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Symmetric or asymmetric state transfer along a path encircling an exceptional point (EP) is one of the extraordinary phenomena in non-Hermitian (NH) systems. However, the application of this property in both symmetric and asymmetric entangled state transfers, within systems experiencing multiple types of dissipation, remains to be fully explored. In this work, we demonstrate efficient symmetric and asymmetric Bell-state transfers, by modulating system parameters within a Jaynes-Cummings model and considering atomic spontaneous emission and cavity decay. The effective suppression of nonadiabatic transitions facilitates a symmetric exchange of Bell states regardless of the encircling direction. Additionally, we present a counterintuitive finding, suggests that the presence of an EP may not be indispensable for implementation of asymmetric state transfers in NH systems. We further achieve perfect asymmetric Bell-state transfers even in the absence of an EP, while dynamically orbiting around an approximate EP. Our work presents an approach to effectively and reliably manipulate entangled states with both symmetric and asymmetric characteristics, through the dissipation engineering in NH systems., Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures

The environment-induced dissipation of an open system, once thought as a nuisance, can actually lead to emergence of many intriguing phenomena that are absent in an isolated system. Among these, Weyl exceptional rings (WER), extended from point-like singularities, are particularly interesting. Theoretically, a WER was predicted to carry a topological charge with a nonzero Chern number, but it has not been measured so far. We here investigate this topology in a circuit, where the WER is synthesized with a superconducting qubit controllably coupled to a decaying resonator. The high flexibility of the system enables us to characterize its eigenvectors on different manifolds of parameter space. We extract both the quantized Berry phase and Chern number from these eigenvectors. Furthermore, we demonstrate a topological transition triggered by shrinking the size of the manifold$-$a unique feature of the WER., Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures

Owing to the presence of exceptional points (EPs), non-Hermitian (NH) systems can display intriguing topological phenomena without Hermitian analogs. However, experimental characteristics of exceptional topological invariants have been restricted to second-order EPs (EP2s) in classical or semiclassical systems. We here propose an NH multi-qubit model with higher-order EPs, each of which is underlain by a multifold-degenerate multipartite entangled eigenstate. We implement the three-qubit model by controllably coupling a superconducting qubit to two microwave resonators, one serving as a Hermitian photonic qubit while the other as an NH qubit. We experimentally quantify the topological invariant for an EP3, by mapping out the complex eigenspectra along a loop surrounding this EP3 in the parameter space. The nonclassicality of the realized topology is manifested by the observed quantum correlations in the corresponding eigenstates. Our results extend research of exceptional topology to fully quantum-mechanical models with multi-partite entangled eigenstates. We further demonstrate the non-reciprocal transmission of a single photon, during which the photon is nonlocally shared by three individual elements.

Motivated by recent realizations of two-dimensional (2D) superconducting-qubit lattices, we propose a protocol to simulate Hofstadter butterfly with synthetic gauge fields in superconducting circuits. Based on the existing 2D superconducting-qubit lattices, we construct a generalized Hofstadter model on zigzag lattices, which has a fractal energy spectrum similar to the original Hofstadter butterfly. By periodically modulating the resonant frequencies of qubits, we engineer a synthetic gauge field to mimic the generalized Hofstadter Hamiltonian. A spectroscopic method is used to demonstrate the Hofstadter butterfly from the time evolutions of experimental observables. We numerically simulate the dynamics of the system with realistic parameters, and the results show a butterfly spectrum clearly. Our proposal provides a promising way to realize the Hofstadter butterfly on the latest 2D superconducting-qubit lattices and will stimulate the quantum simulation of novel properties induced by magnetic fields in superconducting circuits.

