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Scalable quantum computing can become a reality with error correction, provided coherent qubits can be constructed in large arrays. The key premise is that physical errors can remain both small and sufficiently uncorrelated as devices scale, so that logical error rates can be exponentially suppressed. However, energetic impacts from cosmic rays and latent radioactivity violate both of these assumptions. An impinging particle ionizes the substrate, radiating high energy phonons that induce a burst of quasiparticles, destroying qubit coherence throughout the device. High-energy radiation has been identified as a source of error in pilot superconducting quantum devices, but lacking a measurement technique able to resolve a single event in detail, the effect on large scale algorithms and error correction in particular remains an open question. Elucidating the physics involved requires operating large numbers of qubits at the same rapid timescales as in error correction, exposing the event's evolution in time and spread in space. Here, we directly observe high-energy rays impacting a large-scale quantum processor. We introduce a rapid space and time-multiplexed measurement method and identify large bursts of quasiparticles that simultaneously and severely limit the energy coherence of all qubits, causing chip-wide failure. We track the events from their initial localised impact to high error rates across the chip. Our results provide direct insights into the scale and dynamics of these damaging error bursts in large-scale devices, and highlight the necessity of mitigation to enable quantum computing to scale.

Quantum many-body systems display rich phase structure in their low-temperature equilibrium states1. However, much of nature is not in thermal equilibrium. Remarkably, it was recently predicted that out-of-equilibrium systems can exhibit novel dynamical phases2–8 that may otherwise be forbidden by equilibrium thermodynamics, a paradigmatic example being the discrete time crystal (DTC)7,9–15. Concretely, dynamical phases can be defined in periodically driven many-body-localized (MBL) systems via the concept of eigenstate order7,16,17. In eigenstate-ordered MBL phases, the entire many-body spectrum exhibits quantum correlations and long-range order, with characteristic signatures in late-time dynamics from all initial states. It is, however, challenging to experimentally distinguish such stable phases from transient phenomena, or from regimes in which the dynamics of a few select states can mask typical behaviour. Here we implement tunable controlled-phase (CPHASE) gates on an array of superconducting qubits to experimentally observe an MBL-DTC and demonstrate its characteristic spatiotemporal response for generic initial states7,9,10. Our work employs a time-reversal protocol to quantify the impact of external decoherence, and leverages quantum typicality to circumvent the exponential cost of densely sampling the eigenspectrum. Furthermore, we locate the phase transition out of the DTC with an experimental finite-size analysis. These results establish a scalable approach to studying non-equilibrium phases of matter on quantum processors., A study establishes a scalable approach to engineer and characterize a many-body-localized discrete time crystal phase on a superconducting quantum processor.

We demonstrate a high dynamic range Josephson parametric amplifier (JPA) in which the active nonlinear element is implemented using an array of rf-SQUIDs. The device is matched to the 50 $\Omega$ environment with a Klopfenstein-taper impedance transformer and achieves a bandwidth of 250-300 MHz, with input saturation powers up to -95 dBm at 20 dB gain. A 54-qubit Sycamore processor was used to benchmark these devices, providing a calibration for readout power, an estimate of amplifier added noise, and a platform for comparison against standard impedance matched parametric amplifiers with a single dc-SQUID. We find that the high power rf-SQUID array design has no adverse effect on system noise, readout fidelity, or qubit dephasing, and we estimate an upper bound on amplifier added noise at 1.6 times the quantum limit. Lastly, amplifiers with this design show no degradation in readout fidelity due to gain compression, which can occur in multi-tone multiplexed readout with traditional JPAs., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures

During the past decade, quantum computing has grown from a field known mostly for generating scientific papers to one that is poised to reshape computing as we know it [1]. Major industrial research efforts in quantum computing are currently underway at many companies, including IBM [2], Microsoft [3], Google [4], [5], Alibaba [6], and Intel [7], to name a few. The European Union [8], Australia [9], China [10], Japan [11], Canada [12], Russia [13], and the United States [14] are each funding large national research initiatives focused on the quantum information sciences. And, recently, tens of start-up companies have emerged with goals ranging from the development of software for use on quantum computers [15] to the implementation of full-fledged quantum computers (e.g., Rigetti [16], ION-Q [17], Psi-Quantum [18], and so on). However, despite this rapid growth, because quantum computing as a field brings together many different disciplines, there is currently a shortage of engineers who understand both the engineering aspects (e.g., microwave design) and the quantum aspects required to build a quantum computer [19]. The aim of this article is to introduce microwave engineers to quantum computing and demonstrate how the microwave community's expertise could contribute to that field.

