors protected by error-correcting codes are required to resist noise and ensure reliable computational outcomes. However, a major challenge arises from defects in processor fabrication, as well as occasional losses or cosmic rays during the computing process, all of which can lead to qubit malfunctions and disrupt error-correcting codes' normal operations. In this context, we introduce an automatic adapter to implement the surface code on defective lattices. Unlike previous approaches, this adapter leverages newly proposed bandage-like super-stabilizers to save more qubits when defects are clustered, thus enhancing the code distance and reducing super-stabilizer weight. For instance, in comparison with earlier methods, with a code size of 27 and a random defect rate of 2\%, the disabled qubits decrease by $1/3$, and the average preserved code distance increases by 63\%. This demonstrates a significant reduction in overhead when handling defects using our approach, and this advantage amplifies with increasing processor size and defect rates. Our work presents a low-overhead, automated solution to the challenge of adapting the surface code to defects, an essential step towards scaling up the construction of large-scale quantum computers for practical applications.

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arXiv2023

Logical Magic State Preparation with Fidelity Beyond the Distillation Threshold on a Superconducting Quantum Processor

Fault-tolerant quantum computing based on surface code has emerged as an attractive candidate for practical large-scale quantum computers to achieve robust noise resistance. To achieve universality, magic states preparation is a commonly approach for introducing non-Clifford gates. Here, we present a hardware-efficient and scalable protocol for arbitrary logical state preparation for the rotated surface code, and further experimentally implement it on the \textit{Zuchongzhi} 2.1 superconducting quantum processor. An average of \hhl{$0.8983 \pm 0.0002$} logical fidelity at different logical states with distance-three is achieved, \hhl{taking into account both state preparation and measurement errors.} In particular, \hhl{the magic states $|A^{π/4}\rangle_L$, $|H\rangle_L$, and $|T\rangle_L$ are prepared non-destructively with logical fidelities of $0.8771 \pm 0.0009 $, $0.9090 \pm 0.0009 $, and $0.8890 \pm 0.0010$, respectively, which are higher than the state distillation protocol threshold, 0.859 (for H-type magic state) and 0.827 (for T -type magic state).} Our work provides a viable and efficient avenue for generating high-fidelity raw logical magic states, which is essential for realizing non-Clifford logical gates in the surface code.

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arXiv2023

Experimental Simulation of Larger Quantum Circuits with Fewer Superconducting Qubits

Although near-term quantum computing devices are still limited by the quantity and quality of qubits in the so-called NISQ era, quantum computational advantage has been experimentally demonstrated. Moreover, hybrid architectures of quantum and classical computing have become the main paradigm for exhibiting NISQ applications, where low-depth quantum circuits are repeatedly applied. In order to further scale up the problem size solvable by the NISQ devices, it is also possible to reduce the number of physical qubits by "cutting" the quantum circuit into different pieces. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated a circuit-cutting method for simulating quantum circuits involving many logical qubits, using only a few physical superconducting qubits. By exploiting the symmetry of linear-cluster states, we can estimate the effectiveness of circuit-cutting for simulating up to 33-qubit linear-cluster states, using at most 4 physical qubits for each subcircuit. Specifically, for the 12-qubit linear-cluster state, we found that the experimental fidelity bound can reach as much as 0.734, which is about 19\% higher than a direct simulation {on the same} 12-qubit superconducting processor. Our results indicate that circuit-cutting represents a feasible approach of simulating quantum circuits using much fewer qubits, while achieving a much higher circuit fidelity.

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arXiv2022

Experimental quantum computational chemistry with optimised unitary coupled cluster ansatz

Quantum computational chemistry has emerged as an important application of quantum computing. Hybrid quantum-classical computing methods, such as variational quantum eigensolvers (VQE), have been designed as promising solutions to quantum chemistry problems, yet challenges due to theoretical complexity and experimental imperfections hinder progress in achieving reliable and accurate results. Experimental works for solving electronic structures are consequently still restricted to nonscalable (hardware efficient) or classically simulable (Hartree-Fock) ansatz, or limited to a few qubits with large errors. The experimental realisation of scalable and high-precision quantum chemistry simulation remains elusive. Here, we address the critical challenges {associated with} solving molecular electronic structures using noisy quantum processors. Our protocol presents significant improvements in the circuit depth and running time, key metrics for chemistry simulation. Through systematic hardware enhancements and the integration of error mitigation techniques, we push forward the limit of experimental quantum computational chemistry and successfully scale up the implementation of VQE with an optimised unitary coupled-cluster ansatz to 12 qubits. We produce high-precision results of the ground-state energy for molecules with error suppression by around two orders of magnitude. We achieve chemical accuracy for H$_2$ at all bond distances and LiH at small bond distances in the experiment, even beyond the two recent concurrent works. Our work demonstrates a feasible path towards a scalable solution to electronic structure calculation, validating the key technological features and identifying future challenges for this goal.

