Circuit quantum electrodynamics (circuit QED) offers a promising platform for quantum information processing and quantum simulation. The quantum spatial searches for identifying a target vertex on a graph have broad applications across information technologies. However, implementing quantum spatial searches on a graph through circuit QED remains unexplored. In this paper, we propose a scheme to realize quantum spatial searches via continuous-time quantum walks in a circuit QED system. Here, each cavity represents a graph vertex, while a single superconducting (SC) qubit mediates interactions among all cavities, enabling coherent manipulation of the search process in complete graphs. Remarkably, we find that an increasing number of vertices leads to a shorter search time, and the search is achieved deterministically. Our numerical simulations for the target search in an eight-vertex complete graph agree well with theoretical predictions, even under realistic decoherence and experimental parameters. This protocol is universal and can be generalized to accomplish the same task in a wide range of physical systems, where multiple microwave or optical cavities couple to a single matter qubit of various types.
The covariant quantum Fisher information (CQFI) has recently been established as the ultimate precision benchmark for pseudo-Hermitian sensors [Phys. Rev. Lett. 136, 080802 (2026)], yet existing analyses are limited to single-mode systems. Here we extend the CQFI formalism to multi-mode non-Hermitian Su-Schrieffer-Heeger lattices and reveal tunable topological enhancement enabled by the non-Hermitian skin effect (NHSE). Under open boundary conditions, the NHSE deforms the conventional Brillouin zone into a generalized Brillouin zone of radius r = exp(ąp̨p̨ą), where ąp̨p̨ą denotes the non-Bloch decay rate. While the total CQFI scales linearly with system size N, its prefactor depends critically on ąp̨p̨ą, yielding an enhancement factor E(N) = F_OBC / F_PBC that exceeds 30 for N 30, substantially outperforming periodic-boundary sensors. The enhancement is robust against moderate local disorder and supports multi-parameter estimation, with the joint Cramér-Rao bound reduced by up to 15 orders of magnitude. These findings establish a spatial-domain mechanism for quantum metrology that complements time-domain strategies and is experimentally accessible using topoelectrical circuits, photonic lattices, and superconducting circuits with current technology.
Realizing efficient and controlled state transfers is necessary for implementing a wide range of classical and quantum information protocols. Recent studies have demonstrated that both asymmetric and symmetric state transfers can be achieved by encircling an exceptional point (EP) in non-Hermitian (NH) systems. However, the application of this phenomenon has been restricted to scenarios where an EP exists in single-qubit systems and is associated with a specific type of dissipation. In this work, we demonstrate efficient and controlled symmetric and asymmetric Bell-state transfers by modulating system parameters within a Jaynes-Cummings model while accounting for atomic spontaneous emission and cavity decay. The effective suppression of nonadiabatic transitions enables a symmetric exchange of Bell states irrespective of the encircling direction. Furthermore, we report a counterintuitive finding: the presence of an EP is not indispensable for implementing asymmetric state transfers in NH systems. We achieve perfect asymmetric Bell-state transfers even in the absence of an EP by dynamically orbiting around an approximate EP. Our work presents an approach to effectively and reliably manipulate entangled states with both symmetric and asymmetric characteristics, through dissipation engineering in NH systems.
We investigate quantum transport in a hybrid system composed of two quantum dots (QDs) coupled through a pair of spatially separated Majorana zero modes (MZMs) with negligible coupling energy. We focus on nonlocal correlations mediated by the MZMs, particularly the role of Coulomb interaction U between the QDs and the Majorana wire. Using the numerically exact fermionic dissipation equation of motion (DEOM) method, we compute both the transient current and the current-current cross-correlation noise spectrum. In the non-interacting case (U=0), destructive interference between the degenerate normal tunneling and anomalous tunneling channels suppresses electron teleportation between the dots. Introducing a finite Coulomb interaction U lifts this channel degeneracy, enabling strong nonlocal correlations and inter-dot electron teleportation. This effect manifests as a robust signal in the cross-correlation noise spectrum, which is significantly stronger than that induced by a finite Majorana coupling energy ε_M. Our findings propose Coulomb interaction as an efficient and experimentally accessible control parameter for generating and detecting Majorana-mediated nonlocal transport in the topologically relevant long-wire limit (ε_M→0).