Interactions in quantum systems can spread initially localized quantum information into the exponentially many degrees of freedom of the entire system. Understanding this process, known as quantum scrambling, is key to resolving several open questions in physics. Here, by measuring the time-dependent evolution and fluctuation of out-of-time-order correlators, we experimentally investigate the dynamics of quantum scrambling on a 53-qubit quantum processor. We engineer quantum circuits that distinguish operator spreading and operator entanglement and experimentally observe their respective signatures. We show that whereas operator spreading is captured by an efficient classical model, operator entanglement in idealized circuits requires exponentially scaled computational resources to simulate. These results open the path to studying complex and practically relevant physical observables with near-term quantum processors.

Realizing the potential of quantum computing requires sufficiently low logical error rates1. Many applications call for error rates as low as 10−15 (refs. 2–9), but state-of-the-art quantum platforms typically have physical error rates near 10−3 (refs. 10–14). Quantum error correction15–17 promises to bridge this divide by distributing quantum logical information across many physical qubits in such a way that errors can be detected and corrected. Errors on the encoded logical qubit state can be exponentially suppressed as the number of physical qubits grows, provided that the physical error rates are below a certain threshold and stable over the course of a computation. Here we implement one-dimensional repetition codes embedded in a two-dimensional grid of superconducting qubits that demonstrate exponential suppression of bit-flip or phase-flip errors, reducing logical error per round more than 100-fold when increasing the number of qubits from 5 to 21. Crucially, this error suppression is stable over 50 rounds of error correction. We also introduce a method for analysing error correlations with high precision, allowing us to characterize error locality while performing quantum error correction. Finally, we perform error detection with a small logical qubit using the 2D surface code on the same device18,19 and show that the results from both one- and two-dimensional codes agree with numerical simulations that use a simple depolarizing error model. These experimental demonstrations provide a foundation for building a scalable fault-tolerant quantum computer with superconducting qubits., Repetition codes running many cycles of quantum error correction achieve exponential suppression of errors with increasing numbers of qubits.

Implementation of an error-corrected quantum computer is believed to require a quantum processor with a million or more physical qubits, and, in order to run such a processor, a quantum control system of similar scale will be required. Such a controller will need to be integrated within the cryogenic system and in close proximity with the quantum processor in order to make such a system practical. Here, we present a prototype cryogenic CMOS quantum controller designed in a 28-nm bulk CMOS process and optimized to implement a 16-word (4-bit) XY gate instruction set for controlling transmon qubits. After introducing the transmon qubit, including a discussion of how it is controlled, design considerations are discussed, with an emphasis on error rates and scalability. The circuit design is then discussed. Cryogenic performance of the underlying technology is presented, and the results of several quantum control experiments carried out using the integrated controller are described. This article ends with a comparison to the state of the art and a discussion of further research to be carried out. It has been shown that the quantum control IC achieves promising performance while dissipating less than 2 mW of total ac and dc power and requiring a digital data stream of less than 500 Mb/s.

The discovery of topological order has revolutionized the understanding of quantum matter in modern physics and provided the theoretical foundation for many quantum error correcting codes. Realizing topologically ordered states has proven to be extremely challenging in both condensed matter and synthetic quantum systems. Here, we prepare the ground state of the toric code Hamiltonian using an efficient quantum circuit on a superconducting quantum processor. We measure a topological entanglement entropy near the expected value of $\ln2$, and simulate anyon interferometry to extract the braiding statistics of the emergent excitations. Furthermore, we investigate key aspects of the surface code, including logical state injection and the decay of the non-local order parameter. Our results demonstrate the potential for quantum processors to provide key insights into topological quantum matter and quantum error correction., Comment: 6 pages 4 figures, plus supplementary materials

Quantum computing can become scalable through error correction, but logical error rates only decrease with system size when physical errors are sufficiently uncorrelated. During computation, unused high energy levels of the qubits can become excited, creating leakage states that are long-lived and mobile. Particularly for superconducting transmon qubits, this leakage opens a path to errors that are correlated in space and time. Here, we report a reset protocol that returns a qubit to the ground state from all relevant higher level states. We test its performance with the bit-flip stabilizer code, a simplified version of the surface code for quantum error correction. We investigate the accumulation and dynamics of leakage during error correction. Using this protocol, we find lower rates of logical errors and an improved scaling and stability of error suppression with increasing qubit number. This demonstration provides a key step on the path towards scalable quantum computing., Correlated errors coming from leakage out of the computational subspace are an obstacle to fault-tolerant superconducting circuits. Here, the authors use a multi-level reset protocol to improve the performances of a bit-flip error correcting code by reducing the magnitude of correlations.

