H. Ball

Quantum error correction provides a path to large-scale quantum computers, but is built on challenging assumptions about the characteristics of the underlying errors. In particular, the mathematical assumption of independent errors in quantum logic operations is at odds with realistic environments where error-sources may exhibit strong temporal correlations. We present experiments enabling the identification of error correlations between operations in quantum circuits, using only projective measurements at the end of the circuit. Using a single trapped ion qubit and engineered noise with tunable temporal correlations, we identify a clear signature of error correlations between sequential gates in randomly composed quantum circuits, and extract quantitative measures linked to the underlying noise correlation length. By replacing all gates in these circuits with "virtual" dynamically corrected gates (DCGs), we demonstrate that even in the presence of strongly correlated noise the signatures of error correlations between sequential gates appear similar to standard gates exposed to uncorrelated noise. A theoretical model applied to our experiments reveals that common DCGs suppress the correlated error component by over $270\times$ with $95\%$ confidence. Using block-correlated noise, we explore the scaling of the effective error correlation length at the virtual level, and show that DCGs exhibit error correlations indistinguishable from those arising from uncorrelated noise.

Growth in the complexity and capabilities of quantum information hardware mandates access to practical techniques for performance verification that function under realistic laboratory conditions. Here we experimentally characterise the impact of common temporally correlated noise processes on both randomised benchmarking (RB) and gate-set tomography (GST). We study these using an analytic toolkit based on a formalism mapping noise to errors for arbitrary sequences of unitary operations. This analysis highlights the role of sequence structure in enhancing or suppressing the sensitivity of quantum verification protocols to either slowly or rapidly varying noise, which we treat in the limiting cases of quasi-DC miscalibration and white noise power spectra. We perform experiments with a single trapped $^{171}$Yb$^{+}$ ion as a qubit and inject engineered noise ($\propto σ^z$) to probe protocol performance. Experiments on RB validate predictions that the distribution of measured fidelities over sequences is described by a gamma distribution varying between approximately Gaussian for rapidly varying noise, and a broad, highly skewed distribution for the slowly varying case. Similarly we find a strong gate set dependence of GST in the presence of correlated errors, leading to significant deviations between estimated and calculated diamond distances in the presence of correlated $σ^z$ errors. Numerical simulations demonstrate that expansion of the gate set to include negative rotations can suppress these discrepancies and increase reported diamond distances by orders of magnitude for the same error processes. Similar effects do not occur for correlated $σ^x$ or $σ^y$ errors or rapidly varying noise processes, highlighting the critical interplay of selected gate set and the gauge optimisation process on the meaning of the reported diamond norm in correlated noise environments.

Experimentalists seeking to improve the coherent lifetimes of quantum bits have generally focused on mitigating decoherence mechanisms through, for example, improvements to qubit designs and materials, and system isolation from environmental perturbations. In the case of the phase degree of freedom in a quantum superposition, however, the coherence that must be preserved is not solely internal to the qubit, but rather necessarily includes that of the qubit relative to the "master clock" (e.g. a local oscillator) that governs its control system. In this manuscript we articulate the impact of instabilities in the master clock on qubit phase coherence, and provide tools to calculate the contributions to qubit error arising from these processes. We first connect standard oscillator phase-noise metrics to their corresponding qubit dephasing spectral densities. We then use representative lab-grade and performance-grade oscillator specifications to calculate operational fidelity bounds on trapped-ion and superconducting qubits with relatively slow and fast operation times. We discuss the relevance of these bounds for quantum error correction in contemporary experiments and future large-scale quantum information systems, and discuss potential means to improve master clock stability.

Instabilities due to extrinsic interference are routinely faced in systems engineering, and a common solution is to rely on a broad class of $\textit{filtering}$ techniques in order to afford stability to intrinsically unstable systems. For instance, electronic systems are frequently designed to incorporate electrical filters composed of, $\textit{e.g.}$ RLC components, in order to suppress the effects of out-of-band fluctuations that interfere with desired performance. Quantum coherent systems are now moving to a level of complexity where challenges associated with realistic time-dependent noise are coming to the fore. Unfortunately, standard control solutions involving feedback are generally impossible due to the strictures of quantum mechanics, and existing error-suppressing gate constructions generally rely on unphysical bang-bang controls or quasi-static error models that do not reflect realistic laboratory environments. In this work we use the theory of quantum control engineering and experiments with trapped $^{171}$Yb$^{+}$ ions to demonstrate the construction of novel $\textit{noise filters}$ which are specifically designed to mitigate the effect of realistic time-dependent fluctuations on qubits \emph{during useful operations}. Starting with desired filter characteristics and the Walsh basis functions, we use a combination of analytic design rules and numeric search to construct time-domain noise filters tailored to a desired state transformation. Our results validate the generalized filter-transfer function framework for arbitrary quantum control operations, and demonstrate that it can be leveraged as an effective and efficient tool for developing novel robust control protocols.

We develop and demonstrate a technique to engineer universal unitary baths in quantum systems. Using the correspondence between unitary decoherence due to ambient environmental noise and errors in a control system for quantum bits, we show how a wide variety of relevant classical error models may be realized through In-Phase/Quadrature modulation on a vector signal generator producing a resonant carrier signal. We demonstrate our approach through high-bandwidth modulation of the 12.6 GHz carrier appropriate for trapped $^{171}$Yb$^{+}$ ions. Experiments demonstrate the reduction of coherent lifetime in the system in the presence of an engineered bath, with the observed $T_{2}$ scaling as predicted by a quantitative model described herein. These techniques form the basis of a toolkit for quantitative tests of quantum control protocols, helping experimentalists characterize the performance of their quantum coherent systems.

We describe a high-power, frequency-tunable, external cavity diode laser (ECDL) system near 626 nm useful for laser cooling of trapped $^9$Be$^+$ ions. A commercial single-mode laser diode with rated power output of 170 mW at 635 nm is cooled to $\approx - 31$ C, and a single longitudinal mode is selected via the Littrow configuration. In our setup, involving multiple stages of thermoelectric cooling, we are able to obtain $\approx$130 mW near 626 nm, sufficient for efficient frequency doubling to the required Doppler cooling wavelengths near 313 nm in ionized Beryllium. In order to improve nonlinear frequency conversion efficiency, we achieve larger useful power via injection locking of a slave laser. In this way the entirety of the slave output power is available for frequency doubling, while analysis may be performed on the master output. We believe that this simple laser system addresses a key need in the ion trapping community and dramatically reduces the cost and complexity associated with Beryllium ion trapping experiments.