We propose a simple method to realize a hybrid controlled-controlled-Z (CCZ) gate with two photonic qubits simultaneously controlling a superconducting (SC) target qubit, by employing two microwave cavities coupled to a SC ququart (a four-level quantum system). In this proposal, each control qubit is a photonic qubit, which is encoded by two arbitrary orthogonal eigenstates (with eigenvalues 1 and -1, respectively) of the photon-number parity operator. Since the two arbitrary encoding states can take various quantum states, this proposal can be applied to realize the hybrid CCZ gate, for which the two control photonic qubits can have various encodings. The gate realization is quite simple because only a basic operation is needed. During the gate operation, the higher energy intermediate levels of the ququart are not occupied, and, thus, decoherence from these levels is greatly suppressed. We further discuss how to apply this gate to generate a hybrid Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) entangled state of a SC qubit and two photonic qubits, which takes a general form. As an example, our numerical simulation demonstrates that high-fidelity generation of a cat-cat-spin hybrid GHZ state is feasible within current circuit QED technology. This proposal is quite general, which can be applied to realize the hybrid CCZ gate as well as to prepare various hybrid GHZ states of a matter qubit and two photonic qubits in other physical systems, such as two microwave or optical cavities coupled to a four-level natural or artificial atom., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table

In recent years, quantum state engineering and quantum information processing using microwave fields and photons have received increasing attention. In addition, multiqubit gates play an important role in quantum information processing. In this work, we propose to encode a photonic qubit via two arbitrary orthogonal eigenstates (with eigenvalues 1 and -1, respectively) of the photon-number parity operator. With such encoding, we then present a single-step method to realize a multi-target-qubit controlled-phase gate with one photonic qubit simultaneously controlling n-1 target photonic qubits, by employing n microwave cavities coupled to one superconducting flux qutrit. This proposal can be applied not only to implement nonhybrid multi-target-qubit controlled-phase gates using photonic qubits with various encodings, but also to realize hybrid multi-target-qubit controlled-phase gates using photonic qubits with different encodings. The gate realization requires only a single-step operation. The gate operation time does not increase with the number of target qubits. Because the qutrit remains in the ground state during the entire operation, decoherence from the qutrit is greatly suppressed. As an application, we show how to apply this gate to generate a multicavity Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) entangled state with general expression. Depending on the specific encodings, we further discuss the preparation of several nonhybrid and hybrid GHZ entangled states of multiple cavities. We numerically investigate the circuit-QED experimental feasibility of creating a three-cavity spin-coherent hybrid GHZ state. This proposal can be extended to accomplish the same tasks in a wide range of physical systems, such as multiple microwave or optical cavities coupled to a three-level natural or artificial atom., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 1 table

We show how to generate Bell states and $N$-partite $W$ states of long-distance superconducting (SC) qubits in a SC waveguide quantum electrodynamical (QED) system, where SC qubits are coupled to an open microwave transmission line. In the two-qubit case, the Bell state of two long-distance qubits can be a dark state of the system by choosing appropriate system parameters. If one proper microwave pulse drives one of two qubits, the two qubits will evolve from their ground states to a Bell state. Further, we extend this scheme to the multi-qubit case. We show that $W$ states of $N$ long-distance qubits can also be generated. Because both the Bell and $W$ states are decoupled from the waveguide (i.e., dark states of the system), they are steady and have very long lifetimes in the ideal case without decoherence of qubits. In contrast to the ideal case, the presence of decoherence of qubits limits the lifetimes of the Bell and $W$ states. Our study provides a novel scheme for generating Bell states and $N$-partite $W$ states in SC waveguide QED, which can be used to entangle long-distance nodes in waveguide quantum networks., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures

We show that a continuous-variable (CV) qudit can be constructed using quasiorthogonal cat states of a bosonic mode, when the phase encoded in each cat state is chosen appropriately. With the constructed CV qudit and the discrete-variable (DV) qudit encoded with Fock states, we propose an approach to generate the hybrid maximally entangled state of a CV qudit and a DV qudit by using two microwave cavities coupled to a superconducting flux qutrit. This proposal relies on the initial preparation of a superposition of Fock states of one cavity and the initial preparation of a cat state of the other cavity. After the initial state of each cavity is prepared, this proposal requires only two basic operations, i.e., the first operation employs the dispersive coupling of both cavities with the qutrit while the second operation uses the dispersive coupling of only one cavity with the qutrit. The entangled state production is deterministic and the operation time decreases as the dimensional size of each qudit increases. In addition, during the entire operation, the coupler qutrit remains in the ground state and thus decoherence from the qutrit is significantly reduced. As an example, we further discuss the experimental feasibility for generating the hybrid maximally entangled state of a DV qutrit and a CV qutrit based on circuit QED. This proposal is universal and can be extended to accomplish the same task, by using two microwave or optical cavities coupled to a natural or artificial three-level atom., Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures

Hybrid quantum gates have recently drawn considerable attention. They play significant roles in connecting quantum information processors with qubits of different encoding and have important applications in the transmission of quantum states between a quantum processor and a quantum memory. In this work, we propose a single-step implementation of a multi-target-qubit controlled-NOT gate with one superconducting (SC) qubit simultaneously controlling $n$ target cat-state qubits. In this proposal, the gate is implemented with $n$ microwave cavities coupled to a three-level SC qutrit. The two logic states of the control SC qubit are represented by the two lowest levels of the qutrit, while the two logic states of each target cat-state qubit are represented by two quasi-orthogonal cat states of a microwave cavity. This proposal operates essentially through the dispersive coupling of each cavity with the qutrit. The gate realization is quite simple because it requires only a single-step operation. There is no need of applying a classical pulse or performing a measurement. The gate operation time is independent of the number of target qubits, thus it does not increase as the number of target qubits increases. Moreover, because the third higher energy level of the qutrit is not occupied during the gate operation, decoherence from the qutrit is greatly suppressed. As an application of this hybrid multi-target-qubit gate, we further discuss the generation of a hybrid Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) entangled state of SC qubits and cat-state qubits. As an example, we numerically analyze the experimental feasibility of generating a hybrid GHZ state of one SC qubit and three cat-state qubits within present circuit QED technology., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures

Compared with a qubit, a qudit (i.e., $d$-level or $d$-state quantum system) provides a larger Hilbert space to store and process information. On the other hand, qudit-based hybrid quantum computing usually requires performing hybrid quantum gates with qudits different in their nature or in their encoding format. In this work, we consider the qutrit case, i.e., the case for a qudit with $d$=3. We propose a simple method to realize a hybrid quantum controlled-SUM gate with one superconducting (SC) qutrit and a cat-state qutrit. This gate plus single-qutrit gates form a universal set of ternary logic gates for quantum computing with qutrits. Our proposal is based on circuit QED and operates essentially by employing a SC ququart (a four-level quantum system) dispersively coupled to a microwave cavity. The gate implementation is quite simple because it only requires a single basic operation. Neither classical pulse nor measurement is needed. The auxiliary higher energy level of the SC ququart is virtually excited during the gate operation, thus decoherence from this level is greatly suppressed. As an application of this gate, we discuss the generation of a hybrid maximally-entangled state of one SC qutrit and one cat-state qutrit. We further analyze the experimental feasibility of creating such hybrid entangled state in circuit QED. This proposal is quite general and can be extended to accomplish the same task in a wide range of physical system, such as a four-level natural or artificial atom coupled to an optical or microwave cavity., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

Quantum walks have wide applications in quantum information, such as universal quantum computation, so it is important to explore properties of quantum walks thoroughly. We propose a novel method to implement discrete-time quantum walks (DTQWs) using only a single qubit, in which both coin and walker are encoded in the two-dimensional state space of a single qubit, operations are realized using single-qubit gates only, and high-dimensional final states of DTQWs can be obtained naturally. With this "one-qubit" approach, DTQW experiments can be realized much more easily, compared with previous methods, in most quantum systems and all properties based on quantum states of DTQWs (such as quantum correlation and coherence) can be investigated. By this approach, we experimentally implement one-particle and two-particle DTQWs with seven steps using single photons. Furthermore, we systematically investigate quantum correlations and coherence (based on the full state of the coin and walker) of the DTQW systems with different initial states of the coin, which have not been obtained and studied in DTQW experiments. As an application, we also study the assisted distillation of quantum coherence using the full state of the two-particle DTQW from the experiment. The maximal increase in distillable coherence for high-dimensional mixed states is investigated for the first time by obtaining its upper and lower bounds. Our work opens a new door to implement DTQW experiments and to better explore properties of quantum walks., Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures

Very recently, dissipative coupling was discovered, which develops and broadens methods for controlling and utilizing light-matter interactions. Here, we propose a scheme to generate the tripartite $W$ state in a dissipatively coupled system, where one qubit and two resonators simultaneously interact with a common reservoir. With appropriate parameters, we find the $W$ state is a dark state of the system. By driving the qubit, the dissipatively coupled system will evolve from the ground state to the tripartite $W$ state. Because the initial state is the ground state of the system and no measurement is required, our scheme is easy to implement in experiments. Moreover, the $W$ state decouples from the common reservoir and thus has a very long lifetime. This scheme is applicable to a wide class of dissipatively coupled systems, and we specifically illustrate how to prepare the $W$ state in a hybrid qubit-photon-magnon system by using this scheme., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures

We propose an efficient scheme to implement a multiplex-controlled phase gate with multiple photonic qubits simultaneously controlling one target photonic qubit based on circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED). For convenience, we denote this multiqubit gate as MCP gate. The gate is realized by using a two-level coupler to couple multiple cavities. The coupler here is a superconducting qubit. This scheme is simple because the gate implementation requires only \textit{one step} of operation. In addition, this scheme is quite general because the two logic states of each photonic qubit can be encoded with a vacuum state and an arbitrary non-vacuum state (e.g., a Fock state, a superposition of Fock states, a cat state, or a coherent state, etc.) which is orthogonal or quasi-orthogonal to the vacuum state. The scheme has some additional advantages: Because only two levels of the coupler are used, i.e., no auxiliary levels are utilized, decoherence from higher energy levels of the coupler is avoided; the gate operation time does not depend on the number of qubits; and the gate is implemented deterministically because no measurement is applied. As an example, we numerically analyze the circuit-QED based experimental feasibility of implementing a three-qubit MCP gate with photonic qubits each encoded via a vacuum state and a cat state. The scheme can be applied to accomplish the same task in a wide range of physical system, which consists of multiple microwave or optical cavities coupled to a two-level coupler such as a natural or artificial atom., Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Frontiers of Physics

We investigate the issue of assisted coherence distillation in the asymptotic limit (considering infinite copies of the resource states), by coordinately performing the identical local operations on the auxiliary systems of each copy. When we further restrict the coordinate operations to projective measurements, the distillation process is branched into many sub-processes. Finally, a simple formula is given that the assisted distillable coherence should be the maximal average coherence of the residual states. The formula makes the experimental research of assisted coherence distillation possible and convenient, especially for the case that the system and its auxiliary are in mixed states. By using the formula,\ we for the first time study the assisted coherence distillation in multipartite systems. Monogamy-like inequalities are given to constrain the distribution of the assisted distillable coherence in the subsystems. Taking three-qubit system for example, we experimentally prepare two types of tripartite correlated states, i.e., the $W$-type and GHZ-type states in a linear optical setup, and experimentally explore the assisted coherence distillation. Theoretical and experimental results agree well to verify the distribution inequalities given by us. Three measures of multipartite quantum correlation are also considered. The close relationship between the assisted coherence distillation and the genuine multipartite correlation is revealed., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures

We present a way to transfer maximally- or partially-entangled states of n single-photon-state (SPS) qubits onto n coherent-state (CS) qubits, by employing 2n microwave cavities coupled to a superconducting flux qutrit. The two logic states of a SPS qubit here are represented by the vacuum state and the single-photon state of a cavity, while the two logic states of a CS qubit are encoded with two coherent states of a cavity. Because of using only one superconducting qutrit as the coupler, the circuit architecture is significantly simplified. The operation time for the state transfer does not increase with the increasing of the number of qubits. When the dissipation of the system is negligible, the quantum state can be transferred in a deterministic way since no measurement is required. Furthermore, the higher-energy intermediate level of the coupler qutrit is not excited during the entire operation and thus decoherence from the qutrit is greatly suppressed. As a specific example, we numerically demonstrate that the high-fidelity transfer of a Bell state of two SPS qubits onto two CS qubits is achievable within the present-day circuit QED technology. Finally, it is worthy to note that when the dissipation is negligible, entangled states of n CS qubits can be transferred back onto n SPS qubits by performing reverse operations. This proposal is quite general and can be extended to accomplish the same task, by employing a natural or artificial atom to couple 2n microwave or optical cavities., Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Frontiers of Physics

