Quantum information offers the promise of being able to perform certain communication and computation tasks that cannot be done with conventional information technology (IT). Optical Quantum Information Processing (QIP) holds particular appeal, since it offers the prospect of communicating and computing with the same type of qubit. Linear optical techniques have been shown to be scalable, but the corresponding quantum computing circuits need many auxiliary resources. Here we present an alternative approach to optical QIP, based on the use of weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities and homodyne measurements. We show how this approach provides the fundamental building blocks for highly efficient non-absorbing single photon number resolving detectors, two qubit parity detectors, Bell state measurements and finally near deterministic control-not (CNOT) gates. These are essential QIP devices
We review some applications of entanglement to improve quantum measurements and communication, with the main focus on the optical implementation of quantum information processing. The evolution of continuos variable entangled states in active optical fibers is also analyzed.
We answer the question whether linear-optical processing of the states produced by one or multiple imperfect single-photon sources can improve the single-photon fidelity. This processing can include arbitrary interferometers, coherent states, feedforward, and conditioning on results of detections. We show that without introducing multiphoton components, the single-photon fraction in any of the single-mode states resulting from such processing cannot be made to exceed the efficiency of the best available photon source. If multiphoton components are allowed, the single-photon fidelity cannot be …
We demonstrate that quantum information processing can be implemented with ions trapped in a far detuned optical cavity. For sufficiently large detuning the system becomes insensitive to cavity decay. Following recent experimental progress, this scheme can be implemented with currently available technology.
We review the field of Quantum Optical Information from elementary considerations through to quantum computation schemes. We illustrate our discussion with descriptions of experimental demonstrations of key communication and processing tasks from the last decade and also look forward to the key results likely in the next decade. We examine both discrete (single photon) type processing as well as those which employ continuous variable manipulations. The mathematical formalism is kept to the minimum needed to understand the key theoretical and experimental results.
We propose a measure of quantum efficiency of a multimode state of light that quantifies the amount of optical loss this state has experienced, and prove that this efficiency cannot increase in any linear-optical processing with destructive conditional measurements. Any loss that has affected a state can neither be removed nor redistributed so as to further increase the efficiency in higher-efficiency modes at the expense of lower-efficiency modes. This result eliminates the possibility of catalytically improving photon sources.
We review novel methods to investigate, control and manipulate neutral atoms in optical lattices. These setups allow unprecedented quantum control over large numbers of atoms and thus are very promising for applications in quantum information processing. After introducing optical lattices we discuss the superfluid (SF) and Mott insulating (MI) states of neutral atoms trapped in such lattices and investigate the SF-MI transition as recently observed experimentally. In the second part of the paper we give an overview of proposals for quantum information processing and show different ways to enta…
We present the realization of a ultra fast shutter for optical fields, which allows to preserve a generic polarization state, based on a self-stabilized interferometer. It exhibits high (or low) transmittivity when turned on (or inactive), while the fidelity of the polarization state is high. The shutter is realized through two beam displacing prisms and a longitudinal Pockels cell. This can represent a useful tool for controlling light-atom interfaces in quantum information processing.
Historically, two complementary approaches to optical quantum information processing have been pursued: qubits and continuous-variables, each exploiting either particle or wave nature of light. However, both approaches have pros and cons. In recent years, there has been a significant progress in combining both approaches with a view to realizing hybrid protocols that overcome the current limitations. In this chapter, we first review the development of the two approaches with a special focus on quantum teleportation and its applications. We then introduce our recent research progress in realizi…
We analyze the problem of increasing the efficiency of single-photon sources or single-rail photonic qubits via linear optical processing and destructive conditional measurements. In contrast to previous work we allow for the use of coherent states and do not limit to photon-counting measurements. We conjecture that it is not possible to increase the efficiency, prove this conjecture for several important special cases, and provide extensive numerical results for the general case.