The memory effects in open quantum systems can induce information backflow and revive quantum correlations, thereby providing a powerful way to protect and recover useful quantum resources in realistic noisy environments. However, such dynamics remains experimentally unexplored in multipartite quantum steering. Here we observe different non-Markovian evolution of tripartite quantum steering using Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger-type mixed states, covering both death and revival processes. In particular, we experimentally demonstrate the more intricate asymmetric steering structure of tripartite quantum steering through different bipartitions, which do not arise in bipartite systems. Our results provide foundational insights into the hierarchical and directional structures in multipartite quantum steering, and highlight its potential as a useful resource for asymmetric quantum information processing.
Distributed quantum resources in practical multi-user quantum networks are inevitably degraded by environmental noise, channel loss, and device-induced imperfections. To address these issues, quantum resource distillation offers a fundamental approach to recovering stronger resources from imperfect states. However, conventional implementations often require additional copies, dedicated physical filtering elements, or restrict to bipartite systems, posing challenges for scalable multipartite networks. Here, we introduce the method of quantum resource distillation based on the local measurement program (LMP), which transfers completely positive maps into programmable measurement processes. We experimentally demonstrate the performance of resource distillation through LMP in both bipartite and tripartite photonic systems, including the activation and enhancement of multipartite steering configurations. To demonstrate the flexibility and extensibility of the LMP framework, we also show that virtual resource distillation can be naturally reformulated within it. Our results establish a programmable and experimentally economical approach for distilling quantum resources in multipartite and higher-dimensional systems, thereby providing a practical route toward scalable quantum networks.
Exceptional points (EPs) in non-Hermitian systems give rise to enhanced sensitivity and chiral state transfer, which are important for quantum technologies. Although parameter trajectories encircling EPs can control symmetric and chiral state transfer, their robustness against practical perturbations and their role in quantum sensing remain largely unexplored. Here, we study three time-modulated parameter loops in a non-Hermitian two-level system to show how trajectory design governs state-transfer symmetry, robustness, and sensing performance. Trajectories avoiding the EP support robust symmetric transfer, while those encircling the EP yield chiral transfer governed by the topological winding number, whose robustness depends on the distance to the EP and the encircling direction. For quantum sensing, trajectory engineering enables tuning of sensitivity amplitude, time window, and parameter selectivity in both eigenvalue-based and eigenstate-based sensors. Notably, eigenstate-based sensing achieves full parameter selectivity that is unattainable with eigenvalue-based methods. Our results establish a quantitative connection between trajectory topology and system dynamics, providing a unified framework for robust state-transfer protocols and high-performance quantum sensors.
Quantum state transfer, from one location to multiple different locations via the control of a quantum switch, is of fundamental interest in quantum physics. It has potential applications in networked quantum communication, information processing, and development of quantum technologies and quantum functional devices. Here we consider a circuit-QED system, which consists of an input microwave cavity, n output microwave cavities, and an (n + 2)-level superconducting (SC) qudit (acting as a multiplex switch). We show that arbitrary quantum states initially stored in the input cavity can be transferred to n different output cavities when the SC-qudit switch is in different states. The operational time does not depend on the output-cavity number. Since the two auxiliary higher-energy levels of the qudit are almost not excited during the state transfer, decoherence from these two levels is greatly suppressed. The state transfer can be realized deterministically because no state measurement is needed. We further numerically analyze the experimental feasibility of transferring arbitrary states of a photonic qubit from one input cavity to two output cavities via the control of a SC-flux-ququart switch (a four-level system). This proposal may be extended to accomplish the same task in other physical systems, where the switch is a multilevel artificial atom of different types and each cavity is a microwave or optical cavity.
