We present a genetic algorithm for finding a set of pulse sequences, or rotations, for a given quantum logic gate, as implemented by NMR. We demonstrate the utility of the method by showing that shorter sequences than have been previously published can be found for both a CNOT and for the central part of Shor's algorithm (for N=15.) Artificial intelligence techniques like the genetic algorithm here presented have an enormous potential for simplifying the implementation of working quantum computers.
Experimental implementation of a quantum algorithm requires unitary operator decomposition. Here we treat the unitary operator decomposition as an optimization problem and use Genetic Algorithm, a global optimization method inspired by nature's evolutionary process for operator decomposition. As an application, we apply this to NMR Quantum Information Processing and find a probabilistic way of doing universal quantum computation using global hard pulses. We also demonstrate efficient creation of singlet state (as a special case of Bell state) directly from thermal equilibrium using an optimum …
We develop a new class of genetic algorithm that computationally determines efficient pulse sequences to implement a quantum gate U in a three-qubit system. The method is shown to be quite general, and the same algorithm can be used to derive efficient sequences for a variety of target matrices. We demonstrate this by implementing the inversion-on-equality gate efficiently when the spin-spin coupling constants $J_{12}=J_{23}=J$ and $J_{13}=0$. We also propose new pulse sequences to implement the Parity gate and Fanout gate, which are about 50% more efficient than the previous best efforts. Mor…
We show that some composite pulses widely employed in NMR experiments are regarded as non-adiabatic geometric quantum gates with Aharanov-Anandan phases. Thus, we reveal the presence of a fundamental issue on quantum mechanics behind the traditional technique of the composite pulses. To examine the robustness of such composite pulses against fluctuations, we present a practical noise model in a two-level system. Then, we find that the composite pulses possesses purely geometrical nature even under a specific type of fluctuations.
We describe novel composite pulse sequences which act as general rotors and thus are suitable for nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum computation. The Resonance Offset Tailoring To Enhance Nutations (ROTTEN) approach permits perfect compensation of off-resonance errors at two selected frequencies placed symmetrically around the frequency of the RF source.
We discuss the implementation of arbitrary precision composite pulses developed using the methods of Brown et al. [Phys. Rev. A 70 (2004) 052318]. We give explicit results for pulse sequences designed to tackle both the simple case of pulse length errors and for the more complex case of off-resonance errors. The results are developed in the context of NMR quantum computation, but could be applied more widely.
We discuss the commonly encountered problem when optimizing NMR pulses using optimal control that the otherwise very precise NMR theory does not provide as excellent agreement with experiments. We hypothesize that this disagreement is due to phase transients in the pulse due to abrupt phase- and amplitude changes resulting in a large bandwidth. We apply the GROUP algorithm that gives high fidelity pulses with a low bandwidth compared to the typical GRAPE pulses. Our results obtain a better agreement between experiment and simulations supporting our hypothesis and solution to the problem.
I describe the use of techniques based on composite rotations to combat systematic errors in quantum logic gates. Although developed and described within the context of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) quantum computing these sequences should be applicable to other implementations of quantum computation.
We demonstrate experimentally the usefulness of selective pulses in NMR to perform quantum computation. Three different techniques based on selective pulse excitations have been proposed to prepare a spin system in a pseudo-pure state. We describe the design of novel ``portmanteau'' gates using the selective manipulation of level populations. A selective pulse implementation of the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm for a two-qubit and a three-qubit quantum computer is demonstrated.
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…
Quantum computing using two-dimensional NMR has recently been described using scalar coupling evolution technique [J. Chem. Phys.,109,10603 (1998)]. In the present paper, we describe two-dimensional NMR quantum computing with the help of selective pulses. A number of logic gates are implemented using two and three qubits with one extra observer spin. Some many-in-one gates (or Portmanteau gates) are implemented. Toffoli gate (or AND/NAND gate) and OR/NOR gates are implemented on three qubits. Deutsch-Jozsa quantum algorithm for one and two qubits, using one extra work qubit, has also been impl…
A detailed description of the development of a three qubit NMR realization of the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm [Collins et.al., Phys. Rev. A 62, 022304 (2000)] is provided. The theoretical and experimental techniques used for the reduction of the algorithm's evolution steps into a sequence of NMR pulses are discussed at length. This includes the description of general pulse sequence compilation techniques, various schemes for indirectly coupled gate realizations, experimental pulse parameterization techniques and bookkeeping methods for pulse phases.
The realisation of optically detected magnetic resonance via nitrogen vacancy centers in diamond faces challenges at high magnetic fields which include growing energy consumption of control pulses as well as decreasing sensitivities. Here we address these challenges with the design of shaped pulses in microwave control sequences that achieve orders magnitude reductions in energy consumption and concomitant increases in sensitivity when compared to standard top-hat microwave pulses. The method proposed here is general and can be applied to any quantum sensor subjected to pulsed control sequence…
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 derive the Hamiltonian in the rotating frame for NMR quantum computing with homonucleus molecules as its computational resource. The Hamiltonian thus obtained is different from conventional Hamiltonians that appear in literature. It is shown that control pulses designed for heteronucleus spins can be translated to pulses for homonucleus spins by simply replacing hard pulses by soft pulses with properly chosen pulse width. To demonstrate the validity of our Hamiltonian, we conducted several experiments employing cytosine as a homonucleus molecule. All the experimental results demonstrate tha…
The three-qubit conditional swap gate(Fredkin gate) is a universal gate that can be used to create any logic circuit and has many direct usages. In this paper, we experimentally realized Fredkin gate with only three transition pulses in solution of alanine. It appears that no experimental realization of Fredkin gate with fewer pulses has yet been reported up to now. In addition, the simple structure of our scheme makes it easy to be implemented in experiments.
The nitrogen vacancy (NV) color center in diamond is an enormously important platform for the development of quantum sensors, including for single spin and single molecule NMR. Detection of weak single-spin signals is greatly enhanced by repeated sequences of microwave pulses; in these dynamical decoupling (DD) techniques, the key control parameters swept in the experiment are the time intervals, $τ$, between pulses. Here we show that, in fact, the pulse duration offers a powerful additional control parameter. While previously, a non-negligible pulse-width has been considered simply a source o…
The efficiency of dipole-dipole coupling driven coherence transfer experiments in solid-state NMR spectroscopy of powder samples is limited by dispersion of the orientation of the internuclear vectors relative to the external magnetic field. Here we introduce general design principles and resulting pulse sequences that approach full polarization transfer efficiency for all crystallite orientations in a powder in magic-angle-spinning experiments. The methods compensate for the defocusing of coherence due to orientation dependent dipolar coupling interactions and inhomogeneous radio-frequency fi…
Composite pulses, originally developed in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), have found widespread use in experimental quantum information processing (QIP) to reduce the effects of systematic errors. Most pulses used so far have simply been adapted from existing NMR designs, and while techniques have been developed for designing composite pulses with arbitrary precision the results have been quite complicated and have found little application. Here I describe techniques for designing short but effective composite pulses to implement robust NOT gates, bringing together existing insights from NMR…
We show how to divide a coupled multi-spin system into a small subset of ``active'' spins that evolve under chemical shift or scalar coupling operators, and a larger subset of ``spectator'' spins which are returned to their initial states, as if their motion had been temporarily frozen. This allows us to implement basic one-qubit and two-qubit operations from which general operations on $N$-qubits can be constructed, suitable for quantum computation. The principles are illustrated by experiments on the three coupled protons of 2,3-dibromopropanoic acid, but the method is applicable to any spin…
A scheme for decoupling and selectively recoupling large networks of dipolar-coupled spins is proposed. The scheme relies on a combination of broadband, decoupling pulse sequences applied to all the nuclear spins with a band-selective pulse sequence for single spin rotations or recoupling. The evolution-time overhead required for selective coupling is independent of the number of spins, subject to time-scale constraints, for which we discuss the feasibility. This scheme may improve the scalability of solid-state-NMR quantum computing architectures.
Noise-resistant off-resonance π-rotation realized in an NMR system
School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University（武汉大学物理科学与技术学院）；School of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University（杭州师范大学物理学院）；Hefei National Laboratory（合肥国家实验室）
We demonstrate how NMR can in principle be used to implement all the elements required to build quantum computers, and briefly discuss the potential applications of insights from quantum logic to the development of novel pulse sequences with applications in more conventional NMR experiments.