A promising approach to study condensed-matter systems is to simulate them on an engineered quantum platform1–4. However, the accuracy needed to outperform classical methods has not been achieved so far. Here, using 18 superconducting qubits, we provide an experimental blueprint for an accurate condensed-matter simulator and demonstrate how to investigate fundamental electronic properties. We benchmark the underlying method by reconstructing the single-particle band structure of a one-dimensional wire. We demonstrate nearly complete mitigation of decoherence and readout errors, and measure the energy eigenvalues of this wire with an error of approximately 0.01 rad, whereas typical energy scales are of the order of 1 rad. Insight into the fidelity of this algorithm is gained by highlighting the robust properties of a Fourier transform, including the ability to resolve eigenenergies with a statistical uncertainty of 10−4 rad. We also synthesize magnetic flux and disordered local potentials, which are two key tenets of a condensed-matter system. When sweeping the magnetic flux we observe avoided level crossings in the spectrum, providing a detailed fingerprint of the spatial distribution of local disorder. By combining these methods we reconstruct electronic properties of the eigenstates, observing persistent currents and a strong suppression of conductance with added disorder. Our work describes an accurate method for quantum simulation5,6 and paves the way to study new quantum materials with superconducting qubits. As a blueprint for high-precision quantum simulation, an 18-qubit algorithm that consists of more than 1,400 two-qubit gates is demonstrated, and reconstructs the energy eigenvalues of the simulated one-dimensional wire to a precision of 1 per cent.

Quantum algorithms offer a dramatic speedup for computational problems in machine learning, material science, and chemistry. However, any near-term realizations of these algorithms will need to be heavily optimized to fit within the finite resources offered by existing noisy quantum hardware. Here, taking advantage of the strong adjustable coupling of gmon qubits, we demonstrate a continuous two-qubit gate set that can provide a 3x reduction in circuit depth as compared to a standard decomposition. We implement two gate families: an iSWAP-like gate to attain an arbitrary swap angle, $\theta$, and a CPHASE gate that generates an arbitrary conditional phase, $\phi$. Using one of each of these gates, we can perform an arbitrary two-qubit gate within the excitation-preserving subspace allowing for a complete implementation of the so-called Fermionic Simulation, or fSim, gate set. We benchmark the fidelity of the iSWAP-like and CPHASE gate families as well as 525 other fSim gates spread evenly across the entire fSim($\theta$, $\phi$) parameter space achieving purity-limited average two-qubit Pauli error of $3.8 \times 10^{-3}$ per fSim gate., Comment: 20 pages, 17 figures

While quantum processors are typically cooled to $\lt 25$ mK to avoid thermal disturbances to their delicate quantum states, all qubits still suffer decoherence and gate errors. As such, quantum error correction is needed to fully harness the power of quantum computing (QC). Current projections indicate that $\gt 1,000$ physical qubits will be required to encode one error-corrected qubit [1]. Implementing a system with 1,000 error-corrected qubits will likely require moving from the contemporary paradigm where control and readout of the quantum processor is carried out using racks of room temperature electronics to one in which integrated control/readout circuits are located within the cryogenic environment and connected to the quantum processor through superconducting interconnects [2]. This is a major challenge, as the cryo ICs must be high performance and very low power (eventually $\lt 1$ mW/qubit). In this paper, we report the design and system-level characterization of a prototype cryo-CMOS IC for performing XY gate operations on transmon (XMON) qubits.

The promise of quantum computers is that certain computational tasks might be executed exponentially faster on a quantum processor than on a classical processor1. A fundamental challenge is to build a high-fidelity processor capable of running quantum algorithms in an exponentially large computational space. Here we report the use of a processor with programmable superconducting qubits to create quantum states on 53 qubits, corresponding to a computational state-space of dimension 2^53 (about 10^16). Measurements from repeated experiments sample the resulting probability distribution, which we verify using classical simulations. Our Sycamore processor takes about 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times—our benchmarks currently indicate that the equivalent task for a state-of-the-art classical supercomputer would take approximately 10,000 years. This dramatic increase in speed compared to all known classical algorithms is an experimental realization of quantum supremacy for this specific computational task, heralding a much-anticipated computing paradigm.