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arXiv2022

Quantum Neuronal Sensing of Quantum Many-Body States on a 61-Qubit Programmable Superconducting Processor

Classifying many-body quantum states with distinct properties and phases of matter is one of the most fundamental tasks in quantum many-body physics. However, due to the exponential complexity that emerges from the enormous numbers of interacting particles, classifying large-scale quantum states has been extremely challenging for classical approaches. Here, we propose a new approach called quantum neuronal sensing. Utilizing a 61 qubit superconducting quantum processor, we show that our scheme can efficiently classify two different types of many-body phenomena: namely the ergodic and localized phases of matter. Our quantum neuronal sensing process allows us to extract the necessary information coming from the statistical characteristics of the eigenspectrum to distinguish these phases of matter by measuring only one qubit. Our work demonstrates the feasibility and scalability of quantum neuronal sensing for near-term quantum processors and opens new avenues for exploring quantum many-body phenomena in larger-scale systems.

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arXiv2022

Realization of fast all-microwave CZ gates with a tunable coupler

The development of high-fidelity two-qubit quantum gates is essential for digital quantum computing. Here, we propose and realize an all-microwave parametric Controlled-Z (CZ) gates by coupling strength modulation in a superconducting Transmon qubit system with tunable couplers. After optimizing the design of the tunable coupler together with the control pulse numerically, we experimentally realized a 100 ns CZ gate with high fidelity of 99.38%$ \pm$0.34% and the control error being 0.1%. We note that our CZ gates are not affected by pulse distortion and do not need pulse correction, {providing a solution for the real-time pulse generation in a dynamic quantum feedback circuit}. With the expectation of utilizing our all-microwave control scheme to reduce the number of control lines through frequency multiplexing in the future, our scheme draws a blueprint for the high-integrable quantum hardware design.

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arXiv2022

Realization of an Error-Correcting Surface Code with Superconducting Qubits

Quantum error correction is a critical technique for transitioning from noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices to fully fledged quantum computers. The surface code, which has a high threshold error rate, is the leading quantum error correction code for two-dimensional grid architecture. So far, the repeated error correction capability of the surface code has not been realized experimentally. Here, we experimentally implement an error-correcting surface code, the distance-3 surface code which consists of 17 qubits, on the \textit{Zuchongzhi} 2.1 superconducting quantum processor. By executing several consecutive error correction cycles, the logical error can be significantly reduced after applying corrections, achieving the repeated error correction of surface code for the first time. This experiment represents a fully functional instance of an error-correcting surface code, providing a key step on the path towards scalable fault-tolerant quantum computing.

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arXiv2021

Realization of high-fidelity CZ gates in extensible superconducting qubits design with a tunable coupler

High-fidelity two-qubits gates are essential for the realization of large-scale quantum computation and simulation. Tunable coupler design is used to reduce the problem of parasitic coupling and frequency crowding in many-qubit systems and thus thought to be advantageous. Here we design a extensible 5-qubit system in which center transmon qubit can couple to every four near-neighbor qubit via a capacitive tunable coupler and experimentally demonstrate high-fidelity controlled-phase (CZ) gate by manipulating center qubit and one near-neighbor qubit. Speckle purity benchmarking (SPB) and cross entrophy benchmarking (XEB) are used to assess the purity fidelity and the fidelity of the CZ gate. The average purity fidelity of the CZ gate is 99.69$\pm$0.04\% and the average fidelity of the CZ gate is 99.65$\pm$0.04\% which means the control error is about 0.04\%. Our work will help resovle many chanllenges in the implementation of large scale quantum systems.

