Showing 1–49 of 49 results for author: Fang, W

Formal Verification of Quantum Ancilla Safety

Authors: Jiqi Li, Jingyi Mei, Wang Fang, Ji Guan

Abstract: Ensuring ancilla safety is a critical correctness requirement for quantum compilation, since ancilla qubits are routinely introduced to implement complex operations with fewer gates and reduced depth. However, formally verifying this property is computationally hard due to state-space explosion in the number of qubits, particularly for dirty ancillae, which carry unknown initial states and must be… ▽ More Ensuring ancilla safety is a critical correctness requirement for quantum compilation, since ancilla qubits are routinely introduced to implement complex operations with fewer gates and reduced depth. However, formally verifying this property is computationally hard due to state-space explosion in the number of qubits, particularly for dirty ancillae, which carry unknown initial states and must be restored after use. We propose an end-to-end verification-and-repair framework that rigorously addresses both clean and dirty ancilla safety. Our core contribution is a two-step reduction strategy: we first prove that verifying an $m$-qubit dirty ancilla register decomposes into $2m$ independent clean ancilla safety checks; subsequently, we reduce each clean ancilla safety instance to an algebraic commutativity check against Pauli-$Z$ and Pauli-$X$ operators. This approach yields an efficient and naturally parallel verifier and enables actionable diagnosis by classifying violations into logic errors and phase errors. Leveraging this diagnosis, we further design lightweight repair routines that append local single-qubit rotations to eliminate a broad class of local ancilla faults. We implement the full pipeline in a prototype tool using a dual-backend architecture combining decision diagrams and weighted model counting, and validate it on diverse circuits ranging from arithmetic benchmarks to Grover's algorithm. Our experiments demonstrate scalability to thousands of qubits and show that the proposed repairs effectively improve ancilla safety while preserving circuit functionality. △ Less

Submitted 13 August, 2026; originally announced August 2026.

SymFT: Universal Fault-Tolerant Quantum Circuit Simulation via Symbolic Clifford--Pauli Frames and Stabilizer Coordinates

Authors: Wang Fang, Huazhe Lou, Riling Li

Abstract: Fault-tolerant protocols often consist largely of stabilizer subcircuits, yet the non-Clifford operations required for universality make exact sampling costly. We present SymFT, a high-throughput simulator for Clifford-dominated circuits with Pauli rotations, stochastic Pauli noise, mid-circuit Pauli measurements, and measurement-record-controlled Pauli feedback. It combines two ideas. First, symb… ▽ More Fault-tolerant protocols often consist largely of stabilizer subcircuits, yet the non-Clifford operations required for universality make exact sampling costly. We present SymFT, a high-throughput simulator for Clifford-dominated circuits with Pauli rotations, stochastic Pauli noise, mid-circuit Pauli measurements, and measurement-record-controlled Pauli feedback. It combines two ideas. First, symbolic Clifford--Pauli frame factorization reduces branch-probability sampling to Pauli rotations and measurement projectors, with noise and feedback represented by symbolic signs. Since the residual Clifford and Pauli frames are unitary, they do not affect branch probabilities and need not be applied in every shot. Second, adaptive stabilizer-coordinate planning uses a shared stabilizer--destabilizer tableau to define the basis and stores only the active non-stabilizer degrees of freedom in a dynamically sized dense active-state vector. It resolves basis changes once and emits direct multi-coordinate sampling instructions, thereby avoiding per-shot tableau updates and localization-induced Clifford transformations of the dense vector. Across the tested pure-Clifford and near-Clifford circuits, SymFT achieves state-of-the-art sampling performance. On a single CPU core, it achieves a $2.51\text{--}2.56\times$ speedup over Stim for surface-code circuits and a $1.86\text{--}3.51\times$ speedup over Clifft for magic-state cultivation and distillation circuits. For the tested cultivation circuits, its GPU sampling throughput also exceeds that of our previous simulator, SOFT, by more than two orders of magnitude. △ Less

Submitted 10 August, 2026; v1 submitted 30 July, 2026; originally announced July 2026.