We discuss a new direction in the field of quantum information processing with neutral atoms. It is based on the use of microfabricated optical elements. With these elements versatile and integrated atom optical devices can be created in a compact fashion. This approach opens the possibility to scale, parallelize, and miniaturize atom optics for new investigations in fundamental research and applications towards quantum computing with neutral atoms. The exploitation of the unique features of the quantum mechanical behavior of matter waves and the capabilities of powerful state-of-the-art micro…
We present a random number generator based on quantum effects in photonic emission and detection. It is unique in simultaneous use of both spatial and temporal quantum information contained in the system which makes it resilient to hardware failure and signal injection attacks. We show that its deviation from randomness cam be estimated based on simple measurements. Generated numbers pass NIST Statistical test suite without post-processing.
By popular request we post these old (from 2001) lecture notes of the Varenna Summer School Proceedings. The original was published as J. I. Cirac, L. M. Duan, and P. Zoller, in "Experimental Quantum Computation and Information" Proceedings of the International School of Physics "Enrico Fermi", Course CXLVIII, p. 263, edited by F. Di Martini and C. Monroe (IOS Press, Amsterdam, 2002).
Using the highly detuned interaction between three-level $Λ$-type atoms and coherent optical fields, we can realize the C-NOT gates from atoms to atoms, optical fields to optical fields, atoms to optical fields and optical fields to atoms. Based on the realization of the C-NOT gates we propose an entanglement purification scheme to purify a mixed entangled states of coherent optical fields. The simplicity of the current scheme makes it possible that it will be implemented in experiment in the near future.
We review recent experimental progress towards quantum information processing and quantum simulation using neutral atoms in two-dimensional (2D) arrays of optical microtraps as 2D registers of qubits. We describe a scalable quantum information architecture based on micro-fabricated optical elements, simultaneously targeting the important issues of single-site addressability and scalability. This approach provides flexible and integrable configurations for quantum state storage, manipulation, and retrieval. We present recent experimental results on the initialization and coherent one-qubit rota…
A fundamental element of quantum information processing with photonic qubits is the nonclassical quantum interference between two photons when they bunch together via the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect. Ultimately, many such pure photons must be processed in complex interferometric networks, and for this it is essential to synchronize the arrival times of the flying photons preserving their purity. Here we demonstrate for the first time the HOM interference of two heralded, pure optical photons synchronized through two independent quantum memories. Controlled storage times up to 1.8 microseconds …
The mapping of photonic states to collective excitations of atomic ensembles is a powerful tool which finds a useful application in the realization of quantum memories and quantum repeaters. In this work we show that cold atoms in optical lattices can be used to perform an entangling unitary operation on the transferred atomic excitations. After the release of the quantum atomic state, our protocol results in a deterministic two qubit gate for photons. The proposed scheme is feasible with current experimental techniques and robust against the dominant sources of noise.
Optical response of artificial composite nanoscale molecules comprising a closely spaced noble metal nanoparticle and a semiconductor quantum dot have been studied theoretically. We consider a system composed of an Au particle and CdSe or CdSe/ZnSe quantum dot and predict optical bistability and hysteresis in its response, which suggests various applications, in particular, all-optical processing and optical memory.
The speed of quantum random number generators is a major concern for practical quantum applications. However, the bit extraction process limits the final bit rate due to lack of comparably fast electronics. Here we introduce optical scattering as a method to perform optical bit extraction. Scattering is a probabilistic phenomenon and it increases the chaotic behaviour of coherent sources. As a result, it broadens the distribution of photon statistics and makes it super-Poissonian. We show that the raw signal of the sources with super-Poissonian distribution have better randomness compared to P…
Among the objectives toward large-scale quantum computation is the quantum interconnect: a device which uses photons to interface qubits that otherwise could not interact. However, current approaches require photons indistinguishable in frequency---a major challenge for systems experiencing different local environments or of different physical compositions altogether. Here we develop an entirely new platform which actually exploits such frequency mismatch for processing quantum information. Labeled "spectral linear optical quantum computation" (spectral LOQC), our protocol offers favorable lin…
All-quantum signal processing techniques are at the core of the successful advancement of most information-based quantum technologies. This paper develops coherent and comprehensive methodologies and mathematical models to describe Fourier optical signal processing in full quantum terms for any input quantum state of light. We begin this paper by introducing a spatially two-dimensional quantum state of a photon, associated with its wavefront and expressible as a two-dimensional creation operator. Then, by breaking down the Fourier optical processing apparatus into its key components, we strive…