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arXiv2021

Quantum Computational Advantage via 60-Qubit 24-Cycle Random Circuit Sampling

To ensure a long-term quantum computational advantage, the quantum hardware should be upgraded to withstand the competition of continuously improved classical algorithms and hardwares. Here, we demonstrate a superconducting quantum computing systems \textit{Zuchongzhi} 2.1, which has 66 qubits in a two-dimensional array in a tunable coupler architecture. The readout fidelity of \textit{Zuchongzhi} 2.1 is considerably improved to an average of 97.74\%. The more powerful quantum processor enables us to achieve larger-scale random quantum circuit sampling, with a system scale of up to 60 qubits and 24 cycles. The achieved sampling task is about 6 orders of magnitude more difficult than that of Sycamore [Nature \textbf{574}, 505 (2019)] in the classic simulation, and 3 orders of magnitude more difficult than the sampling task on \textit{Zuchongzhi} 2.0 [arXiv:2106.14734 (2021)]. The time consumption of classically simulating random circuit sampling experiment using state-of-the-art classical algorithm and supercomputer is extended to tens of thousands of years (about $4.8\times 10^4$ years), while \textit{Zuchongzhi} 2.1 only takes about 4.2 hours, thereby significantly enhancing the quantum computational advantage.

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arXiv2021

Experimental Quantum Generative Adversarial Networks for Image Generation

Quantum machine learning is expected to be one of the first practical applications of near-term quantum devices. Pioneer theoretical works suggest that quantum generative adversarial networks (GANs) may exhibit a potential exponential advantage over classical GANs, thus attracting widespread attention. However, it remains elusive whether quantum GANs implemented on near-term quantum devices can actually solve real-world learning tasks. Here, we devise a flexible quantum GAN scheme to narrow this knowledge gap, which could accomplish image generation with arbitrarily high-dimensional features, and could also take advantage of quantum superposition to train multiple examples in parallel. For the first time, we experimentally achieve the learning and generation of real-world hand-written digit images on a superconducting quantum processor. Moreover, we utilize a gray-scale bar dataset to exhibit the competitive performance between quantum GANs and the classical GANs based on multilayer perceptron and convolutional neural network architectures, respectively, benchmarked by the Fréchet Distance score. Our work provides guidance for developing advanced quantum generative models on near-term quantum devices and opens up an avenue for exploring quantum advantages in various GAN-related learning tasks.

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arXiv2021

Quantum walks on a programmable two-dimensional 62-qubit superconducting processor

Quantum walks are the quantum mechanical analogue of classical random walks and an extremely powerful tool in quantum simulations, quantum search algorithms, and even for universal quantum computing. In our work, we have designed and fabricated an 8x8 two-dimensional square superconducting qubit array composed of 62 functional qubits. We used this device to demonstrate high fidelity single and two particle quantum walks. Furthermore, with the high programmability of the quantum processor, we implemented a Mach-Zehnder interferometer where the quantum walker coherently traverses in two paths before interfering and exiting. By tuning the disorders on the evolution paths, we observed interference fringes with single and double walkers. Our work is an essential milestone in the field, brings future larger scale quantum applications closer to realization on these noisy intermediate-scale quantum processors.

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arXiv2021

Floquet Prethermal Phase Protected by U(1) Symmetry on a Superconducting Quantum Processor

Periodically driven systems, or Floquet systems, exhibit many novel dynamics and interesting out-of-equilibrium phases of matter. Those phases arising with the quantum systems' symmetries, such as global $U(1)$ symmetry, can even show dynamical stability with symmetry-protection. Here we experimentally demonstrate a $U(1)$ symmetry-protected prethermal phase, via performing a digital-analog quantum simulation on a superconducting quantum processor. The dynamical stability of this phase is revealed by its robustness against external perturbations. We also find that the spin glass order parameter in this phase is stabilized by the interaction between the spins. Our work reveals a promising prospect in discovering emergent quantum dynamical phases with digital-analog quantum simulators.

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arXiv2021

Strong quantum computational advantage using a superconducting quantum processor

Scaling up to a large number of qubits with high-precision control is essential in the demonstrations of quantum computational advantage to exponentially outpace the classical hardware and algorithmic improvements. Here, we develop a two-dimensional programmable superconducting quantum processor, \textit{Zuchongzhi}, which is composed of 66 functional qubits in a tunable coupling architecture. To characterize the performance of the whole system, we perform random quantum circuits sampling for benchmarking, up to a system size of 56 qubits and 20 cycles. The computational cost of the classical simulation of this task is estimated to be 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than the previous work on 53-qubit Sycamore processor [Nature \textbf{574}, 505 (2019)]. We estimate that the sampling task finished by \textit{Zuchongzhi} in about 1.2 hours will take the most powerful supercomputer at least 8 years. Our work establishes an unambiguous quantum computational advantage that is infeasible for classical computation in a reasonable amount of time. The high-precision and programmable quantum computing platform opens a new door to explore novel many-body phenomena and implement complex quantum algorithms.