Comments: 28 pages, 1 figure, 5 tables; v2: update benchmark results and related work. SymFT is the second-generation successor to SOFT, see GitHub repository: https://github.com/haoliri0/SOFT

Unitary Synthesis with Near-Optimal T-Count for Near-Clifford Unitaries

Authors: Wang Fang, Chris Heunen, Qisheng Wang

Abstract: We present an approach to unitary synthesis that implements an arbitrary $n$-qubit unitary operator $U$ by a Clifford+T circuit with T-count $\widetilde{O}(2^n d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U))$, where $d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U)$ is the Frobenius norm distance of $U$ to the Clifford group. The T-count is shown to be near-optimal when $d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U)$ is a constant. Our approach improves the previous best upp… ▽ More We present an approach to unitary synthesis that implements an arbitrary $n$-qubit unitary operator $U$ by a Clifford+T circuit with T-count $\widetilde{O}(2^n d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U))$, where $d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U)$ is the Frobenius norm distance of $U$ to the Clifford group. The T-count is shown to be near-optimal when $d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U)$ is a constant. Our approach improves the previous best upper bound $\widetilde{O}(2^{4n/3})$ due to Tan (2025) for a large class of unitary operators $U$ as long as $d_F^{\mathcal{C}}(U) \ll 2^{n/3}$. △ Less

Submitted 14 July, 2026; originally announced July 2026.

Comments: 24 pages

Clifford disentanglers for entanglement reduction in molecular electronic structure simulations

Authors: Longfei Chang, Zibo Wu, Yunzhi Li, Haiqi Liu, Jiajun Ren, Mingpu Qin, Zhendong Li, Wei-Hai Fang

Abstract: Entanglement is a key bottleneck limiting the efficiency of tensor-network and quantum simulations of molecular electronic structures. Here, we systematically assess and extend Clifford disentanglers as a structure-preserving approach to entanglement reduction: they can modify the entanglement structure of qubit wavefunctions while retaining the Pauli-string form of qubit Hamiltonians. To enable a… ▽ More Entanglement is a key bottleneck limiting the efficiency of tensor-network and quantum simulations of molecular electronic structures. Here, we systematically assess and extend Clifford disentanglers as a structure-preserving approach to entanglement reduction: they can modify the entanglement structure of qubit wavefunctions while retaining the Pauli-string form of qubit Hamiltonians. To enable a practical search over Clifford transformations, we classify Clifford operators by their action on the Schmidt spectrum across a bipartition, reducing the two- and four-qubit search spaces to 20 and 91392 representatives, respectively. Embedded in an iterative Clifford-augmented matrix product state framework, these transformations reduce the energy errors at fixed bond dimension for the molecular test cases studied and mitigate the dependence on orbital orderings and fermion-to-qubit mappings. We further show that Clifford disentanglers can also benefit quantum simulations such as the shallow-circuit variational quantum eigensolver calculations. Together, these results establish Clifford disentanglers as a useful structure-preserving entanglement-engineering tool for tensor-network and quantum simulations of molecular electronic structure, while also clarifying their correlation dependence and motivating future developments. △ Less

Submitted 10 June, 2026; originally announced June 2026.

Comments: 18 pages, 11 figures

Engineering Molecular Rectification: Mechanisms, Modulation Strategies, and Device Integration

Authors: Junnan Guo, Shufan Song, Wenhui Fang, Jifeng Tang, Wenhao Li, Weikang Wu, Hui Li, Shishen Yan, Lishu Zhang

Abstract: Molecular rectifiers, as prototypical components of molecular electronics, present unique opportunities for pushing device miniaturization to its ultimate limits. Nevertheless, challenges including limited rectification ratios (RR), insufficient robustness, and poor reproducibility impede their practical deployment. To make molecular rectifiers competitive with silicon-based devices, it is importa… ▽ More Molecular rectifiers, as prototypical components of molecular electronics, present unique opportunities for pushing device miniaturization to its ultimate limits. Nevertheless, challenges including limited rectification ratios (RR), insufficient robustness, and poor reproducibility impede their practical deployment. To make molecular rectifiers competitive with silicon-based devices, it is important to fully understand the design principles and fabrication methods from both mechanistic and experimental perspectives. By holistically considering the transport mechanisms, modulation strategies, fabrication, characterization techniques, and theoretical simulations, this review provides a comprehensive overview of molecular rectifiers. Representative examples of conceptually significant and high-performance molecular rectifier systems are highlighted to illustrate the relationships between rectification mechanisms, molecular design strategies, and device realization. Building on these discussions, we present an outlook for current bottlenecks and future directions to guide the development of molecular rectifiers. This review aims to serve as both a conceptual framework and a technical reference for researchers working at the intersection of molecular electronics and nanoscale device engineering in the post-CMOS era. △ Less

Submitted 27 May, 2026; originally announced May 2026.