We demonstrate diabatic two-qubit gates with Pauli error rates down to $4.3(2)\cdot 10^{-3}$ in as fast as 18 ns using frequency-tunable superconducting qubits. This is achieved by synchronizing the entangling parameters with minima in the leakage channel. The synchronization shows a landscape in gate parameter space that agrees with model predictions and facilitates robust tune-up. We test both iSWAP-like and CPHASE gates with cross-entropy benchmarking. The presented approach can be extended to multibody operations as well., Comment: Main text: 6 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary: 2 pages, 2 figures

A major challenge in quantum computing is to solve general problems with limited physical hardware. Here, we implement digitized adiabatic quantum computing, combining the generality of the adiabatic algorithm with the universality of the digital approach, using a superconducting circuit with nine qubits. We probe the adiabatic evolutions, and quantify the success of the algorithm for random spin problems. We find that the system can approximate the solutions to both frustrated Ising problems and problems with more complex interactions, with a performance that is comparable. The presented approach is compatible with small-scale systems as well as future error-corrected quantum computers., Comment: Main text: 7 pages, 5 figures. Supplementary: 12 pages, 9 figures

Superconducting qubits are an attractive platform for quantum computing since they have demonstrated high-fidelity quantum gates and extensibility to modest system sizes. Nonetheless, an outstanding challenge is stabilizing their energy-relaxation times, which can fluctuate unpredictably in frequency and time. Here, we use qubits as spectral and temporal probes of individual two-level-system defects to provide direct evidence that they are responsible for the largest fluctuations. This research lays the foundation for stabilizing qubit performance through calibration, design, and fabrication., 7 main pages, 3 main figures, 5 supplemental pages, 5 supplemental figures

We develop a high speed on-chip flux measurement using a capacitively shunted SQUID as an embedded cryogenic transducer and apply this technique to the qualification of a near-term scalable printed circuit board (PCB) package for frequency tunable superconducting qubits. The transducer is a flux tunable LC resonator where applied flux changes the resonant frequency. We apply a microwave tone to probe this frequency and use a time-domain homodyne measurement to extract the reflected phase as a function of flux applied to the SQUID. The transducer response bandwidth is 2.6 GHz with a maximum gain of $\rm 1200^\circ/\Phi_0$ allowing us to study the settling amplitude to better than 0.1%. We use this technique to characterize on-chip bias line routing and a variety of PCB based packages and demonstrate that step response settling can vary by orders of magnitude in both settling time and amplitude depending on if normal or superconducting materials are used. By plating copper PCBs in aluminum we measure a step response consistent with the packaging used for existing high-fidelity qubits.

Josephson junctions form the essential non-linearity for almost all superconducting qubits. The junction is formed when two superconducting electrodes come within $\sim$1 nm of each other. Although the capacitance of these electrodes is a small fraction of the total qubit capacitance, the nearby electric fields are more concentrated in dielectric surfaces and can contribute substantially to the total dissipation. We have developed a technique to experimentally investigate the effect of these electrodes on the quality of superconducting devices. We use $\lambda$/4 coplanar waveguide resonators to emulate lumped qubit capacitors. We add a variable number of these electrodes to the capacitive end of these resonators and measure how the additional loss scales with number of electrodes. We then reduce this loss with fabrication techniques that limit the amount of lossy dielectrics. We then apply these techniques to the fabrication of Xmon qubits on a silicon substrate to improve their energy relaxation times by a factor of 5.

A quantum computer can solve hard problems, such as prime factoring, database searching and quantum simulation, at the cost of needing to protect fragile quantum states from error. Quantum error correction provides this protection by distributing a logical state among many physical quantum bits (qubits) by means of quantum entanglement. Superconductivity is a useful phenomenon in this regard, because it allows the construction of large quantum circuits and is compatible with microfabrication. For superconducting qubits, the surface code approach to quantum computing is a natural choice for error correction, because it uses only nearest-neighbour coupling and rapidly cycled entangling gates. The gate fidelity requirements are modest: the per-step fidelity threshold is only about 99 per cent. Here we demonstrate a universal set of logic gates in a superconducting multi-qubit processor, achieving an average single-qubit gate fidelity of 99.92 per cent and a two-qubit gate fidelity of up to 99.4 per cent. This places Josephson quantum computing at the fault-tolerance threshold for surface code error correction. Our quantum processor is a first step towards the surface code, using five qubits arranged in a linear array with nearest-neighbour coupling. As a further demonstration, we construct a five-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state using the complete circuit and full set of gates. The results demonstrate that Josephson quantum computing is a high-fidelity technology, with a clear path to scaling up to large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum circuits. © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited.