Compared to a qubit, a qutrit (a three-level or three-state quantum system) possesses a larger Hilbert space to process and store quantum information. On the other hand, large-scale qutrit-based hybrid quantum computing usually requires performing hybrid multi-qutrit quantum gates with diverse qutrits, different in their nature or in their encoding format. In this work, we consider two types of qutrits, i.e., superconducting (SC) qutrits and cat-state qutrits. We propose to implement a hybrid controlled-SUM gate with one SC qutrit simultaneously controlling multiple-target cat-state qutrits. The gate is implemented in a circuit-QED system, which is composed of an SC ququart and multiple microwave cavities. The SC ququart here refers to a four-level quantum system, with the three lowest levels forming a qutrit and an auxiliary higher energy level utilized for the coherent state manipulation. The gate implementation does not require applying a classical pulse. Because the auxiliary higher energy level of the SC ququart is only virtually excited during the gate operation, decoherence from this level is greatly suppressed. The gate is deterministic, as it requires no measurement of the cavity or SC ququart states. Moreover, the gate operational time is independent of the number of qutrits, thus it does not increase with the number of qutrits. As an application of this gate, we further discuss the generation of a hybrid maximally entangled state of one SC qutrit and multiple cat-state qutrits. We also numerically analyze the experimental feasibility of creating the hybrid entangled state of one SC qutrit and two cat-state qutrits in a circuit QED system. This proposal may be extended to accomplish the same task in other physical systems, such as a four-level artificial atom (e.g., a quantum dot, an NV center, a magnon, etc.) coupled to multiple optical or microwave cavities.
When increasing the dimensionality of quantum systems, high-dimensional quantum state certification becomes important in quantum information science and technology. However, how to certify ensembles of high-dimensional quantum states in a black-box scenario remains a challenging task. In this Letter, we report an experimental test of certifying ensembles of high-dimensional quantum states based on prepare-and-measure experiments with independent devices, where the state preparation device and the measurement device have no shared randomness. In our experiment, the prepared quantum states are high-dimensional orbital angular momentum states of single photons, and both the preparation fidelity and the measurement fidelity are about 99.0% for the six-dimensional quantum states. We also measure the crosstalk matrices and calculate the similarity parameter for up to ten dimensions. We not only experimentally certify the ensemble of high-dimensional quantum states in a semi-device-independent manner, but also experimentally investigate the effect of atmospheric turbulent noise on high-dimensional quantum state certification. Our experimental results clearly show that the certification of high-dimensional quantum states can still be achieved even under the influence of atmospheric turbulent noise. Our findings have potential implications in quantum certification and quantum random number generation.
Recently, the concept of universal photon blockade, which unifies the physical mechanisms of conventional and unconventional photon blockade, was proposed based on a two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model [Y.-H. Zhou, T. Liu, Q.-P. Su, X.-Y. Zhang, Q.-C. Wu, D.-X. Chen, Z.-C. Shi, H. Z. Shen, and C.-P. Yang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 134, 183601 (2025)]. In this paper, we introduce an approach to studying universal photon blockade by directly integrating the conditions for conventional and unconventional photon blockades. From a theoretical perspective, this approach can address the key question of "in which systems universal photon blockade can be realized" and establish a more intuitive analytical framework for understanding the relationships among conventional, unconventional, and universal photon blockades. We validate this approach by investigating universal photon blockade in a system of two coupled cavities with Kerr nonlinearities, and we find excellent agreement between the derived optimal conditions and precise numerical simulations. Our results establish a pathway for predicting universal photon blockade and hold promising potential for applications in generating antibunched photons.
Generalized quantum measurements play a crucial role in quantum mechanics, and symmetric informationally complete positive operator-valued measurements (SIC POVMs) provide a powerful and flexible framework for extracting information from quantum systems. However, the existence of SIC-POVMs in every finite dimension remains an open question, which has stimulated extensive research into alternative classes of POVMs. Recently, Geng et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 100401 (2021)] proposed a broader class of SIC POVM, called semisymmetric informationally complete POVM (semi-SIC POVM), which extends beyond SIC POVM. In this work, we focus on the four-outcome POVMs and experimentally realize the semi-SIC POVMs using a one-dimensional discrete-time quantum walk. Additionally, employing single photons and linear optics, we perform an experimental self-testing of semi-SIC POVMs in the semi-device-independent manner. Our results pave the way for exploring quantum certification with generalized quantum measurements.