Selective Fermi-Level Pinning: A Design Strategy for Giant Rectification in Molecular Junctions

Authors: Junnan Guo, Wenhui Fang, Jian Huang, Weikang Wu, Hui Li, Lishu Zhang

Abstract: Molecular rectifiers are key functional components of molecular-scale integrated circuits, yet achieving high rectification ratios remains a longstanding challenge due to the intrinsic symmetry of resonant tunneling and the complexity of interfacial energy-level alignment. Here, we propose a rectifier design strategy based on selective Fermi-level pinning that breaks transport symmetry via pinning… ▽ More Molecular rectifiers are key functional components of molecular-scale integrated circuits, yet achieving high rectification ratios remains a longstanding challenge due to the intrinsic symmetry of resonant tunneling and the complexity of interfacial energy-level alignment. Here, we propose a rectifier design strategy based on selective Fermi-level pinning that breaks transport symmetry via pinning interactions between molecular frontier orbitals and electrodes. This framework enforces tunneling transport to be predominantly governed by unoccupied molecular orbitals, while substantially suppressing contributions from occupied states, thereby establishing a simplified and highly controllable rectification mechanism. The resulting cyclo[n]carbon-based molecular junctions exhibit giant rectification ratios exceeding 103, while retaining exceptional structural robustness against variations in both donor chain length and carbon ring size. This work reveals the critical role of selective Fermi-level pinning in molecular junctions and provides a general design principle for engineering functional single-molecule electronic devices. △ Less

Submitted 22 May, 2026; originally announced May 2026.

Quantum-Optically Resolving the Number of Colloidal Quantum Dots in a Subwavelength Volume

Authors: Zhi-Bo Ni, Jia-Wang Yu, Jiong-Zhao Li, Xiao-Tian Cheng, Mei-Na Jiang, Zi-Xuan Song, Xiao-Qing Zhou, Wei Fang, Chen-Hui Li, Feng Liu, Xing Lin, Chao-Yuan Jin

Abstract: The number resolution of solid-state artificial atoms is of fundamental interest for the study of quantum few-body systems, yet remains experimentally challenging. Quantum optical experiments offer a non-invasive approach which links up macroscopic measurements with the quantity of quantum emitters. In this work, we propose a time-domain quantum optical methodology for the strict numbering of coll… ▽ More The number resolution of solid-state artificial atoms is of fundamental interest for the study of quantum few-body systems, yet remains experimentally challenging. Quantum optical experiments offer a non-invasive approach which links up macroscopic measurements with the quantity of quantum emitters. In this work, we propose a time-domain quantum optical methodology for the strict numbering of colloidal CdSe/CdS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) confined in subwavelength-size polystyrene capsules. The non-polarized, homogeneously broadened emission of colloidal QDs in the subwavelength volume satisfies the description of Dicke's superradiance of identical quantum emitters. An analytic relation describes the numerical dependence of the second-order photon correlation on the number and the collective lifetime of emitters, yielding an experimental counting range of colloidal QDs from one to ten. This work provides a robust pathway for the non-invasive numbering of artificial atoms and the investigation of collective light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. △ Less

Submitted 26 February, 2026; originally announced February 2026.