Many superconducting qubit systems use the dispersive interaction between the qubit and a coupled harmonic resonator to perform quantum state measurement. Previous works have found that such measurements can induce state transitions in the qubit if the number of photons in the resonator is too high. We investigate these transitions and find that they can push the qubit out of the two-level subspace, and that they show resonant behavior as a function of photon number. We develop a theory for these observations based on level crossings within the Jaynes-Cummings ladder, with transitions mediated by terms in the Hamiltonian that are typically ignored by the rotating wave approximation. We find that the most important of these terms comes from an unexpected broken symmetry in the qubit potential. We confirm the theory by measuring the photon occupation of the resonator when transitions occur while varying the detuning between the qubit and resonator.

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved. Statistical mechanics is founded on the assumption that all accessible configurations of a system are equally likely. This requires dynamics that explore all states over time, known as ergodic dynamics. In isolated quantum systems, however, the occurrence of ergodic behaviour has remained an outstanding question. Here, we demonstrate ergodic dynamics in a small quantum system consisting of only three superconducting qubits. The qubits undergo a sequence of rotations and interactions and we measure the evolution of the density matrix. Maps of the entanglement entropy show that the full system can act like a reservoir for individual qubits, increasing their entropy through entanglement. Surprisingly, these maps bear a strong resemblance to the phase space dynamics in the classical limit; classically, chaotic motion coincides with higher entanglement entropy. We further show that in regions of high entropy the full multi-qubit system undergoes ergodic dynamics. Our work illustrates how controllable quantum systems can investigate fundamental questions in non-equilibrium thermodynamics.

We report the first electronic structure calculation performed on a quantum computer without exponentially costly precompilation. We use a programmable array of superconducting qubits to compute the energy surface of molecular hydrogen using two distinct quantum algorithms. First, we experimentally execute the unitary coupled cluster method using the variational quantum eigensolver. Our efficient implementation predicts the correct dissociation energy to within chemical accuracy of the numerically exact result. Second, we experimentally demonstrate the canonical quantum algorithm for chemistry, which consists of Trotterization and quantum phase estimation. We compare the experimental performance of these approaches to show clear evidence that the variational quantum eigensolver is robust to certain errors. This error tolerance inspires hope that variational quantum simulations of classically intractable molecules may be viable in the near future., Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. This revision is to correct an error in the coefficients of identity in Table 1

The intriguing many-body phases of quantum matter arise from the interplay of particle interactions, spatial symmetries, and external fields. Generating these phases in an engineered system could provide deeper insight into their nature and the potential for harnessing their unique properties. However, concurrently bringing together the main ingredients for realizing many-body phenomena in a single experimental platform is a major challenge. Using superconducting qubits, we simultaneously realize synthetic magnetic fields and strong particle interactions, which are among the essential elements for studying quantum magnetism and fractional quantum Hall (FQH) phenomena. The artificial magnetic fields are synthesized by sinusoidally modulating the qubit couplings. In a closed loop formed by the three qubits, we observe the directional circulation of photons, a signature of broken time-reversal symmetry. We demonstrate strong interactions via the creation of photon-vacancies, or "holes", which circulate in the opposite direction. The combination of these key elements results in chiral groundstate currents, the first direct measurement of persistent currents in low-lying eigenstates of strongly interacting bosons. The observation of chiral currents at such a small scale is interesting and suggests that the rich many-body physics could survive to smaller scales. We also motivate the feasibility of creating FQH states with near future superconducting technologies. Our work introduces an experimental platform for engineering quantum phases of strongly interacting photons and highlight a path toward realization of bosonic FQH states., in Nature Physics (2016)

Weak measurement has provided new insight into the nature of quantum measurement, by demonstrating the ability to extract average state information without fully projecting the system. For single-qubit measurements, this partial projection has been demonstrated with violations of the Leggett–Garg inequality. Here we investigate the effects of weak measurement on a maximally entangled Bell state through application of the Hybrid Bell–Leggett–Garg inequality (BLGI) on a linear chain of four transmon qubits. By correlating the results of weak ancilla measurements with subsequent projective readout, we achieve a violation of the BLGI with 27 s.d.s. of certainty. Scientists in the US have developed a method to evaluate the properties of complex quantum states without causing their destruction. A team at the University of California Santa Barbara led by John Martinis verified that the properties of entangled quantum states can be probed using weak measurements. By extracting only small parts of quantum information in a single measurement, weak measurements avoid the problem whereby quantum states are destroyed when the information contained in them is measured. Although this has been successfully demonstrated for single quantum states, it remained unclear if weak measurements were compatible with more complicated entangled systems. By implementing an experimental test that verifies with high accuracy the preservation of those entangled states in measurements, the researchers have made it possible to probe the properties of qubits in complex quantum computing schemes.

