In this essay we discuss the issue of quantum information and recent nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. We explain why these experiments should be regarded as quantum information processing (QIP) despite the fact that, in present liquid state NMR experiments, no entanglement is found. We comment on how these experiments contribute to the future of QIP and include a brief discussion on the origin of the power of quantum computers.
We show that it is possible to transfer two-bit information via encoding a single qubit in a conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment with two very weakly polarized nuclear spins. Nevertheless, the experiment can not be regarded as a demonstration of superdense coding by means of NMR because it is based on the large number of molecules being involved in the ensemble state rather than the entanglement of the NMR states. Following the discussions, an entanglement witness, particularly applicable for NMR, is introduced based on separate and simultaneous measurement of the individu…
Multiple quantum (MQ) NMR with a dipolar ordered initial state opens new possibilities for the exploration of many-spin entanglement. In this paper, we investigate many-spin entanglement in a gas of spin-carrying molecules (atoms) in nanocavities in the conditions of MQ NMR with a dipolar ordered initial state. The second moment of the distribution of the intensities of MQ NMR coherences, which provides a lower bound on the quantum Fisher information, is used for an estimate of the number of the entangled spins. Many-spin entanglement is investigated at different temperatures and different num…
We use multiple quantum (MQ) NMR dynamics of a gas of spin-carrying molecules in nanocavities at high and low temperatures for an investigation of many-particle entanglement. A distribution of MQ NMR intensities is obtained at high and low temperatures in a system of 201 spins 1/2. The second moment of the distribution, which provides a lower bound on the quantum Fisher information, sheds light on the many-particle entanglement in the system. The dependence of the many-particle entanglement on the temperature is investigated. Almost all spins are entangled at low temperatures.
Random local measurements have recently been proposed to construct entanglement witnesses and thereby detect the presence of bipartite entanglement. We experimentally demonstrate the efficacy of one such scheme on a two-qubit NMR quantum information processor. We show that a set of three random local measurements suffices to detect the entanglement of a general two-qubit state. We experimentally generate states with different amounts of entanglement, and show that the scheme is able to clearly witness entanglement. We perform complete quantum state tomography for each state and compute state f…
We describe the experimental implementation of a recently proposed quantum algorithm involving quantum entanglement at the level of two qubits using NMR. The algorithm solves a generalisation of the Deutsch problem and distinguishes between even and odd functions using fewer function calls than is possible classically. The manipulation of entangled states of the two qubits is essential here, unlike the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm and the Grover's search algorithm for two bits.
In recent years, the performance of different entanglement indicators obtained directly from tomograms has been assessed in continuous-variable and hybrid quantum systems. In this paper, we carry out this task in the case of spin systems. We compute the entanglement indicators from actual experimental data obtained from three liquid-state NMR experiments, and compare them with standard entanglement measures calculated from the corresponding density matrices, both experimentally reconstructed and numerically computed. The gross features of entanglement dynamics and spin squeezing properties are…
A scheme to execute an n-bit Deutsch-Jozsa (D-J) algorithm using n qubits has been implemented for up to three qubits on an NMR quantum computer. For the one and two bit Deutsch problem, the qubits do not get entangled, hence the NMR implementation is achieved without using spin-spin interactions. It is for the three bit case, that the manipulation of entangled states becomes essential. The interactions through scalar J-couplings in NMR spin systems have been exploited to implement entangling transformations required for the three bit D-J algorithm.
Quantum correlations in multiple quantum (MQ) NMR experiments are investigated in two-spin systems (dimers). In the initial moment of time one spin is in a pure quantum polarized state and the other spin is in the thermodynamic equilibrium state defined by the temperature of the sample. MQ NMR dynamics of dimers is investigated. It is shown that MQ NMR coherences of only the zeroth and second orders emerge in such a system. The intensities of those coherences are calculated. Entangled states appear in the course of the system evolution in the MQ NMR experiment. The quantum discord is obtained …
We investigate the dynamics of entanglement and quantum discord of two qubits in liquid state homonuclear NMR. Applying a phenomenological description for NMR under relaxation process, and taking a group of typical parameters of NMR, we show that when a zero initial state $|00> $ experiences a relaxation process, its entanglement disappears completely after a sequence of so-called sudden deaths and revivals, while the quantum discord retains remarkable values after a sequence of oscillations. That is to say, the quantum discord is more robust than entanglement.