We propose a methodology to design optimal pulses for achieving quantum optimal control on molecular systems. Our approach constrains pulse shapes to linear combinations of a fixed number of experimentally relevant pulse functions. Quantum optimal control is obtained by maximizing a multi-target fitness function with genetic algorithms. As a first application of the methodology we generated an optimal pulse that successfully maximized the yield on a selected dissociation channel of a diatomic molecule. Our pulse is obtained as a linear combination of linearly chirped pulse functions. Data reco…
We study a 2-qubit nuclear spin system for realizing an arbitrary geometric quantum phase gate by means of non-adiabatic operation. A single magnetic pulse with multi harmonic frequencies is applied to manipulate the quantum states of 2-qubit instantly. Using resonant transition approximation, the time dependent Hamiltonian of two nuclear spins can be solved analytically. The time evolution of the wave function is obtained without adiabatic approximation. The parameters of magnetic pulse, such as the frequency, amplitude, phase of each harmonic part as well as the time duration of the pulse, a…
We present robust radio frequency (rf) pulses that tolerate a factor of six inhomogeneity in the B1 field, significantly enhancing the potential of toroid cavity resonators for NMR spectroscopic applications. Both point-to-point (PP) and unitary rotation (UR) pulses were optimized for excitation, inversion, and refocusing using the gradient ascent pulse engineering (GRAPE) algorithm based on optimal control theory. In addition, the optimized parameterization (OP) algorithm applied to the adiabatic BIR-4 UR pulse scheme enabled ultra-short (50 microsec) pulses with acceptable performance compar…
We present a framework that uses a continuous frequency space to describe and design solid-state NMR experiments. The approach is similar to the well established Floquet treatment for NMR, but is not restricted to periodic Hamiltonians and allows the design of experiments in a reverse fashion. The framework is based on perturbation theory on a continuous Fourier space, which leads to effective, i.e., time-independent, Hamiltonians. It allows the back calculation of the pulse scheme from the desired effective Hamiltonian as a function of spin-system parameters. We show as an example how to back…
We consider the problem of time-optimal control of quadrupole nucleus with the spin I=1 by NMR. In contrast to the conventional methods based on selective pulses, the control is implemented using nonselective pulses separated by free evolution intervals. Using the Cartan decomposition, the system of equations is obtained for finding parameters of a control field. Partial time-optimal solutions for the important single-qutrit gates (selective rotations and quantum Fourier transform) are found. The strong dependence of minimum gate implementation times on global phase of the gate is observed. Th…
A dipolar recoupling technique is introduced as a new approach to quantum gate operation in solid-state NMR under magic angle spinning. The default-off property of inter-qubit interaction provides a simple way to controlled operation without requiring elaborate qubit-decoupling pulses.
We report experimental implementation of discrete Fourier transformation(DFT) on a nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) quantum computer. Experimental results agree with theoretical results. Using the pulse sequences we introduced, DFT can be realized on any L-bit quantum number in principle.
The exact solution for the free induction decay in a one-dimensional system in the multi-pulse experiment is obtained at both high and low temperatures in the approximation of nearest neighbor interactions. The experimental investigation is performed on a quasi-one-dimensional system of $^{19}$F nuclear spins in a single crystal of fluorapatite. The theoretical results are in a good agreement with the obtained experimental data.
A generalized quantum search algorithm, where phase inversions for the marked state and the prepared state are replaced by $π/2$ phase rotations, is realized in a 2-qubit NMR heteronuclear system. The quantum algorithm searches a marked state with a smaller step compared to standard Grover algorithm. Phase matching requirement in quantum searching is demonstrated by comparing it with another generalized algorithm where the two phase rotations are $π/2$ and $3π/2$ respectively. Pulse sequences which include non 90 degree pulses are given.