By analyzing the dissipative dynamics of a tunable gap flux qubit, we extract both sides of its two-sided environmental flux noise spectral density over a range of frequencies around $2k_BT/h \approx 1\,\rm{GHz}$, allowing for the observation of a classical-quantum crossover. Below the crossover point, the symmetric noise component follows a $1/f$ power law that matches the magnitude of the $1/f$ noise near $1\,{\rm{Hz}}$. The antisymmetric component displays a 1/T dependence below $100\,\rm{mK}$, providing dynamical evidence for a paramagnetic environment. Extrapolating the two-sided spectrum predicts the linewidth and reorganization energy of incoherent resonant tunneling between flux qubit wells., Comment: paper + supplement

Complex integrated circuits require multiple wiring layers. In complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor processing, these layers are robustly separated by amorphous dielectrics. These dielectrics would dominate energy loss in superconducting integrated circuits. Here, we describe a procedure that capitalizes on the structural benefits of inter-layer dielectrics during fabrication and mitigates the added loss. We use a deposited inter-layer dielectric throughout fabrication and then etch it away post-fabrication. This technique is compatible with foundry level processing and can be generalized to make many different forms of low-loss wiring. We use this technique to create freestanding aluminum vacuum gap crossovers (airbridges). We characterize the added capacitive loss of these airbridges by connecting ground planes over microwave frequency λ/4 coplanar waveguide resonators and measuring resonator loss. We measure a low power resonator loss of ∼3.9 × 10−8 per bridge, which is 100 times lower than that of dielectric supported bridges. We further characterize these airbridges as crossovers, control line jumpers, and as part of a coupling network in gmon and fluxmon qubits. We measure qubit characteristic lifetimes (T1s) in excess of 30 μs in gmon devices.

We present an efficient random number generator based on the randomness present in photon emission and detection. The interval between successive photons from a light source with Poissonian statistics is separated into individual time bins, which are then used to create several random bits per detection event. Using a single-photon counter and FPGA-based data processing allows for a cost-efficient and convenient implementation that outputs data at rates of roughly 40 Mbit s−1.

Leakage errors occur when a quantum system leaves the two-level qubit subspace. Reducing these errors is critically important for quantum error correction to be viable. To quantify leakage errors, we use randomized benchmarking in conjunction with measurement of the leakage population. We characterize single qubit gates in a superconducting qubit, and by refining our use of Derivative Reduction by Adiabatic Gate (DRAG) pulse shaping along with detuning of the pulses, we obtain gate errors consistently below $10^{-3}$ and leakage rates at the $10^{-5}$ level. With the control optimized, we find that a significant portion of the remaining leakage is due to incoherent heating of the qubit., 10 pages, 10 figures including supplement; fixed typos in metadata

A precise measurement of dephasing over a range of timescales is critical for improving quantum gates beyond the error correction threshold. We present a metrological tool, based on randomized benchmarking, capable of greatly increasing the precision of Ramsey and spin echo sequences by the repeated but incoherent addition of phase noise. We find our SQUID-based qubit is not limited by $1/f$ flux noise at short timescales, but instead observe a telegraph noise mechanism that is not amenable to study with standard measurement techniques., 11 pages, 7 figures

Simulating quantum physics with a device which itself is quantum mechanical, a notion Richard Feynman originated, would be an unparallelled computational resource. However, the universal quantum simulation of fermionic systems is daunting due to their particle statistics, and Feynman left as an open question whether it could be done, because of the need for non-local control. Here, we implement fermionic interactions with digital techniques in a superconducting circuit. Focusing on the Hubbard model, we perform time evolution with constant interactions as well as a dynamic phase transition with up to four fermionic modes encoded in four qubits. The implemented digital approach is universal and allows for the efficient simulation of fermions in arbitrary spatial dimensions. We use in excess of 300 single-qubit and two-qubit gates, and reach global fidelities which are limited by gate errors. This demonstration highlights the feasibility of the digital approach and opens a viable route towards analog-digital quantum simulation of interacting fermions and bosons in large-scale solid state systems., Main text: 5 pages, 5 figures. Supplementary: 7 pages, 6 figures

We present a fabrication process for fully superconducting interconnects compatible with superconducting qubit technology. These interconnects allow for the three dimensional integration of quantum circuits without introducing lossy amorphous dielectrics. They are composed of indium bumps several microns tall separated from an aluminum base layer by titanium nitride which serves as a diffusion barrier. We measure the whole structure to be superconducting (transition temperature of 1.1 K), limited by the aluminum. These interconnects have an average critical current of 26.8 mA, and mechanical shear and thermal cycle testing indicate that these devices are mechanically robust. Our process provides a method that reliably yields superconducting interconnects suitable for use with superconducting qubits.

