This article describes a superconducting circuit experiment that implements a quantum cat qubit with unprecedented bit-flip resilience. Quantum bits (qubits) are prone to various types of errors, including bit-flips, due to uncontrolled interactions with their environment. Common error correction strategies rely on complex hardware architectures, which can be resource-intensive.
An alternative approach is to engineer qubits that are inherently protected against certain types of errors, such as bit-flips. One such qubit is the "cat qubit", which is encoded in the metastable states of a quantum dynamical system. This provides continuous and autonomous protection against bit-flip errors.
In this experiment, the researchers implemented a cat qubit in a superconducting circuit and achieved bit-flip times exceeding 10 seconds, an improvement of four orders of magnitude over previous cat qubit implementations. They were able to prepare and image quantum superposition states, and measure phase-flip times greater than 490 nanoseconds. Crucially, they demonstrated the ability to control the phase of these quantum superpositions without breaking the bit-flip protection.
This experiment is a significant milestone, as it shows the compatibility of quantum control and inherent bit-flip protection in cat qubits, paving the way for their use in practical quantum technologies.
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by U. R... às www.nature.com 05-06-2024
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