In the discussion about the quantumness of NMR computation a conclusion is done that computational states are separable and therefore can not be entangled. This conclusion is based on the assumption that the initial density matrix of an individual molecule coincides with whole sample molecules distribution over single molecule energy levels. This means that quantum stochasticity is replaced by classical stochasticity. In the present paper it is shown, that quantum NMR computation can create genuine entangled states if initial system states are thermodynamical equilibrium ones. A separability a…
Using an NMR quantum computer, we experimentally simulate the quantum phase transition of a Heisenberg spin chain. The Hamiltonian is generated by a multiple pulse sequence, the nuclear spin system is prepared in its (pseudo-pure) ground state and the effective Hamiltonian varied in such a way that the Heisenberg chain is taken from a product state to an entangled state and finally to a different product state.
Entanglement witnesses (EW) allow the detection of entanglement in a quantum system, from the measurement of some few observables. They do not require the complete determination of the quantum state, which is regarded as a main advantage. On this paper it is experimentally analyzed an entanglement witness recently proposed in the context of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments to test it in some Bell-diagonal states. We also propose some optimal entanglement witness for Bell-diagonal states. The efficiency of the two types of EW's are compared to a measure of entanglement with tomograp…
Entanglement control of qubits in a photoisomerizing molecule is studied in the context of an NMR quantum computer by taking azobenzene as an example. Azobenzene has two different isomers, {\it{}trans}-azobenzene (TAB) and {\it{}cis}-azobenzene (CAB), which can be interconverted by photoisomerization. Changing molecular structure leads to change in the spin-spin coupling constant, and hence leads to change in entangling operation time. We first obtain stable structures of TAB and CAB by {\it ab initio} calculation. Then, we calculate the NMR spectra of these isomers and verify that they reprod…
We investigate numerically the time dependence of the multiple quantum coherences and entanglement in linear chains up to nine nuclear spins of 1/2 coupled by the dipole-dipole interactions. Two models are considered: (1) a spin chain with nearest-neighbor dipole -dipole interactions; (2) a more realistic model with interactions between all spins. It is shown that the entangled states appear between remote particles which do not interact directly (model 1), while the interaction between all spins (model 2) not always results in entanglement between remote spins.
The quantum nature of bulk ensemble NMR quantum computing --the center of recent heated debate, is addressed. Concepts of the mixed state and entanglement are examined, and the data in a 2 qubit liquid NMR quantum computation are analyzed. It is pointed out that the key problem in the current debate is the understanding of entanglement in a mixed state system. The following points are concluded in this Letter: 1)Density matrix describes the "state" of an average particle in an ensemble. It can not describe the state of an individual particle in an ensemble in detail; 2) Entanglement is a prope…
The evolution of entanglement in a 3-spin chain with nearest-neighbor Heisenberg-XY interactions for different initial states is investigated here. In an NMR experimental implementation, we generate multipartite entangled states starting from initial separable pseudo-pure states by simulating nearest-neighbor XY interactions in a 3-spin linear chain of nuclear spin qubits. For simulating XY interactions, we follow algebraic method of Zhang et al. [Phys. Rev. A 72, 012331 (2005)]. Bell state between end qubits has been generated by using only the unitary evolution of the XY Hamiltonian. For gen…
We undertake experimental detection of the entanglement present in arbitrary three-qubit pure quantum states on an NMR quantum information processor. Measurements of only four observables suffice to experimentally differentiate between the six classes of states which are inequivalent under stochastic local operation and classical communication (SLOCC). The experimental realization is achieved by mapping the desired observables onto Pauli $z$-operators of a single qubit, which is directly amenable to measurement. The detection scheme is applied to known entangled states as well as to states ran…