One of the key challenges in quantum information is coherently manipulating the quantum state. However, it is an outstanding question whether control can be realized with low error. Only gates from the Clifford group -- containing $\pi$, $\pi/2$, and Hadamard gates -- have been characterized with high accuracy. Here, we show how the Platonic solids enable implementing and characterizing larger gate sets. We find that all gates can be implemented with low error. The results fundamentally imply arbitrary manipulation of the quantum state can be realized with high precision, providing new practical possibilities for designing efficient quantum algorithms., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, including supplementary material

Topology, with its abstract mathematical constructs, often manifests itself in physics and has a pivotal role in our understanding of natural phenomena. Notably, the discovery of topological phases in condensed-matter systems has changed the modern conception of phases of matter. The global nature of topological ordering, however, makes direct experimental probing an outstanding challenge. Present experimental tools are mainly indirect and, as a result, are inadequate for studying the topology of physical systems at a fundamental level. Here we employ the exquisite control afforded by state-of-the-art superconducting quantum circuits to investigate topological properties of various quantum systems. The essence of our approach is to infer geometric curvature by measuring the deflection of quantum trajectories in the curved space of the Hamiltonian. Topological properties are then revealed by integrating the curvature over closed surfaces, a quantum analogue of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem. We benchmark our technique by investigating basic topological concepts of the historically important Haldane model after mapping the momentum space of this condensed-matter model to the parameter space of a single-qubit Hamiltonian. In addition to constructing the topological phase diagram, we are able to visualize the microscopic spin texture of the associated states and their evolution across a topological phase transition. Going beyond non-interacting systems, we demonstrate the power of our method by studying topology in an interacting quantum system. This required a new qubit architecture that allows for simultaneous control over every term in a two-qubit Hamiltonian. By exploring the parameter space of this Hamiltonian, we discover the emergence of an interaction-induced topological phase. Our work establishes a powerful, generalizable experimental platform to study topological phenomena in quantum systems.

We present a method for optimizing quantum control in experimental systems, using a subset of randomized benchmarking measurements to rapidly infer error. This is demonstrated to improve single- and two-qubit gates, minimize gate bleedthrough, where a gate mechanism can cause errors on subsequent gates, and identify control crosstalk in superconducting qubits. This method is able to correct parameters to where control errors no longer dominate, and is suitable for automated and closed-loop optimization of experimental systems., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures including supplementary

(Received 15 November 2013; revised manuscript received 24 January 2014; published 28 May 2014) We demonstrate a high-efficiency deterministic quantum receiver to convert flying qubits to stationary qubits. We employ a superconducting resonator, which is driven with a shaped pulse through an adjustable coupler. For the ideal “time-reversed” shape, we measure absorption and receiver fidelities at the single microwave photon level of, respectively, 99.41% and 97.4%. These fidelities are comparablewith gates and measurement and exceed the deterministic quantum communication and computation fault-tolerant thresholds, enabling new designs of deterministic qubit interconnects and hybrid quantum computers.

We introduce a superconducting qubit architecture that combines high-coherence qubits and tunable qubit-qubit coupling. With the ability to set the coupling to zero, we demonstrate that this architecture is protected from the frequency crowding problems that arise from fixed coupling. More importantly, the coupling can be tuned dynamically with nanosecond resolution, making this architecture a versatile platform with applications ranging from quantum logic gates to quantum simulation. We illustrate the advantages of dynamical coupling by implementing a novel adiabatic controlled-z gate, with a speed approaching that of single-qubit gates. Integrating coherence and scalable control, the introduced qubit architecture provides a promising path towards large-scale quantum computation and simulation.

We present a lumped-element Josephson parametric amplifier designed to operate with strong coupling to the environment. In this regime, we observe broadband frequency dependent amplification with multi-peaked gain profiles. We account for this behaviour using the "pumpistor" model which allows for frequency dependent variation of the external impedance. Using this understanding, we demonstrate control over gain profiles through changes in the environment impedance at a given frequency. With strong coupling to a suitable external impedance we observe a significant increase in dynamic range, and large amplification bandwidth up to 700 MHz giving near quantum-limited performance.