Here we present a simple and robust method to build on-the-fly configurable quantum gates based on a photonic exchange between quantum nodes. The idea is based on a high reflectivity of Bragg grating structures near resonant wavelengths. The control is exerted by applying an external strongly off-resonant or even a static electromagnetic field and taking advantage of the Kerr effect. When the nonlinear phase shift is strong enough, the Bragg mirror disappears, thereby allowing a transmission of a wave packet from one node to another. An example of a protocol for quantum logic gates that relies…
Photonic quantum information processing schemes, such as linear optics quantum computing, and other experiments relying on single-photon interference, inherently require complete photon indistinguishability to enable the desired photonic interactions to take place. Mode-mismatch is the dominant cause of photon distinguishability in optical circuits. Here we study the effects of photon wave-packet shape on tolerance against the effects of mode-mismatch in linear optical circuits, and show that Gaussian distributed photons with large bandwidth are optimal. The result is general and holds for arb…
An optical quantum memory can be broadly defined as a system capable of storing a useful quantum state through interaction with light at optical frequencies. During the last decade, intense research was devoted to their development, mostly with the aim of fulfilling the requirements of their first two applications, namely quantum repeaters and linear-optical quantum computation. A better understanding of those requirements then motivated several different experimental approaches. Along the way, other exciting applications emerged, such as as quantum metrology, single-photon detection, tests of…
We implement the squeezing operation as a genuine quantum gate, deterministically and reversibly acting `online' upon an input state no longer restricted to the set of Gaussian states. More specifically, by applying an efficient and robust squeezing operation for the first time to non-Gaussian states, we demonstrate a two-way conversion between a particle-like single-photon state and a wave-like superposition of coherent states. Our squeezing gate is reliable enough to preserve the negativities of the corresponding Wigner functions. This demonstration represents an important and necessary step…
Information processing with light is ubiquitous, from communication, metrology and imaging to computing. When we consider light as a quantum mechanical object, new ways of information processing become possible. In this review I give an overview how quantum information processing can be implemented with single photons, and what hurdles still need to be overcome to implement the various applications in practice. I will place special emphasis on the quantum mechanical properties of light that make it different from classical light, and how these properties relate to quantum information processin…
This was a contribution to the lecture notes on the 44th IFF Spring School held at Forschungszentrum Jülich in 2013 on "Quantum Information Processing". The school as a whole had a strong focus on solid state systems. It was the purpose of this contribution to give a brief pedagogical introduction into quantum information processing with atoms and ions.
Short review article on quantum information processing accepted for Supplement III, Encyclopaedia of Mathematics (publication expected Summer 2001). See also http://www.wkap.nl/series.htm/ENM
The light's image is the primary source of information carrier in nature. Indeed, a single photon's image possesses a vast information capacity that can be harnessed for quantum information processing. Our scheme for implementing quantum information processing via universal multiport processors employs a class of quantum Fourier optical systems composed of spatial phase modulators and 4f-processors with phase-only pupils having a characteristic periodicity that reduces the number of optical resources quadratically as compared to other conventional path encoding techniques. In particular, this …
We review our experiments on quantum information processing with neutral atoms in optical lattices and magnetic microtraps. Atoms in an optical lattice in the Mott insulator regime serve as a large qubit register. A spin-dependent lattice is used to split and delocalize the atomic wave functions in a controlled and coherent way over a defined number of lattice sites. This is used to experimentally demonstrate a massively parallel quantum gate array, which allows the creation of a highly entangled many-body cluster state through coherent collisions between atoms on neighbouring lattice sites. I…
Mechanical systems are one of the promising platforms for classical and quantum information processing and are already widely-used in electronics and photonics. Cavity optomechanics offers many new possibilities for information processing using mechanical degrees of freedom; one of them is storing optical signals in long-lived mechanical vibrations by means of optomechanically induced transparency. However, the memory storage time is limited by intrinsic mechanical dissipation. More over, in-situ control and manipulation of the stored signals--processing--has not been demonstrated. Here, we ad…
In this paper a system-oriented formalism of Quantum Information Processing is presented. Its form resembles that of standard signal processing, although further complexity is added in order to describe pure quantum-mechanical effects and operations. Examples of the application of the formalism to quantum time evolution and quantum measurement are given.
