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As systems for quantum computing keep growing in size and number of qubits, challenges in scaling the control capabilities are becoming increasingly relevant. Efficient schemes to simultaneously mediate coherent interactions between multiple quantum systems and to reduce decoherence errors can minimize the control overhead in next-generation quantum processors. Here, we present a superconducting qubit architecture based on tunable parametric interactions to perform two-qubit gates, reset, leakage recovery and to read out the qubits. In this architecture, parametrically driven multi-element couplers selectively couple qubits to resonators and neighbouring qubits, according to the frequency of the drive. We consider a system with two qubits and one readout resonator interacting via a single coupling circuit and experimentally demonstrate a controlled-Z gate with a fidelity of $98.30\pm 0.23 \%$, a reset operation that unconditionally prepares the qubit ground state with a fidelity of $99.80\pm 0.02 \%$ and a leakage recovery operation with a $98.5\pm 0.3 \%$ success probability. Furthermore, we implement a parametric readout with a single-shot assignment fidelity of $88.0\pm 0.4 \%$. These operations are all realized using a single tunable coupler, demonstrating the experimental feasibility of the proposed architecture and its potential for reducing the system complexity in scalable quantum processors., Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures

We study the zero-temperature phase diagram of a dissipationless and disorder-free Josephson junction chain. Namely, we determine the critical Josephson energy below which the chain becomes insulating, as a function of the ratio of two capacitances: the capacitance of each Josephson junction and the capacitance between each superconducting island and the ground. We develop an imaginary-time path integral Quantum Monte-Carlo algorithm in the charge representation, which enables us to efficiently handle the electrostatic part of the chain Hamiltonian. We find that a large part of the phase diagram is determined by anharmonic corrections which are not captured by the standard Kosterlitz-Thouless renormalization group description of the transition.

Laser wakefield acceleration of electrons represents a basis for several types of novel X-ray sources based on Thomson scattering or betatron radiation. The latter provides a high photon flux and a small source size, both being prerequisites for high-quality X-ray imaging. Furthermore, proof-of-principle experiments have demonstrated its application for tomographic imaging. So far this required several hours of acquisition time for a complete tomographic data set. Based on improvements to the laser system, detectors and reconstruction algorithms, we were able to reduce this time for a full tomographic scan to 3 minutes. In this paper, we discuss these results and give a prospect to future imaging systems.

Laser-driven X-ray sources are an emerging alternative to conventional X-ray tubes and synchrotron sources. We present results on microtomographic X-ray imaging of a cancellous human bone sample using synchrotron-like betatron radiation. The source is driven by a 100-TW-class titanium-sapphire laser system and delivers over $10^8$ X-ray photons per second. Compared to earlier studies, the acquisition time for an entire tomographic dataset has been reduced by more than an order of magnitude. Additionally, the reconstruction quality benefits from the use of statistical iterative reconstruction techniques. Depending on the desired resolution, tomographies are thereby acquired within minutes, which is an important milestone towards real-life applications of laser-plasma X-ray sources.

X-ray phase-contrast imaging has recently led to a revolution in resolving power and tissue contrast in biomedical imaging, microscopy and materials science. The necessary high spatial coherence is currently provided by either large-scale synchrotron facilities with limited beamtime access or by microfocus X-ray tubes with rather limited flux. X-rays radiated by relativistic electrons driven by well-controlled high-power lasers offer a promising route to a proliferation of this powerful imaging technology. A laser-driven plasma wave accelerates and wiggles electrons, giving rise to brilliant keV X-ray emission. This so-called Betatron radiation is emitted in a collimated beam with excellent spatial coherence and remarkable spectral stability. Here we present the first phase-contrast micro-tomogram revealing quantitative electron density values of a biological sample using betatron X-rays, and a comprehensive source characterization. Our results suggest that laser-based X-ray technology offers the potential for filling the large performance gap between synchrotron- and current X-ray tube-based sources., Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Nature Communication

Dark-field images are formed by small-angle scattering of x-ray photons. The small-angle scattering signal is particularly sensitive to structural variations and density fluctuation on a length scale of several ten to hundred nanometers, offering a new contrast mechanism to reveal subtle structural variation of object. In this paper, we derive a novel physical model to describe x-ray absorption and small-angle scattering, and use the proposed model to reconstruct the volumetric small-angle scattering images. The numerical experiments and test experiments demonstrate that the reconstructed scattering images reveal unique features with a high contrast resolution. The proposed approach has great potential in biomedical imaging, nondestructive detections, and other applications.

The vortex glass model for a disordered high-T_c superconductor in an external magnetic field is studied in the strong screening limit. With exact ground state (i.e. T=0) calculations we show that 1) the ground state of the vortex configuration varies drastically with infinitesimal variations of the strength of the external field, 2) the minimum energy of global excitation loops of length scale L do not depend on the strength of the external field, however 3) the excitation loops themself depend sensibly on the field. From 2) we infer the absence of a true superconducting state at any finite temperature independent of the external field., Comment: 6 pages RevTeX, 5 eps-figures included