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Current quantum simulators suffer from multiple limitations such as short coherence time, noisy operations, faulty readout and restricted qubit connectivity in some platforms. Variational quantum algorithms are the most promising approach in near-term quantum simulation to achieve practical quantum advantage over classical computers. Here, we explore variational quantum algorithms, with different levels of qubit connectivity, for digital simulation of the ground state of long-range interacting systems as well as generation of spin squeezed states. We find that as the interaction becomes more long-ranged, the variational algorithms become less efficient, achieving lower fidelity and demanding more optimization iterations. In particular, when the system is near its criticality the efficiency is even lower. Increasing the connectivity between distant qubits improves the results, even with less quantum and classical resources. Our results show that by mixing circuit layers with different levels of connectivity one can sensibly improve the performance. Interestingly, the order of layers becomes very important and grouping the layers with long-distance connectivity at the beginning of the circuit outperforms other permutations. The same design of circuits can also be used to variationally produce spin squeezed states, as a resource for quantum metrology.

We propose a protocol for countering the effects of dephasing in quantum state transfer over a noisy spin channel weakly coupled to the sender and receiver qubits. Our protocol, based on performing regular global measurements on the channel, significantly suppresses the nocuous environmental effects and offers much higher fidelities than the traditional no-measurement approach. Our proposal can also operate as a robust two-qubit entangling gate over distant spins. Our scheme counters any source of dephasing, including those for which the well established dynamical decoupling approach fails. Our protocol is probabilistic, given the intrinsic randomness in quantum measurements, but its success probability can be maximized by adequately tuning the rate of the measurements.

We show how single quantum dots, each hosting a singlet–triplet qubit, can be placed in arrays to build a spin quantum cellular automaton. A fast (∼10 ns) deterministic coherent singlet–triplet filtering, as opposed to current incoherent tunneling/slow-adiabatic based quantum gates (operation time ∼300 ns), can be employed to produce a two-qubit gate through capacitive (electrostatic) couplings that can operate over significant distances. This is the coherent version of the widely discussed charge and nano-magnet cellular automata, and would increase speed, reduce dissipation, and perform quantum computation while interfacing smoothly with its classical counterpart. This combines the best of two worlds—the coherence of spin pairs known from quantum technologies, and the strength and range of electrostatic couplings from the charge-based classical cellular automata. Significantly our system has zero electric dipole moment during the whole operation process, thereby increasing its charge dephasing time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]