Comments: 25 pages, 7 figures. Main text includes methods

Information-Scrambling-Enhanced Quantum Sensing Beyond the Standard Quantum Limit

Authors: Yangyang Ge, Haoyu Zhou, Wen Zheng, Xiang-Min Yu, Wei Fang, Zhenchuan Zhang, Wanli Huang, Xiang Deng, Haoyang Cai, Xianke Li, Kun Zhou, Hanxin Che, Tao Zhang, Lichang Ji, Yu Zhang, Jie Zhao, Shao-Xiong Li, Xinsheng Tan, Yang Yu

Abstract: Quantum sensing promises measurement precision beyond classical limits, but its practical realization is often hindered by decoherence and the challenges of generating and stabilizing entanglement in large-scale systems. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a scalable, scrambling-enhanced quantum sensing protocol, referred to as butterfly metrology, implemented on a cross-shaped superconducting qua… ▽ More Quantum sensing promises measurement precision beyond classical limits, but its practical realization is often hindered by decoherence and the challenges of generating and stabilizing entanglement in large-scale systems. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a scalable, scrambling-enhanced quantum sensing protocol, referred to as butterfly metrology, implemented on a cross-shaped superconducting quantum processor. By harnessing quantum information scrambling, the protocol converts local interactions into delocalized metrologically useful correlations, enabling robust signal amplification through interference of the scrambled and polarized quantum states. We validate the time-reversal ability via Loschmidt echo measurements and quantify the information scrambling through out-of-time-ordered correlators, establishing the essential quantum resources of our protocol. Our measurements reveal that the sensing sensitivity surpasses the standard quantum limit (SQL) with increasing qubit number, reaching 3.78 in a 9-qubit configuration, compared to the SQL of 3.0. The scheme further exhibits inherent robustness to coherent control errors and probed signal noise. This work demonstrates a readily scalable path toward practical quantum sensing advantages with prevalent experimental platforms. △ Less

Submitted 24 December, 2025; originally announced December 2025.

A unified diagrammatic formulation of single-reference and multi-reference random phase approximations: the particle-hole and particle-particle channels

Authors: Yuqi Wang, Wei-Hai Fang, Zhendong Li

Abstract: A diagrammatic multi-reference generalization of many-body perturbation theory was recently introduced [J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2025, 16, 3047]. This framework allows us to extend single-reference (SR) Green's function methods defined at the diagrammatic level naturally into multi-reference case, as previously exemplified by the formulation of multi-reference direct random phase approximation (MR-dR… ▽ More A diagrammatic multi-reference generalization of many-body perturbation theory was recently introduced [J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2025, 16, 3047]. This framework allows us to extend single-reference (SR) Green's function methods defined at the diagrammatic level naturally into multi-reference case, as previously exemplified by the formulation of multi-reference direct random phase approximation (MR-dRPA) and the multi-reference second-order screened exchange approximation (MR-SOSEX). In this work, we further elaborate this framework and use it to develop MR generalizations of two other RPA variants, namely, particle-hole (ph) RPA with exchange (MR-RPAx) and particle-particle RPA (MR-ppRPA). We define these two MR generalizations by infinite order resummations of the generalized `ring' and `ladder' diagrams with antisymmetrized interaction vertices, respectively, which incorporate the contributions from the active-space connected two-body Green's functions. As for MR-dRPA, we derive unified sets of equations that hold at both SR and MR levels for RPAx and ppRPA, respectively. We perform numerical studies of prototypical systems using the three MR-RPA methods and carry out a perturbative analysis to gain a deeper understanding of their behaviors. We find that error cancellation between the second and third orders is a key factor for both SR-RPA and MR-RPA. In addition, we observe that MR-phRPA (MR-dRPA and MR-RPAx) and MR-ppRPA tend to overestimate and underestimate correlation energies, respectively, suggesting that a better accuracy can be achieved by further combining these two channels in the future. △ Less

Submitted 26 July, 2025; originally announced July 2025.

Comments: 22 pages, 5 figures

Query-Optimal and Sample-Optimal Quantum Algorithms for Estimating Fidelity to a Pure State

Authors: Wang Fang, Qisheng Wang

Abstract: We present two optimal quantum algorithms that estimate the (square root) fidelity of a mixed state to a pure state to within additive error $\varepsilon$: - Given query access to the state-preparation circuits of the input states, the query complexity is shown to be $Θ(1/\varepsilon)$, achieving a quadratic speedup over the folklore $O(1/\varepsilon^2)$. - Given sample access to the input sta… ▽ More We present two optimal quantum algorithms that estimate the (square root) fidelity of a mixed state to a pure state to within additive error $\varepsilon$: - Given query access to the state-preparation circuits of the input states, the query complexity is shown to be $Θ(1/\varepsilon)$, achieving a quadratic speedup over the folklore $O(1/\varepsilon^2)$. - Given sample access to the input states, the sample complexity is shown to be $Θ(1/\varepsilon^2)$, achieving a quadratic speedup over the folklore $O(1/\varepsilon^4)$. Our results generalize the previous approaches to pure-state fidelity estimation, and, to the best of our knowledge, are the first optimal approaches to fidelity estimation involving mixed states. Our approach is technically simple, and can be extended to estimating the uncommon quantity $\sqrt{\operatorname{tr}(ρσ^2)}$ that is of independent interest. △ Less