Quantum computing becomes viable when a quantum state can be preserved from environmentally-induced error. If quantum bits (qubits) are sufficiently reliable, errors are sparse and quantum error correction (QEC) is capable of identifying and correcting them. Adding more qubits improves the preservation by guaranteeing increasingly larger clusters of errors will not cause logical failure - a key requirement for large-scale systems. Using QEC to extend the qubit lifetime remains one of the outstanding experimental challenges in quantum computing. Here, we report the protection of classical states from environmental bit-flip errors and demonstrate the suppression of these errors with increasing system size. We use a linear array of nine qubits, which is a natural precursor of the two-dimensional surface code QEC scheme, and track errors as they occur by repeatedly performing projective quantum non-demolition (QND) parity measurements. Relative to a single physical qubit, we reduce the failure rate in retrieving an input state by a factor of 2.7 for five qubits and a factor of 8.5 for nine qubits after eight cycles. Additionally, we tomographically verify preservation of the non-classical Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) state. The successful suppression of environmentally-induced errors strongly motivates further research into the many exciting challenges associated with building a large-scale superconducting quantum computer., Comment: Main text 5 pages, 4 figures. Supplemental 25 pages, 31 figures

We describe and compare two proposals for creating macroscopic superpositions using single-photon optomechanical systems. The realization of the proposed experiments poses major technological challenges, which we examine. Reaching the quantum ground state is essential for both schemes. We present experimental results on optical cooling, which provides a way to reach the quantum ground state for low frequency optomechanical resonators.

Many superconducting qubits are highly sensitive to dielectric loss, making the fabrication of coherent quantum circuits challenging. To elucidate this issue, we characterize the interfaces and surfaces of superconducting coplanar waveguide resonators and study the associated microwave loss. We show that contamination induced by traditional qubit lift-off processing is particularly detrimental to quality factors without proper substrate cleaning, while roughness plays at most a small role. Aggressive surface treatment is shown to damage the crystalline substrate and degrade resonator quality. We also introduce methods to characterize and remove ultra-thin resist residue, providing a way to quantify and minimize remnant sources of loss on device surfaces.

Faster and more accurate state measurement is required for progress in superconducting qubit experiments with greater numbers of qubits and advanced techniques such as feedback. We have designed a multiplexed measurement system with a bandpass filter that allows fast measurement without increasing environmental damping of the qubits. We use this to demonstrate simultaneous measurement of four qubits on a single superconducting integrated circuit, the fastest of which can be measured to 99.8% accuracy in 140 ns. This accuracy and speed is suitable for advanced multiqubit experiments including surface-code error correction.

Superconducting microwave circuits based on coplanar waveguides (CPW) are susceptible to parasitic slotline modes which can lead to loss and decoherence. We motivate the use of superconducting airbridges as a reliable method for preventing the propagation of these modes. We describe the fabrication of these airbridges on superconducting resonators, which we use to measure the loss due to placing airbridges over CPW lines. We find that the additional loss at single photon levels is small, and decreases at higher drive powers., 8 pages and 7 figures including supplementary information

We demonstrate a planar, tunable superconducting qubit with energy relaxation times up to 44 microseconds. This is achieved by using a geometry designed to both minimize radiative loss and reduce coupling to materials-related defects. At these levels of coherence, we find a fine structure in the qubit energy lifetime as a function of frequency, indicating the presence of a sparse population of incoherent, weakly coupled two-level defects. This is supported by a model analysis as well as experimental variations in the geometry. Our `Xmon' qubit combines facile fabrication, straightforward connectivity, fast control, and long coherence, opening a viable route to constructing a chip-based quantum computer., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, including supplementary material

We demonstrate a lumped-element Josephson parametric amplifier, using a single-ended design that includes an on-chip, high-bandwidth flux bias line. The amplifier can be pumped into its region of parametric gain through either the input port or through the flux bias line. Broadband amplification is achieved at a tunable frequency $\omega/2 \pi$ between 5 to 7 GHz with quantum-limited noise performance, a gain-bandwidth product greater than 500 MHz, and an input saturation power in excess of -120 dBm. The bias line allows fast frequency tuning of the amplifier, with variations of hundreds of MHz over time scales shorter than 10 ns.

We present a scheme for achieving macroscopic quantum superpositions in optomechanical systems by using single photon postselection and detecting them with nested interferometers. This method relieves many of the challenges associated with previous optical schemes for measuring macroscopic superpositions, and only requires the devices to be in the weak coupling regime. It requires only small improvements on currently achievable device parameters, and allows observation of decoherence on a timescale unconstrained by the system's optical decay time. Prospects for observing novel decoherence mechanisms are discussed., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures