UvA-DARE (

UvA-DARE (

Reverse engineering of single-qubit quantum gates

In this work, we address the problem of designing single-qubit quantum gates by means of a linearly-polarized field. We show that any desired one-qubit gate corresponding to a special unitary matrix can be generated by a modulated sinusoidal field. The only approximation involved is the rotating-wave-approximation. The formula for the control field is obtained by inverting the equation of motion for the evolution operator and imposing the conditions for the desired gate. We give a simple procedure to obtain closed analytical formulas for the fields in terms of a priori chosen dynamical functions. Additionally, these dynamical functions can depend on tunable free parameters intentionally introduced to meet a desired performance criteria.

Contextuality in the $n$-qubit Pauli group

The $n$-qubit Pauli group is an essential ingredient to most quantum applications, from computing and error correction to benchmarking and simulation. Despite comprising merely a discrete set of operators, it exhibits many quintessential features of quantum theory, including contextuality, which has been identified as a key resource to quantum advantage in a variety of different flavours. Here, we extend this analysis, introducing the notion of a `noncontextual property'whose nonexistence proves the Kochen-Specker theorem, similarly to and generalising common arguments based on the nonexistence of valuations. We relate this notion formally to the existence of Boolean-valued frame functions, and characterise all such frame functions in the case of the $n$-qubit Pauli group. For two qubits, we show that the Pauli group admits noncontextual properties, despite admitting no valuations. We then establish this as the only nontrivial such case with $n\geq 2$, by proving that any Boolean-valued frame function on stabiliser states is constant for more than two qubits. We also perform a similar analysis for the symplectic theory underlying the $n$-qubit Pauli group, for which nonconstant Boolean-valued frame functions exist for all $n$, yet only in restricted form. By comparison, this shows that contextuality in the $n$-qubit Pauli group is not only a consequence of the projective nature of the Pauli group as a representation of its underlying symplectic vector space, but of the geometry of symplectic polar spaces itself. In geometric terms, our result determines all Cameron-Liebler sets of maximal totally isotropic flats in the binary affine-symplectic space.

Experimental benchmark of pseudo-Hermitian qubit sensing via Naimark dilation

Non-Hermitian dynamics can sharply amplify the response of a quantum sensor near eigenstate coalescence, but whether this amplification yields a genuine metrological gain depends on how the non-unitary evolution is physically realised and how its resources are counted. We address this question experimentally by implementing the pseudo-Hermitian qubit sensing protocol of Chu et al . [Phys. Rev. Lett. 124, 020501 (2020)] on a two-qubit nuclear magnetic resonance processor via Naimark dilation. Because both the postselected signal and the full two-qubit probability are obtained from a single set of population measurements, the enhanced response and its postselection cost are accessed within the same experiment. We observe the characteristic steep response of the postselected branch, whereas the sensitivity extracted from the absolute two-qubit probability does not surpass the Ramsey benchmark for the same sensor encoding, consistent with the theoretical resource bound derived by Ding et al . [Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 160801 (2023)] for the corresponding dilation scheme. The experiment complements the recent photonic implementation of the direct non-unitary route and provides an experimental benchmark of the Hermitian-dilation route with explicit resource accounting.

Optimizing LZSM protocol for high-fidelity gates in open-system fluxonium

Quantum gates based on resonant Rabi oscillations are inherently slow for small-frequency qubits. They are also prone to errors due to counter-rotating terms. However, when the anharmonicity is sufficiently high, as in the fluxonium architecture, alternative manipulation protocols can outperform standard resonant driving. In this work, we implement fast, high-fidelity quantum gates based on a one-period Landau-Zener-St\"uckelberg-Majorana (LZSM) driving protocol. We derive analytical expressions that simplify the exploration of the parameter space while accounting for the multi-level structure of the circuit. Furthermore, we analyze the role of leakage, discussing strategies to mitigate it and identifying regimes in which it becomes the dominant source of error. Finally, to evaluate the impact of dissipation on gate fidelity, we develop a robust formalism suitable for analyzing the open-system performance of quantum gates in the strong driving regime.

Ultrafast quantum gate operations in a Kramers-Henneberger atom Qubit

We propose and demonstrate the Kramers-Henneberger KH) atom as a novel qubit platform for ultrafast single-qubit gate operations. In the KH frame, the time-averaged strong laser field engineers a double-well potential whose two lowest eigenstates define the qubit basis, so that the computational structure is created and maintained by the driving field itself. A weak resonant control field drives coherent gate operations: full time-dependent Schr\"{o}dinger equation simulations with the complete time-dependent KH potential confirm a Z gate and S gate of the order of femtoseconds, six orders of magnitude faster than laser-driven superconducting qubit gates. Decoherence characterisation gives longer decoherence times than those required for the gate operations. The complete six-gate single-qubit set is demonstrated in the time-averaged two-level limit, with strong agreement between the full and time-averaged descriptions confirming that fidelity is limited by structured leakage rather than stochastic decoherence. In principle, this is an error channel suppressible through pulse engineering. These results constitute the first demonstration of coherent single-qubit gates in a strong-field setting, with a clear pathway toward attosecond-scale operations.