Submitted 2 July, 2026; v1 submitted 30 June, 2025; originally announced June 2025.

Comments: 25 pages, 1 table, 1 algorithm. Added a sample-optimal approach

Hadamard-Pi: Equational Quantum Programming

Authors: Wang Fang, Chris Heunen, Robin Kaarsgaard

Abstract: Quantum computing offers advantages over classical computation, yet the precise features that set the two apart remain unclear. In the standard quantum circuit model, adding a 1-qubit basis-changing gate -- commonly chosen to be the Hadamard gate -- to a universal set of classical reversible gates yields computationally universal quantum computation. However, the computational behaviours enabled b… ▽ More Quantum computing offers advantages over classical computation, yet the precise features that set the two apart remain unclear. In the standard quantum circuit model, adding a 1-qubit basis-changing gate -- commonly chosen to be the Hadamard gate -- to a universal set of classical reversible gates yields computationally universal quantum computation. However, the computational behaviours enabled by this addition are not fully characterised. We give such a characterisation by introducing a small quantum programming language extending the universal classical reversible programming language $Π$ with a single primitive corresponding to the Hadamard gate. The language comes equipped with a sound and complete categorical semantics that is specified by a purely equational theory. Completeness is shown by means of a novel finite presentation, and a corresponding synthesis algorithm, for the groups of orthogonal matrices with entries in the ring $\mathbb{Z}[\tfrac{1}{\sqrt{2}}]$. △ Less

Submitted 25 November, 2025; v1 submitted 7 June, 2025; originally announced June 2025.

Comments: 116 pages; v2: Extended version of POPL 2026 publication

Journal ref: Proc. ACM Program. Lang. 10, POPL, Article 5 (January 2026), 27 pages

Efficient Formal Verification of Quantum Error Correcting Programs

Authors: Qifan Huang, Li Zhou, Wang Fang, Mengyu Zhao, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: Quantum error correction (QEC) is fundamental for suppressing noise in quantum hardware and enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation. In this paper, we propose an efficient verification framework for QEC programs. We define an assertion logic and a program logic specifically crafted for QEC programs and establish a sound proof system. We then develop an efficient method for handling verificatio… ▽ More Quantum error correction (QEC) is fundamental for suppressing noise in quantum hardware and enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation. In this paper, we propose an efficient verification framework for QEC programs. We define an assertion logic and a program logic specifically crafted for QEC programs and establish a sound proof system. We then develop an efficient method for handling verification conditions (VCs) of QEC programs: for Pauli errors, the VCs are reduced to classical assertions that can be solved by SMT solvers, and for non-Pauli errors, we provide a heuristic algorithm. We formalize the proposed program logic in Coq proof assistant, making it a verified QEC verifier. Additionally, we implement an automated QEC verifier, Veri-QEC, for verifying various fault-tolerant scenarios. We demonstrate the efficiency and broad functionality of the framework by performing different verification tasks across various scenarios. Finally, we present a benchmark of 14 verified stabilizer codes. △ Less

Submitted 29 October, 2025; v1 submitted 10 April, 2025; originally announced April 2025.