The concept of directionally unbiased optical multiports is introduced, in which photons may reflect back out the input direction. A linear-optical implementation is described, and the simplest three-port version studied. Symmetry arguments demonstrate potential for unusual quantum information processing applications. The devices impose group structures on two-photon entangled Bell states and act as universal Bell-state processors to implement probabilistic quantum gates acting on state symmetries. These multiports allow optical scattering experiments to be carried out on arbitrary undirected …
Distributed quantum information processing is a promising platform for scaling up quantum information processing, where small- and intermediate-scale quantum devices are connected by a network of quantum channels for communicating quantum information, so as to cooperate in achieving larger-scale information processing. In such distributed settings, entangled states shared among the multiple devices serve as a resource for achieving nonlocal information processing tasks by local operations and classical communication (LOCC), where transformations of multipartite entangled states play central ro…
We show how optically-driven coupled quantum dots can be used to prepare maximally entangled Bell and Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states. Manipulation of the strength and duration of the selective light-pulses needed for producing these highly entangled states provides us with crucial elements for the processing of solid-state based quantum information. Theoretical predictions suggest that several hundred single quantum bit rotations and Controlled-Not gates could be performed before decoherence of the excitonic states takes place.
The fractal character of some quantum properties has been shown for systems described by continuous variables. Here, a definition of quantum fractal states is given that suits the discrete systems used in quantum information processing, including quantum coding and quantum computing. Several important examples are provided.
We extensively discuss how Schrodinger cat states (superpositions of well-separated coherent states) in optical systems can be used for quantum information processing.
Quantum information is a useful resource to set up information processing. Despite physical components are normally two-level systems, their combination with entangling interactions becomes in a complex dynamics. Studied for piecewise field pulses, this work analyzes the modeling for quantum information operations with fields affordable technologically towards a universal quantum computation model.
Particle statistics is a fundamental part of quantum physics, and yet its role and use in the context of quantum information have been poorly explored so far. After briefly introducing particle statistics and the Symmetrization Postulate, I will argue that this fundamental aspect of Nature can be seen as a resource for quantum information processing and I will present examples showing how it is possible to do useful and efficient quantum information processing using only the effects of particles statistics.
The role of interference and entanglement in quantum neural processing is discussed. It is argued that on contrast to the quantum computing the problem of the use of exponential resources as the payment for the absense of entanglement does not exist for quantum neural processing. This is because of corresponding systems, as any modern classical artificial neural systems, do not realize functions precisely, but approximate them by training on small sets of examples. It can permit to implement quantum neural systems optically, because in this case there is no need in exponential resources of opt…
Observables of quantum systems can posses either a discrete or a continuous spectrum. For example, upon measurements of the photon number of a light state, discrete outcomes will result whereas measurements of the light's quadrature amplitudes result in continuous outcomes. If one uses the continuous degree of freedom of a quantum system either for encoding, processing or detecting information, one enters the field of continuous variable (CV) quantum information processing. In this paper we review the basic principles of CV quantum information processing with main focus on recent developments …
The Hopfield neural networks and the holographic neural networks are models which were successfully simulated on conventional computers. Starting with these models, an analogous fundamental quantum information processing system is developed in this article. Neuro-quantum interaction can regulate the "collapse"-readout of quantum computation results. This paper is a comprehensive introduction into associative processing and memory-storage in quantum-physical framework.
This survey, aimed at information processing researchers, highlights intriguing but lesser known results, corrects misconceptions, and suggests research areas. Themes include: certainty in quantum algorithms; the "fewer worlds" theory of quantum mechanics; quantum learning; probability theory versus quantum mechanics.
The significance of beamsplitter in experimental optical quantum information processing and quantum technology is discussed with a focus on the role of a beamsplitter-type Hamiltonian in the recent development in this field of research. Here, we follow a new approach to briefly describe quantum measurement, Bell measurement, quantum state engineering, quantum teleportation, cryptography, and computation using both discrete and continuous variables to establish the wide applications of beamsplitter-type operation. Finally, we also discuss the limitations of this linear optical element.
In this paper we investigate an implementation of a quantum gate for quantum information processing in a system of quantum dots in an optical cavity manipulated by collinear laser fields. For simplicity we give theoretical and numerical results only for simulations of two quantum dots in a cavity interacting with two collinear fields. Extension to the system of many quantum dots in a cavity can be done in similar manner as the two dots system. It is shown that due to the collinear fields are used, a two qubit gate operation can be acheived by choosing properly detunings and amplitudes of the c…
The optical fibre is an essential tool for our communication infrastructure since it is the main transmission channel for optical communications. The latest major advance in optical fibre technology is spatial division multiplexing (SDM), where new fibre designs and components establish multiple co-existing data channels based on light propagation over distinct transverse optical modes. Simultaneously, there have been many recent developments in the field of quantum information processing (QIP), with novel protocols and devices in areas such as computing, communication and metrology. Here, we …
Characterising the input-output photon-number distribution of an unknown optical quantum channel is an important task for many applications in quantum information processing. Ideally, this would require deterministic photon-number sources and photon-number-resolving detectors, but these technologies are still work-in-progress. In this work, we propose a general method to rigorously bound the input-output photon number distribution of an unknown optical channel using standard optical devices such as coherent light sources and non-photon-number-resolving detectors/homodyne detectors. To demonstr…
We propose a linear optical scheme for the teleportation of unknown ionic states, the entanglement concentration for nonmaximally entangled states for ions via entanglement swapping and the remote preparation for ionic entangled states. The unique advantage of the scheme is that the joint Bell-state measurement needed in the previous schemes is not needed in the current scheme, i.e. the joint Bell-state measurement has been converted into the product of separate measurements on single ions and photons. In addition, the current scheme can realize the quantum information processes for ions by us…
Accurate information processing is crucial both in technology and in nature. To achieve it, any information processing system needs an initial supply of resources away from thermal equilibrium. Here we establish a fundamental limit on the accuracy achievable with a given amount of nonequilibrium resources. The limit applies to arbitrary information processing tasks and arbitrary information processing systems subject to the laws of quantum mechanics. It is easily computable and is expressed in terms of an entropic quantity, which we name reverse entropy, associated to a time reversal of the in…
A central task in quantum information processing is to characterize quantum processes. In the realm of optical quantum information processing, this amounts to characterizing the transformations of the mode creation and annihilation operators. This transformation is unitary for linear optical systems, whereas these yield the well-known Bogoliubov transformations for systems with Hamiltonians that are quadratic in the mode operators. In this paper, we show that a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer can characterize both these kinds of evolutions for multimode systems. While it suffices to use c…
Spin-bearing molecules are promising building blocks for quantum technologies as they can be chemically tuned, assembled into scalable arrays, and readily incorporated into diverse device architectures. In molecular systems, optically addressing ground-state spins would enable a wide range of applications in quantum information science, as has been demonstrated for solid-state defects. However, this important functionality has remained elusive for molecules. Here, we demonstrate such optical addressability in a series of synthesized organometallic, chromium(IV) molecules. These compounds displ…
In this work we propose a hybrid scheme to implement a photonic controlled-z (CZ) gate using photon storage in highly-excited Rydberg states, which controls the effective photon-photon interaction using resonant microwave fields. Our scheme decouples the light propagation from the interaction and exploits the spatial properties of the dipole blockade phenomenon to realize a CZ gate with minimal loss and mode distortion. Excluding the coupling efficiency, fidelities exceeding 95% are achievable and are found to be mainly limited by motional dephasing and the finite lifetime of the Rydberg level…
We develop an architecture of hybrid quantum solid-state processing unit for universal quantum computing. The architecture allows distant and nonidentical solid-state qubits in distinct physical systems to interact and work collaboratively. All the quantum computing procedures are controlled by optical methods using classical fields and cavity QED. Our methods have prominent advantage of the insensitivity to dissipation process benefiting from the virtual excitation of subsystems. Moreover, the QND measurements and state transfer for the solid-state qubits are proposed. The architecture opens …