We investigate the evolution of entanglement in multiple-quantum (MQ) NMR experiments in crystals with pairs of close nuclear spins-1/2. The initial thermodynamic equilibrium state of the system in a strong external magnetic field evolves under the non-secular part of the dipolar Hamiltonian. As a result, MQ coherences of the zeroth and plus/minus second orders appear. A simple condition for the emergence of entanglement is obtained. We show that the measure of the spin pair entanglement, concurrence, coincides qualitatively with the intensity of MQ coherences of the plus/minus second order an…
We experimentally demonstrate a new dynamic fashion of quantum Zeno effect in nuclear magnetic resonance systems. The frequent measurements are implemented through quantum entanglement between the target qubit(s) and the measuring qubit, which dynamically results from the unitary evolution of duration $τ_{m}$ due to dispersive-coupling. Experimental results testify the presence of "the critical measurement time effect", that is, the quantum Zeno effect does not occur when $τ_{m}$ takes the some critical values, even if the measurements are frequent enough. Moreover, we provide a first experime…
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has provided a valuable experimental testbed for quantum information processing (QIP). Here, we briefly review the use of nuclear spins as qubits, and discuss the current status of NMR-QIP. Advances in the techniques available for control are described along with the various implementations of quantum algorithms and quantum simulations that have been performed using NMR. The recent application of NMR control techniques to other quantum computing systems are reviewed before concluding with a description of the efforts currently underway to transition to solid st…
We construct a local realistic hidden-variable model that describes the states and dynamics of bulk-ensemble NMR information processing up to about 12 nuclear spins. The existence of such a model rules out violation of any Bell inequality, temporal or otherwise, in present high-temperature, liquid-state NMR experiments. The model does not provide an efficient description in that the number of hidden variables grows exponentially with the number of nuclear spins.
Optimal labeling schemes lead to efficient experimental protocols for quantum information processing by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A systematic approach of finding optimal labeling schemes for a given computation is described here. The scheme is described for both quadrupolar systems and spin-1/2 systems. Finally, one of the optimal labeling scheme has been used to experimentally implement a quantum full-adder in a 4-qubit system by NMR, using the technique of transition selective pulses.
While quantum information processing by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) with small number of qubits is well established, implementation of lengthy computations have proved to be difficult due to decoherence/relaxation. In such circumstances, shallow circuits (circuits using parallel computation) may prove to be realistic. Parity and fanout gates are essential to create shallow circuits. In this article we implement inversion-on-equality gate, followed by parity gate and fanout gate in 3-qubit systems by NMR, using evolution under indirect exchange coupling Hamiltonian.
While Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) techniques are unlikely to lead to a large scale quantum computer they are well suited to investigating basic phenomena and developing new techniques. Indeed it is likely that many existing NMR techniques will find uses in quantum information processing. Here I describe how the composite rotation (composite pulse) method can be used to develop quantum logic gates which are robust against systematic errors.
Quantum correlations are investigated theoretically in a two-spin system with the dipole-dipole interactions in the NMR multiple-pulse spin-locking experiments. We consider two schemes of the multiple-pulse spin-locking. The first scheme consists of $π/2$-pulses only and the delays between the pulses can differ. The second scheme contains $φ$-pulses ($0<φ<π$) and has equal delays between them. We calculate entanglement for both schemes for an initial separable state. We show that entanglement is absent for the first scheme at equal delays between $π/2$-pulses at arbitraty temperatures. Entangl…
We employ a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum information processor to simulate the ground state of an XXZ spin chain and measure its NMR analog of entanglement, or pseudo-entanglement. The observed pseudo-entanglement for a small-size system already displays singularity, a signature which is qualitatively similar to that in the thermodynamical limit across quantum phase transitions, including an infinite-order critical point. The experimental results illustrate a successful approach to investigate quantum correlations in many-body systems using quantum simulators.