We present highly robust, optimal control-based shaped pulses designed to replace all 90° and 180° hard pulses in a given pulse sequence for improved performance. Special attention was devoted to ensuring that the pulses can be simply substituted in a one-to-one fashion for the original hard pulses without any additional modification of the existing sequence. The set of four pulses for each nucleus therefore consists of 90° and 180° point-to-point (PP) and universal rotation (UR) pulses of identical duration. These 1 ms pulses provide uniform performance over resonance offsets of 20 kHz (1H) a…
In this work, average Hamiltonian theory is used to study selective excitation in a spin-1/2 system evolving under a series of small flip-angle $θ-$pulses $(θ\ll 1)$ that are applied either periodically [which corresponds to the DANTE pulse sequence] or aperiodically. First, an average Hamiltonian description of the DANTE pulse sequence is developed; such a description is determined to be valid either at or very far from the DANTE resonance frequencies, which are simply integer multiples of the inverse of the interpulse delay. For aperiodic excitation schemes where the interpulse delays are ch…
The paper describes the design of broadband chirp excitation pulses in NMR. We first develop a three stage model for understanding chirp excitation in NMR. We then show how a chirp $π$ pulse can be used to refocus the phase of the chirp excitation pulse. The resulting magnetization still has some phase dispersion in it. We show how a combination of two chirp $π$ pulses instead of one can be used to eliminate this dispersion, leaving behind a small residual phase dispersion. The excitation pulse sequence presented here allow exciting arbitrary large bandwidths without increasing the peak rf-amp…
Searching for marked items from an unsorted database is an important scientific problem and a benchmark for computing devices as well. Using a 7-qubit liquid NMR quantum computer, we have demonstrated successfully an hybrid quantum fetching algorithm that finds marked items using only a single query. The essential idea is the operation of quantum computers in parallel. We gave the detailed pulse sequence for coherent control of the 7 qubits. The pulse sequence demonstrated here is not only useful for ensemble quantum computation, but also can be regarded as a general purpose control-gate which…
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.
Pursuit and Review of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) based Quantum Computing -- Qubit Generation, Spin Purification, Tailored RF Pulses and MRI Sequences for Quantum Computing
In this paper, we report an experimental realization of quantum switch using nuclear spins and magnetic resonant pulses. The nuclear spins of H and C in carbon-13 labelled chloroform are used to carry the information, then nuclear magnetic resonance pulses are applied to perform either bypass or cross function to achieve the switching. Compared with a traditional space or time domain switch, this switching architecture is much more scalable, therefore a high throughput switching device can be built simply by increasing the number of I/O ports. In addition, it can be used not only as a device t…
The propagation of excitation along a one-dimensional chain of atoms is simulated by means of NMR. The physical system used as an analog quantum computer is a nucleus of 133-Cs (spin 7/2) in a liquid crystalline matrix. The Hamiltonian of migration is simulated by using a special 7-frequency pulse, and the dynamics is monitored by following the transfer of population from one of the 8 spin energy levels to the other.
The past decade has demonstrated increasing interests in using optimal control based methods within coherent quantum controllable systems. The versatility of such methods has been demonstrated with particular elegance within nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) where natural separation between coherent and dissipative spin dynamics processes has enabled coherent quantum control over long periods of time to shape the experiment to almost ideal adoption to the spin system and external manipulations. This has led to new design principles as well as powerful new experimental methods within magnetic re…
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.
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.
We report the implementation of a three-spin quantum disentanglement eraser on a liquid-state NMR quantum information processor. A key feature of this experiment was its use of pulsed magnetic field gradients to mimic projective measurements. This ability is an important step towards the development of an experimentally controllable system which can simulate any quantum dynamics, both coherent and decoherent.