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arXiv2021

Experimental exploration of five-qubit quantum error correcting code with superconducting qubits

Quantum error correction is an essential ingredient for universal quantum computing. Despite tremendous experimental efforts in the study of quantum error correction, to date, there has been no demonstration in the realisation of universal quantum error correcting code, with the subsequent verification of all key features including the identification of an arbitrary physical error, the capability for transversal manipulation of the logical state, and state decoding. To address this challenge, we experimentally realise the $[\![5,1,3]\!]$ code, the so-called smallest perfect code that permits corrections of generic single-qubit errors. In the experiment, having optimised the encoding circuit, we employ an array of superconducting qubits to realise the $[\![5,1,3]\!]$ code for several typical logical states including the magic state, an indispensable resource for realising non-Clifford gates. The encoded states are prepared with an average fidelity of $57.1(3)\%$ while with a high fidelity of $98.6(1)\%$ in the code space. Then, the arbitrary single-qubit errors introduced manually are identified by measuring the stabilizers. We further implement logical Pauli operations with a fidelity of $97.2(2)\%$ within the code space. Finally, we realise the decoding circuit and recover the input state with an overall fidelity of $74.5(6)\%$, in total with $92$ gates. Our work demonstrates each key aspect of the $[\![5,1,3]\!]$ code and verifies the viability of experimental realization of quantum error correcting codes with superconducting qubits.

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arXiv2020

Verification of a resetting protocol for an uncontrolled superconducting qubit

Quantum resetting protocols allow a quantum system to be sent to a state in the past by making it interact with quantum probes when neither the free evolution of the system nor the interaction is controlled. We experimentally verify the simplest non-trivial case of a quantum resetting protocol, known as the $\mathcal{W}_4$ protocol, with five superconducting qubits, testing it with different types of free evolutions and target-probe interactions. After projection, we obtained a reset state fidelity as high as $0.951$, and the process fidelity was found to be $0.792$. We also implemented 100 randomly-chosen interactions and demonstrated an average success probability of $0.323$ for $|1\rangle$ and $0.292$ for $|-\rangle$, experimentally confirmed the nonzero probability of success for unknown interactions; the numerical simulated values are about $0.3$. Our experiment shows that the simplest quantum resetting protocol can be implemented with current technologies, making such protocols a valuable tool in the eternal fight against unwanted evolution in quantum systems.

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arXiv2020

Experimental characterization of quantum many-body localization transition

As strength of disorder enhances beyond a threshold value in many-body systems, a fundamental transformation happens through which the entire spectrum localizes, a phenomenon known as many-body localization. This has profound implications as it breaks down fundamental principles of statistical mechanics, such as thermalization and ergodicity. Due to the complexity of the problem, the investigation of the many-body localization transition has remained a big challenge. The experimental exploration of the transition point is even more challenging as most of the proposed quantities for studying such effect are practically infeasible. Here, we experimentally implement a scalable protocol for detecting the many-body localization transition point, using the dynamics of a $N=12$ superconducting qubit array. We show that the sensitivity of the dynamics to random samples becomes maximum at the transition point which leaves its fingerprints in all spatial scales. By exploiting three quantities, each with different spatial resolution, we identify the transition point with excellent match between simulation and experiment. In addition, one can detect the evidence of mobility edge through slight variation of the transition point as the initial state varies. The protocol is easily scalable and can be performed across various physical platforms.

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arXiv2020

Emulating quantum teleportation of a Majorana zero mode qubit

Topological quantum computation based on anyons is a promising approach to achieve fault-tolerant quantum computing. The Majorana zero modes in the Kitaev chain are an example of non-Abelian anyons where braiding operations can be used to perform quantum gates. Here we perform a quantum simulation of topological quantum computing, by teleporting a qubit encoded in the Majorana zero modes of a Kitaev chain. The quantum simulation is performed by mapping the Kitaev chain to its equivalent spin version, and realizing the ground states in a superconducting quantum processor. The teleportation transfers the quantum state encoded in the spin-mapped version of the Majorana zero mode states between two Kitaev chains. The teleportation circuit is realized using only braiding operations, and can be achieved despite being restricted to Clifford gates for the Ising anyons. The Majorana encoding is a quantum error detecting code for phase flip errors, which is used to improve the average fidelity of the teleportation for six distinct states from $70.76 \pm 0.35 \% $ to $84.60 \pm 0.11 \%$, well beyond the classical bound in either case.

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