Comments: 41 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables; v2: Extended version of the paper in PLDI 2025; Evaluated artifact at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15267327 v3: revise typos and inconsistencies

Journal ref: Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages, Volume 9, Issue PLDI (2025) 1068-1093

Approximation Methods for Simulation and Equivalence Checking of Noisy Quantum Circuits

Authors: Mingyu Huang, Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: In the current NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era, simulating and verifying noisy quantum circuits is crucial but faces challenges such as quantum state explosion and complex noise representations, constraining simulation and equivalence checking to circuits with a limited number of qubits. This paper introduces an approximation algorithm for simulating and assessing the equivalence of no… ▽ More In the current NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era, simulating and verifying noisy quantum circuits is crucial but faces challenges such as quantum state explosion and complex noise representations, constraining simulation and equivalence checking to circuits with a limited number of qubits. This paper introduces an approximation algorithm for simulating and assessing the equivalence of noisy quantum circuits, specifically designed to improve scalability under low-noise conditions. The approach utilizes a novel tensor network diagram combined with singular value decomposition to approximate the tensors of quantum noises. The implementation is based on Google's TensorNetwork Python package for contraction. Experimental results on realistic quantum circuits with realistic hardware noise models indicate that our algorithm can simulate and check the equivalence of QAOA (Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm) circuits with around 200 qubits and 20 noise operators, outperforming state-of-the-art approaches in scalability and speed. △ Less

Submitted 10 December, 2025; v1 submitted 13 March, 2025; originally announced March 2025.

Multi-set variational quantum dynamics algorithm for simulating nonadiabatic dynamics on quantum computers

Authors: Jingjing Li, Weitang Li, Xiaoxiao Xiao, Limin Liu, Zhendong Li, Jiajun Ren, Weihai Fang

Abstract: Accelerating quantum dynamical simulations with quantum computing has received considerable attention but remains a significant challenge. In variational quantum algorithms for quantum dynamics, designing an expressive and shallow-depth parameterized quantum circuit (PQC) is a key difficulty. Here, we proposed a multi-set variational quantum dynamics algorithm (MS-VQD) tailored for nonadiabatic dy… ▽ More Accelerating quantum dynamical simulations with quantum computing has received considerable attention but remains a significant challenge. In variational quantum algorithms for quantum dynamics, designing an expressive and shallow-depth parameterized quantum circuit (PQC) is a key difficulty. Here, we proposed a multi-set variational quantum dynamics algorithm (MS-VQD) tailored for nonadiabatic dynamics involving multiple electronic states. MS-VQD employs multiple PQCs to represent the electronic-nuclear coupled wavefunction, with each circuit adapting to the motion of nuclear wavepacket on a specific potential energy surface. By simulating excitation energy transfer dynamics in molecular aggregates described by the Frenkel-Holstein model, we demonstrated that MS-VQD achieves the same accuracy as traditional VQD while requiring significantly shallower PQCs. Notably, its advantage increases with the number of electronic states, making it suitable for simulating nonadiabatic quantum dynamics in complex molecular systems. △ Less

Submitted 10 March, 2025; originally announced March 2025.

Comments: 25 pages, 6 figures

Quantum-assisted variational Monte Carlo

Authors: Longfei Chang, Zhendong Li, Wei-Hai Fang

Abstract: Solving the ground state of quantum many-body systems remains a fundamental challenge in physics and chemistry. Recent advancements in quantum hardware have opened new avenues for addressing this challenge. Inspired by the quantum-enhanced Markov chain Monte Carlo (QeMCMC) algorithm [Nature, 619, 282-287 (2023)], which was originally designed for sampling the Boltzmann distribution of classical sp… ▽ More Solving the ground state of quantum many-body systems remains a fundamental challenge in physics and chemistry. Recent advancements in quantum hardware have opened new avenues for addressing this challenge. Inspired by the quantum-enhanced Markov chain Monte Carlo (QeMCMC) algorithm [Nature, 619, 282-287 (2023)], which was originally designed for sampling the Boltzmann distribution of classical spin models using quantum computers, we introduce a quantum-assisted variational Monte Carlo (QA-VMC) algorithm for solving the ground state of quantum many-body systems by adapting QeMCMC to sample the distribution of a (neural-network) wave function in VMC. The central question is whether such quantum-assisted proposal can potentially offer a computational advantage over classical methods. Through numerical investigations for the Fermi-Hubbard model and molecular systems, we demonstrate that the quantum-assisted proposal exhibits larger absolute spectral gaps and reduced autocorrelation times compared to conventional classical proposals, leading to more efficient sampling and faster convergence to the ground state in VMC as well as more accurate and precise estimation of physical observables. This advantage is especially pronounced for specific parameter ranges, where the ground-state configurations are more concentrated in some configurations separated by large Hamming distances. Our results underscore the potential of quantum-assisted algorithms to enhance classical variational methods for solving the ground state of quantum many-body systems. △ Less

Submitted 8 June, 2025; v1 submitted 28 February, 2025; originally announced February 2025.