The controlled transfer of quantum entangled states is a fascinating topic in quantum physics, and has potential applications in fields such as quantum network communication, distributed quantum information processing, and development of quantum functional devices. This study focuses on a circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) system, comprising an input port, two output ports, and a quantum switch. The input port or each output port contains n microwave cavities. The switch is a superconducting transmon qutrit (three-level quantum system). The vacuum and single-photon states in each cavity encode a photonic qubit. We demonstrate that the single-excitation symmetric (SES) entangled state of n photonic qubits can be transferred from the n cavities at the input port to the n cavities at either of the two output ports, controlled by the switch. Remarkably, the operational time decreases as the number n increases. The only use of qutrit-cavity resonant interaction enables rapid quantum state transfer while effectively suppressing system decoherence. This proposal can be used to achieve the controlled transfer of both Bell states and W states of photonic qubits via a quantum switch. To validate the experimental feasibility, we numerically simulate two scenarios: (i) transferring the Bell state of two photonic qubits, and (ii) transferring the W state of three photonic qubits. This proposal may be extended to accomplish the same task in other physical systems, where the switch is implemented with a three-level artificial atom of different types while each cavity is a microwave or optical cavity.
Photon blockades are traditionally classified into conventional and unconventional types, depending on distinct physical mechanisms. Regarding the cavity decay rate κ, the conventional photon blockade takes place under strong nonlinearity condition (g>κ), whereas the unconventional photon blockade occurs in the regime of weak nonlinearity (g<κ). We here propose how to derive an optimal condition for photon blockade utilizing a two-photon Jaynes-Cummings model. Under this condition, the equal-time second-order correlation function reaches its minimum, leading to photon antibunching in both conventional and unconventional photon blockade regimes (g>κ and g<κ), even in g∼κ. This characteristic is termed universal photon blockade. By comparing it with the conventional and the unconventional photon blockades in the weak-driving limit, the advantages of universal photon blockade are revealed. Our proposal paves an avenue towards the future study of photon blockades and has potential applications in generating antibunched photons.
Discrete-time quantum walks (DTQWs) have broad applications in quantum computation and simulation, particularly in universal quantum computing. Prior research in circuit quantum electrodynamics (QED) has focused on implementing DTQWs in one-dimensional chains. However, to achieve practical quantum tasks, it is crucial to extend DTQWs to multidimensional networks with diverse structures. Here, we propose a protocol for realizing DTQWs in multidimensional networks, which accommodate nodes with different numbers of neighbors. Using this protocol, we numerically simulate a Grover walk search algorithm in a cubic network with circuit QED. Our simulations, which consider decoherence, align well with theoretical predictions. Our universal protocol can be adapted for various quantum systems and paves the way for DTQWs in multidimensional networks, which has potential applications in quantum computing and simulation.
Nontrivial spectral properties of non-Hermitian systems can give rise to intriguing effects that lack counterparts in Hermitian systems. For instance, when dynamically varying system parameters along a path enclosing an exceptional point (EP), chiral mode conversion occurs. A recent study [Phys. Rev. Lett. 133, 113802 (2024)] demonstrates the achievability of pure adiabatic state transfer by specifically selecting a trajectory in the system parameter space where the corresponding evolution operator exhibits a real spectrum while winding around an EP. However, the intended adiabatic state transfer becomes fragile when taking into account the effect of the nonadiabatic transition. In this work, we propose a scheme for achieving robust and rapid adiabatic state transfer in time-modulated two-level non-Hermitian systems by appropriately modulating the system Hamiltonian and time-evolution trajectory. Numerical simulations confirm that a complete adiabatic transfer can always be achieved even under nonadiabatic conditions after one period for different initialized adiabatic states, and the scheme remains insensitive to moderate fluctuations in control parameters. Therefore, this scheme offers alternative approaches for quantum-state engineering in non-Hermitian systems.