Experimental realization of quantum information processing in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been well established. Implementation of conditional phase shift gate has been a significant step, which has lead to realization of important algorithms such as Grover's search algorithm and quantum Fourier transform. This gate has so far been implemented in NMR by using coupling evolution method. We demonstrate here the implementation of the conditional phase shift gate using transition selective pulses. As an application of the gate, we demonstrate Grover's search algorithm and qua…
The use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to carry out quantum information processing (QIP) often requires the preparation, transformation, and detection of pseudopure states. In our previous work, it was shown that the use of pairs of pseudopure states (POPS) as a basis for QIP is very convenient because of the simplicity in experimental execution. It is now further demonstrated that the product of the NMR spectra corresponding to two sets of POPS that share a common pseudopure state has the same peak frequencies as those of the common (single) pseudopure state. Examples of applying two dif…
A three-qubit 13C solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) system for quantum information processing, based on the malonic acid molecule, is used to demonstrate high-fidelity universal quantum control via strongly-modulating radio-frequency pulses. This control is achieved in the strong-coupling regime, in which the timescales of selective qubit addressing and of two-qubit interactions are comparable.
In this work, we have been working on the concept of quantum entanglement. At first, we studied the theory of entanglement in its characterization and measurement, introducing a new scheme for detection of entanglement. The new approach links molecular-spin entities involving nuclear spins to quantum computing as more appropriate physical systems of interest. Then, we continued with the realization of entanglement in experiments. NMR has been the first choice due to its well approved advantages for quantum computing. NMR, however, has not been an appropriate system for demonstrating entangled …
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) provides an experimental setting to explore physical implementations of quantum information processing (QIP). Here we introduce the basic background for understanding applications of NMR to QIP and explain their current successes, limitations and potential. NMR spectroscopy is well known for its wealth of diverse coherent manipulations of spin dynamics. Ideas and instrumentation from liquid state NMR spectroscopy have been used to experiment with QIP. This approach has carried the field to a complexity of about 10 qubits, a small number for quantum computation …
Theoretical Quantum Information Processing (QIP) has matured from the use of qubits to the use of qudits (systems having states> 2). Where as most of the experimental implementations have been performed using qubits, little experimental work has been carried out using qudits as yet. In this paper we demonstrate experimental realization of a qutrit system by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), utilizing deuterium (spin-1) nuclei partially oriented in liquid crystalline phase. Preparation of pseudopure states and implementation of unitary operations are demonstrated in this single-qutrit system, u…
Hadamard spectroscopy has earlier been used to speed-up multi-dimensional NMR experiments. In this work we speed-up the two-dimensional quantum computing scheme, by using Hadamard spectroscopy in the indirect dimension, resulting in a scheme which is faster and requires the Fourier transformation only in the direct dimension. Two and three qubit quantum gates are implemented with an extra observer qubit. We also use one-dimensional Hadamard spectroscopy for binary information storage by spatial encoding and implementation of a parallel search algorithm.
Quantum computing exploits fundamentally new models of computation based on quantum mechanical properties instead of classical physics, and it is believed that quantum computers are able to dramatically improve computational power for particular tasks. At present, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been one of the most successful platforms amongst all current implementations. It has demonstrated universal controls on the largest number of qubits, and many advanced techniques developed in NMR have been adopted to other quantum systems successfully. In this review, we show how NMR quantum proc…
This paper surveys our recent research on quantum information processing by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We begin with a geometric introduction to the NMR of an ensemble of indistinguishable spins, and then show how this geometric interpretation is contained within an algebra of multispin product operators. This algebra is used throughout the rest of the paper to demonstrate that it provides a facile framework within which to study quantum information processing more generally. The implementation of quantum algorithms by NMR depends upon the availability of special kinds of m…
Quantum ensembles form easily accessible architectures for studying various phenomena in quantum physics, quantum information science, and spectroscopy. Here we review some recent protocols for measurements in quantum ensembles by utilizing ancillary systems. We also illustrate these protocols experimentally via nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. In particular, we shall review noninvasive measurements, extracting expectation values of various operators, characterizations of quantum states, and quantum processes, and finally quantum noise engineering.