A new approach to the implementation of a quantum computer by high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is described. The key feature is that two or more line-selective radio-frequency pulses are applied simultaneously. A three-qubit quantum computer has been investigated using the 400 MHz NMR spectrum of the three coupled protons in 2,3-dibromopropanoic acid. It has been employed to implement the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm for distinguishing between constant and balanced functions. The extension to systems containing more coupled spins is straightforward and does not require a more protra…
Nowadays most of superconducting quantum processors use charge qubits of a transmon type. They require implementation of energy efficient qubit state control scheme. A promising approach is the use of superconducting digital circuits operating with single-flux-quantum (SFQ) pulses. The duration of SFQ pulse control sequence is typically larger than that of conventional microwave drive pulses but its length can be optimized for the system with known parameters. Here we introduce a genetic algorithm for unipolar or bipolar SFQ control sequence search that minimize qubit state leakage from the co…
NMR imaging without any radio-frequency magnetic field is explained by a quantum treatment of independent spin~$\tfrac 12$. The total magnetization is determined by means of their individual wave function. The theoretical treatment, based on fundamental axioms of quantum mechanics and solving explicitly the Schrödinger equation with the kinetic energy part which gives the motion of free spins, is recalled. It explains the phase shift of the spin noise spectrum with its amplitude compared to the conventional NMR spectrum. Moreover it explains also the relatively good signal to noise ratio of NM…
We implement an ensemble quantum counting algorithm on three NMR spectrometers with 1H resonance frequencies of 500, 600 and 750 MHz. At higher frequencies, the results deviate markedly from naive theoretical predictions. These systematic errors can be attributed almost entirely to off-resonance effects, which can be substantially corrected for using fully-compensating composite rotation pulse sequences originally developed by Tycko. We also derive an analytic expression for generating such sequences with arbitrary rotation angles.
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.
The error-robust and short composite operations named ConCatenated Composite Pulses (CCCPs), developed as high-precision unitary operations in quantum information processing (QIP), are derived from composite pulses widely employed in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). CCCPs simultaneously compensate for two types of systematic errors, which was not possible with the known composite pulses in NMR. Our experiments demonstrate that CCCPs are powerful and versatile tools not only in QIP but also in NMR.
Finding control laws (pulse sequences) that can compensate for dispersions in parameters which govern the evolution of a quantum system is an important problem in the fields of coherent spectroscopy, imaging, and quantum information processing. The use of composite pulse techniques for such tasks has a long and widely known history. In this paper, we introduce the method of Fourier synthesis control law design for compensating dispersions in quantum system dynamics. We focus on system models arising in NMR spectroscopy and NMR imaging applications.
Conventional control strategies for NV centers in quantum sensing are based on a two-level model of their triplet ground state. However, this approach fails in regimes of weak bias magnetic fields or strong microwave pulses, as we demonstrate. To overcome this limitation, we propose a novel control sequence that exploits all three levels by addressing a hidden Raman configuration with microwave pulses tuned to the zero-field transition. We report excellent performance in typical dynamical decoupling sequences, opening up the possibility for nano-NMR operation in low-field environments.
We report an observation of extremely long-lived spin states in systems of dipolar-coupled nuclear spins in solids. The 'suspended echo' experiment uses a simple stimulated echo pulse sequence and creates non-equilibrium states which live many orders of magnitude longer than the characteristic time of spin-spin dynamics T2. Large amounts of information can be encoded in such long-lived states, stored in a form of multi-spin correlations, and subsequently retrieved by an application of a single 'reading' pulse.
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…
We show that all geometric quantum gates (GQG's in short), which are quantum gates only with geometric phases, are robust against control field strength errors. As examples of this observation, we show (1) how robust composite rf-pulses in NMR are geometrically constructed and (2) a composite rf-pulse based on Trotter-Suzuki Formulas is a GQG.
Several physics-based algorithms for factorizing large number were recently published. A notable recent one by Schleich et al. uses Gauss sums for distinguishing between factors and non-factors. We demonstrate two NMR techniques that evaluate Gauss sums and thus implement their algorithm. The first one is based on differential excitation of a single spin magnetization by a cascade of RF pulses. The second method is based on spatial averaging and selective refocusing of magnetization for Gauss sums corresponding to factors. All factors of 16637 and 52882363 are successfully obtained.
Algorithmic cooling is a method that employs thermalization to increase qubit purification level, namely it reduces the qubit-system's entropy. We utilized gradient ascent pulse engineering (GRAPE), an optimal control algorithm, to implement algorithmic cooling in liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance. Various cooling algorithms were applied onto the three qubits of $^{13}$C$_2$-trichloroethylene, cooling the system beyond Shannon's entropy bound in several different ways. In particular, in one experiment a carbon qubit was cooled by a factor of 4.61. This work is a step towards potentially …