Back-streaming neutrons from the spallation target of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) that emit through the incoming proton channel were exploited to build a white neutron beam facility (the so-called Back-n white neutron source), which was completed in March 2018. The Back-n neutron beam is very intense, at approximately 2*10^7 n/cm^2/s at 55 m from the target, and has a nominal proton beam with a power of 100 kW in the CSNS-I phase and a kinetic energy of 1.6 GeV and a thick tungsten target in multiple slices with modest moderation from the cooling water through the slices. In addition, the excellent energy spectrum spanning from 0.5 eV to 200 MeV, and a good time resolution related to the time-of-flight measurements make it a typical white neutron source for nuclear data measurements; its overall performance is among that of the best white neutron sources in the world. Equipped with advanced spectrometers, detectors, and application utilities, the Back-n facility can serve wide applications, with a focus on neutron-induced cross-section measurements. This article presents an overview of the neutron beam characteristics, the experimental setups, and the ongoing applications at Back-n., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures

Provided that cavities are initially in a Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) entangled state, we show that GHZ states of N-group qubits distributed in N cavities can be created via a 3-step operation. The GHZ states of the N-group qubits are generated by using N-group qutrits placed in the N cavities. Here, "qutrit" refers to a three-level quantum system with the two lowest levels representing a qubit while the third level acting as an intermediate state necessary for the GHZ state creation. This proposal does not depend on the architecture of the cavity-based quantum network and the way for coupling the cavities. The operation time is independent of the number of qubits. The GHZ states are prepared deterministically because no measurement on the states of qutrits or cavities is needed. In addition, the third energy level of the qutrits during the entire operation is virtually excited and thus decoherence from higher energy levels is greatly suppressed. This proposal is quite general and can in principle be applied to create GHZ states of many qubits using different types of physical qutrits (e.g., atoms, quantum dots, NV centers, various superconducting qutrits, etc.) distributed in multiple cavities. As a specific example, we further discuss the experimental feasibility of preparing a GHZ state of four-group transmon qubits (each group consisting of three qubits) distributed in four one-dimensional transmission line resonators arranged in an array., Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures

We experimentally investigate problems of one-shot coherence distillation [Regula, Fang, Wang, and Adesso, Phys. Rev. Lett. 121, 010401 (2018)]. Based on a set of optical devices, we design a type of strictly incoherent operation (SIO), which is applicable in high-dimensional cases and can be applied to accomplish the transformations from higher-dimensional states to lower-dimensional states. Furthermore, a relatively complete process of the one-shot coherence distillation is experimentally demonstrated for three- and four-dimensional input states. Experimental data reveal an interesting result: higher coherence distillation rates (but defective) can be reached by tolerating a larger error. Our finding paves a fresh way in the experimental investigation of quantum coherence conversions through various incoherent operations., Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures

Quantum homomorphic encryption (QHE) is an encryption method that allows quantum computation to be performed on one party's private data with the program provided by another party, without revealing much information about the data nor the program to the opposite party. We propose a framework for (interactive) QHE based on the universal circuit approach. It contains a subprocedure of calculating a classical linear polynomial, which can be implemented with quantum or classical methods; apart from the subprocedure, the framework has low requirement on the quantum capabilities of the party who provides the circuit. We illustrate the subprocedure using a quite simple classical protocol with some privacy tradeoff. For a special case of such protocol, we obtain a scheme similar to blind quantum computation but with the output on a different party. Another way of implementing the subprocedure is to use a recently studied quantum check-based protocol, which has low requirement on the quantum capabilities of both parties. The subprocedure could also be implemented with a classical additive homomorphic encryption scheme. We demonstrate some key steps of the outer part of the framework in a quantum optics experiment., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Comments are welcome

Implementation of discrete-time quantum walk (DTQW) with superconducting qubits is difficult since on-chip superconducting qubits cannot hop between lattice sites. We propose an efficient protocol for the implementation of DTQW in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED), in which only $N+1$ qutrits and $N$ assistant cavities are needed for an $N$-step DTQW. The operation of each DTQW step is very quick because only resonant processes are adopted. The numerical simulations show that high-similarity DTQW with the number of step up to $20$ is feasible with present-day circuit QED technique. This protocol can help to study properties and applications of large-step DTQW in experiments, which is important for the development of quantum computation and quantum simulation in circuit QED., Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures