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Quantum amplification of boson-mediated interactions

Nature Physics volume 17, pages 898–902 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Strong and precisely controlled interactions between quantum objects are essential for quantum information processing1,2, simulation3 and sensing4,5, and for the formation of exotic quantum matter6. A well-established paradigm for coupling otherwise weakly interacting quantum objects is to use auxiliary bosonic quantum excitations to mediate the interactions. Important examples include photon-mediated interactions between atoms7, superconducting qubits8, and colour centres in diamond9, and phonon-mediated interactions between trapped ions10,11,12 and between optical and microwave photons13. Boson-mediated interactions can, in principle, be amplified through parametric driving of the boson channel; the drive need not couple directly to the interacting quantum objects. This technique has been proposed for a variety of quantum platforms14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24, but has not, so far, been realized in the laboratory. Here we experimentally demonstrate the amplification of a boson-mediated interaction between two trapped-ion qubits by parametric modulation of the trapping potential21. The amplification provides up to a 3.25-fold increase in the interaction strength, validated by measuring the speed-up of two-qubit entangling gates. This amplification technique can be used in any quantum platform where parametric modulation of the boson channel is possible, enabling exploration of new parameter regimes and enhanced quantum information processing.

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Fig. 1: Phase-space illustration of boson-mediated interactions.
Fig. 2: Bell-state fidelities and speed-up.
Fig. 3: Phase dependence of amplification.

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Data availability

Source data are provided with this paper. All other data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Code availability

The simulation and analysis codes are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R. W. Simmonds, J. Schmidt and L. J. Stephenson for a careful reading of the manuscript. These experiments were performed using the ARTIQ control system. At the time the work was performed, S.C.B., R.S., H.M.K. and D.T.C.A. were Associates in the Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) operated jointly by NIST and the University of Colorado. This work was supported by the NIST Quantum Information Program.

Author information

Author notes

  1. S. C. Burd

    Present address: Department of Physics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA

  2. R. Srinivas

    Present address: Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

  3. W. Ge

    Present address: Department of Physics, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Time and Frequency Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Boulder, CO, USA

    S. C. Burd, R. Srinivas, H. M. Knaack, A. C. Wilson, D. J. Wineland, D. Leibfried, J. J. Bollinger, D. T. C. Allcock & D. H. Slichter

  2. Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

    S. C. Burd, R. Srinivas, H. M. Knaack, D. J. Wineland & D. T. C. Allcock

  3. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    W. Ge

  4. Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA

    D. J. Wineland & D. T. C. Allcock

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Contributions

S.C.B. carried out the experiments with assistance from D.H.S., R.S., H.M.K. and D.T.C.A., based on protocols developed by W.G. and J.J.B. D.T.C.A., D.H.S., R.S., S.C.B. and H.M.K. built and maintained the apparatus. S.C.B., H.M.K., W.G. and D.H.S. analysed the data and performed simulations. S.C.B. wrote the manuscript with input from all authors. D.H.S. supervised the work, with support from J.J.B., D.T.C.A., D.L., A.C.W. and D.J.W.

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Correspondence to S. C. Burd or D. H. Slichter.

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Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Data and fitting to determine \({\tilde{t}}_{I,est}\).

Fidelity as a function of \(\delta ^{\prime} /2\pi\) for various values of tI for a calibrated value of the parametric coupling strength of g/2π = 49.7(6) kHz. Data points are fidelities obtained using the method described in ref. 46. Vertical error bars indicate 68% confidence intervals for the fidelity. Horizontal error bars indicate 68% confidence intervals for \(\delta ^{\prime} /2\pi\) calculated from error propagation of the measured uncertainties in δ and g within a given experiment. Red curves are slices of the 2D quadratic fitting function at the corresponding interaction times.

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Source Data Extended Data Fig. 1

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Burd, S.C., Srinivas, R., Knaack, H.M. et al. Quantum amplification of boson-mediated interactions. Nat. Phys. 17, 898–902 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-021-01237-9

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