We report on the implementation of Burgers equation as a type-II quantum computation on an NMR quantum information processor. Since the flow field evolving under the Burgers equation develops sharp features over time, this is a better test of liquid state NMR implementations of type-II quantum computers than the previous examples using the diffusion equation. In particular, we show that Fourier approximations used in the encoding step are not the dominant error. Small systematic errors in the collision operator accumulate and swamp all other errors. We propose, and demonstrate, that the accumu…
Quantum information processing by liquid-state NMR spectroscopy uses pseudo-pure states to mimic the evolution and observations on true pure states. A new method of preparing pseudo-pure states is described, which involves the selection of the spatially labeled states of an ancilla spin with which the spin system of interest is correlated. This permits a general procedure to be given for the preparation of pseudo-pure states on any number of spins, subject to the limitations imposed by the loss of signal from the selected subensemble. The preparation of a single pseudo-pure state is demonstrat…
The existence of quantum correlation (as revealed by quantum discord), other than entanglement and its role in quantum-information processing (QIP), is a current subject for discussion. In particular, it has been suggested that this nonclassical correlation may provide computational speedup for some quantum algorithms. In this regard, bulk nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) has been successfully used as a test bench for many QIP implementations, although it has also been continuously criticized for not presenting entanglement in most of the systems used so far. In this paper, we report a theoret…
This thesis addresses the problems of initialization and separability in liquid state NMR based quantum information processors. We prepare pure quantum states lying above the entanglement threshold. Our pure state quantum computer derives its purity from the highly polarized nuclear spin states in the para-hydrogen molecule. The thesis begins with a critique of conventional NMR based quantum information processing outlining the major strengths and weaknesses of the technology. We describe the enhanced magnetic ordering of the nuclear spin states in para-hydrogen and an initialization experimen…
A connection of the Wigner-Yanase skew information and multiple quantum (MQ) NMR coherences is considered at different temperatures and evolution times of nuclear spins with dipole-dipole interactions in MQ NMR experiments in solids. It is shown that the Wigner-Yanase skew information at temperature $T$ is equal to the double second moment of the MQ NMR spectrum at the double temperature for any evolution times. A comparison of the many-spin entanglement obtained with the Wigner-Yanase information and the Fisher information is conducted.
Experimental construction of a symmetric three-qubit entangled state and its utility in testing the violation of a Bell inequality on an NMR quantum simulator
We performed a banged-digital-analog simulation of a quantum annealing protocol in a two-qubit Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) quantum computer. Our experimental simulation employed up to 235 Trotter steps, with more than 2000 gates (pulses), and we obtained a protocol success above 80%. Given the exquisite control of the NMR quantum computer, we performed the simulation with different noise levels. We thus analyzed the reliability of the quantum annealing process, and related it to the level of entanglement produced during the protocol. Although the presence of entanglement is not a sufficie…
We propose a new approach to the measurement of a single spin state, based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques and inspired by the coherent control over many-body systems envisaged by Quantum Information Processing (QIP). A single target spin is coupled via the natural magnetic dipolar interaction to a large ensemble of spins. Applying external radio frequency (rf) pulses, we can control the evolution of the system so that the spin ensemble reaches one of two orthogonal states whose collective properties differ depending on the state of the target spin and are easily measured. We fi…
After a general introduction to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we give the basics of implementing quantum algorithms. We describe how qubits are realized and controlled with RF pulses, their internal interactions, and gradient fields. A peculiarity of NMR is that the internal interactions (given by the internal Hamiltonian) are always on. We discuss how they can be effectively turned off with the help of a standard NMR method called ``refocusing''. Liquid state NMR experiments are done at room temperature, leading to an extremely mixed (that is, nearly random) initial state. Despite this hi…
A phenomenological theory of spin-lattice relaxation of multiple-quantum coherences in systems of two dipolar coupled spins at low temperatures is developed. Intensities of multiple-quantum NMR coherences depending on the spin-lattice relaxation time are obtained. It is shown that the theory is also applicable to finite spin chains when the approximation of nearest neighbour interaction is used. An application of this theory to an estimation of the influence of decoherence processes on quantum entanglement and its fluctuations is briefly discussed.
In conventional NMR experiments, the Zeeman energy gaps of the nuclear spin ensembles are much lower than their thermal energies, and accordingly exhibit tiny polarizations. Generally such low-purity quantum states are devoid of quantum entanglement. However, there exist certain nonclassical correlations which can be observed even in such systems. In this chapter, we discuss three such quantum correlations, namely, quantum contextuality, Leggett-Garg temporal correlations, and quantum discord. In each case, we provide a brief theoretical background and then describe some results from NMR exper…
NMR quantum information processing studies rely on the reconstruction of the density matrix representing the so-called pseudo-pure states (PPS). An initially pure part of a PPS state undergoes unitary and non-unitary (relaxation) transformations during a computation process, causing a "loss of purity" until the equilibrium is reached. Besides, upon relaxation, the nuclear polarization varies in time, a fact which must be taken into account when comparing density matrices at different instants. Attempting to use time-fixed normalization procedures when relaxation is present, leads to various an…
While a bit is the fundamental unit of binary classical information, a qubit is the fundamental unit of quantum information. In quantum information processing (QIP), it is customary to call the qubits under study as system qubits, and the additional qubits as ancillary qubits. In this thesis, I describe various schemes to exploit the ancillary qubits to efficiently perform many QIP tasks and their experimental demonstrations in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) systems. Particularly, we have showed that, in the presence of sufficient ancillary qubits, it is possible to completely characterize a…
In this article I will describe how NMR techniques may be used to build simple quantum information processing devices, such as small quantum computers, and show how these techniques are related to more conventional NMR experiments.
Quantum Information processing by NMR with small number of qubits is well established. Scaling to higher number of qubits is hindered by two major requirements (i) mutual coupling among qubits and (ii) qubit addressability. It has been demonstrated that mutual coupling can be increased by using residual dipolar couplings among spins by orienting the spin system in a liquid crystalline matrix. In such a case, the heteronuclear spins are weakly coupled but the homonuclear spins become strongly coupled. In such circumstances, the strongly coupled spins can no longer be treated as qubits. However,…
Fifty years of developments in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have resulted in an unrivaled degree of control of the dynamics of coupled two-level quantum systems. This coherent control of nuclear spin dynamics has recently been taken to a new level, motivated by the interest in quantum information processing. NMR has been the workhorse for the experimental implementation of quantum protocols, allowing exquisite control of systems up to seven qubits in size. Here, we survey and summarize a broad variety of pulse control and tomographic techniques which have been developed for and used in NMR…
The enormous theoretical potential of Quantum Information Processing (QIP) is driving the pursuit for its practical realization by various physical techniques. Currently Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) has been the forerunner by demonstrating a majority of quantum algorithms. In NMR, spin systems consisting of coupled nuclear spins are utilized as qubits. In order to carry out QIP, a spin system has to meet two major requirements: (i) qubit addressability and (ii) mutual coupling among the qubits. It has been demonstrated that the magnitude of the mutual coupling among qubits can be increased…
We present the NMR implementation of a recently proposed quantum algorithm to find the parity of a permutation. In the usual qubit model of quantum computation, speedup requires the presence of entanglement and thus cannot be achieved by a single qubit. On the other hand, a qutrit is qualitatively more quantum than a qubit because of the existence of quantum contextuality and a single qutrit can be used for computing. We use the deuterium nucleus oriented in a liquid crystal as the experimental qutrit. This is the first experimental exploitation of a single qutrit to carry out a computational …
A quantum information processing device, based on bulk solid state NMR of the quasi-one dimensional material hydroxyapatite, is proposed following the magnetic resonance force microscopy work of Yamamoto et al (quant-ph/0009122). In a macroscopic sample of hydroxyapatite, our solid state NMR model yields a limit of 10^8 qubits imposed by physics, while development of current technological considerations should allow an upper bound in the range of hundreds to thousands of qubits.
High performance quantum information processing requires efficient control of undesired decohering effects, which are present in realistic quantum dynamics. To deal with this issue, a powerful strategy is to employ transitionless quantum driving (TQD), where additional fields are added to speed up the evolution of the quantum system, achieving a desired state in a short time in comparison with the natural decoherence time scales. In this paper, we provide an experimental investigation of the performance of a generalized approach for TQD to implement shortcuts to adiabaticity in nuclear magneti…