Quantum metrology is a science about quantum measurements and it plays a key role in precision of quantum parameter estimation. Meanwhile, quantum coherence is an important quantum feature and quantum Fisher information (QFI) is an important indicator for precision of quantum parameter estimation. In this paper, we explore the relationship between QFI and quantum coherence in multi-dimensional quantum systems. We introduce a new concept referred to as General Quantum Coherence (GQC), which characterizes the quantum coherence and the eigenenergies of the Hamiltonian in the interaction processes. GQC captures quantum nature of high-dimensional quantum states and addresses shortcomings in coherence measurement. Additionally, we observe a stringent square relationship between GQC and QFI. This finding provides a crucial guideline for improving the precision of parameter estimation.
Enhancing the sensitivity of quantum sensing near exceptional points represents a significant phenomenon in non-Hermitian (NH) systems. However, the application of this property in time-modulated NH systems remains largely unexplored. In this work, we propose two theoretical schemes to achieve enhanced quantum sensing in time-modulated NH systems by leveraging the coalescence of eigenvalues and eigenstates. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of the full energy spectrum, including both real and imaginary components, the population distribution of eigenstates, and various characteristics associated with optimal conditions for sensitivity enhancement. Numerical simulations confirm that eigenvalue-based quantum sensors exhibit a 9.21-fold improvement over conventional Hermitian sensors, aligning with the performance of existing time-independent NH sensors. In contrast, for eigenstate-based quantum sensors, the enhancement reaches up to 50 times that of conventional Hermitian sensors, surpassing the performance of existing time-independent NH sensors. Moreover, the eigenstate-based sensor exhibits divergent susceptibility even when the system's parameters are not close to an exceptional point. Our findings pave the way for advanced sensing in time-sensitive contexts, complementing existing efforts to harness the unique properties of open systems.
We propose an enhanced entanglement generation scheme in the non-Hermitian system by introducing an ancillary qubit with adjustable driven field to control the target entanglement, making this model more suitable for the switch operation at the quantum interface. Moreover, through adiabatic elimination, the mode of the qubit has been eliminated, and direct coupling between the cavities has been realized. The effective coupling strength between two non-Hermitian microwave cavities can be adjusted as an optimal value to satisfy a specific phase condition that realizes the maximally entangled state on a timescale. To prove the ability of our scheme to improve the performances of entanglement generation in the non-Hermitian system, the numerical simulations are performed based on a model where two microwave cavities are indirectly coupled through a superconducting qubit. It is evident that non-Hermitian cavities can be entangled significantly faster than Hermitian cavities, with the relative speedup increasing significantly as the perturbation is decreased, and the fourth-order exceptional points at J=0 are approached. Last but not least, our scheme has good robustness against parameter errors, crosstalk, and Gaussian white noise and is a feasible scheme for enhanced entanglement generation via approaching to higher-order exceptional points in a non-Hermitian network system.
The ability to route quantum states between arbitrary nodes in a multinode network is one of the many facets required to build future large-scale quantum computing devices. Quantum routing can be implemented based on chiral dynamics, while their related research stays in three-node networks. In this paper, we give the target Hamiltonian for realizing chiral dynamics in arbitrary N-node networks. Based on the derived Hamiltonian, we present key features of chiral state transfer in multinode spin and bosonic networks. For the realistic implementation of the required Hamiltonian, we propose a modulation scheme to generate the matched effective Floquet Hamiltonian. Furthermore, we numerically simulate the multinode chiral dynamics with realistic parameters in superconducting circuits, and the results clearly show multinode chiral state transfer. Our work provides a universal and fundamental framework for understanding chiral dynamics in multinode networks. These findings will stimulate quantum state transfer, quantum routing, and nonreciprocal circulators in multinode networks.