Comments: 37 pages, 11 figures

Journal ref: precision chemistry, 2025

Verifying Fault-Tolerance of Quantum Error Correction Codes

Authors: Kean Chen, Yuhao Liu, Wang Fang, Jennifer Paykin, Xin-Chuan Wu, Albert Schmitz, Steve Zdancewic, Gushu Li

Abstract: Quantum computers have advanced rapidly in qubit count and gate fidelity. However, large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing still relies on quantum error correction code (QECC) to suppress noise. Manually or experimentally verifying the fault-tolerance property of complex QECC implementation is impractical due to the vast error combinations. This paper formalizes the fault-tolerance of QECC im… ▽ More Quantum computers have advanced rapidly in qubit count and gate fidelity. However, large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing still relies on quantum error correction code (QECC) to suppress noise. Manually or experimentally verifying the fault-tolerance property of complex QECC implementation is impractical due to the vast error combinations. This paper formalizes the fault-tolerance of QECC implementations within the language of quantum programs. By incorporating the techniques of quantum symbolic execution, we provide an automatic verification tool for quantum fault-tolerance. We evaluate and demonstrate the effectiveness of our tool on a universal set of logical operations across different QECCs. △ Less

Submitted 7 June, 2025; v1 submitted 24 January, 2025; originally announced January 2025.

Comments: 54 pages, 8 figures, extended version of the paper accepted by CAV 2025

Journal ref: International Conference on Computer Aided Verification (CAV 2025), pp. 3-27

Generalized many-body perturbation theory for the electron correlation energy: multi-reference random phase approximation via diagrammatic resummation

Authors: Yuqi Wang, Wei-Hai Fang, Zhendong Li

Abstract: Many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) based on Green's functions and Feynman diagrams provides a fundamental theoretical framework for various \emph{ab initio} computational approaches in molecular and materials science, including the random phase approximation (RPA) and $GW$ approximation. Unfortunately, this perturbation expansion often fails in systems with strong multi-reference characters. Ext… ▽ More Many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) based on Green's functions and Feynman diagrams provides a fundamental theoretical framework for various \emph{ab initio} computational approaches in molecular and materials science, including the random phase approximation (RPA) and $GW$ approximation. Unfortunately, this perturbation expansion often fails in systems with strong multi-reference characters. Extending diagrammatic MBPT to the multi-reference case is highly nontrivial and remains largely unexplored, primarily due to the breakdown of Wick's theorem. In this work, we develop a diagrammatic multi-reference generalization of MBPT for computing correlation energies of strongly correlated systems, by using the cumulant expansion of many-body Green's function in place of Wick's theorem. This theoretical framework bridges the gap between MBPT in condensed matter physics and multi-reference perturbation theories (MRPT) in quantum chemistry, which had been almost exclusively formulated within time-independent wavefunction frameworks prior to this work. Our formulation enables the explicit incorporation of strong correlation effects from the outset as in MRPT, while treating residual weak interactions through a generalized diagrammatic perturbation expansion as in MBPT. As a concrete demonstration, we formulate a multi-reference (MR) extension of the standard single-reference (SR) RPA by systematically resumming generalized ring diagrams, which naturally leads to a unified set of equations applicable to both SR and MR cases. Benchmark calculations on prototypical molecular systems reveal that MR-RPA successfully resolves the well-known failure of SR-RPA in strongly correlated systems. This theoretical advancement paves the way for advancing \emph{ab initio} computational methods through diagrammatic resummation techniques in future. △ Less

Submitted 18 March, 2025; v1 submitted 30 October, 2024; originally announced October 2024.

Comments: 29 pages, 4 figures

Journal ref: J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2025, 16, 3047-3055

Polarization-entangled photon pairs generation from a single lithium niobate waveguide with single poling period

Authors: Xinyue Zhang, Sihui Pei, Ni Yao, Shuhao Wang, J. Q. You, Limin Tong, Wei Fang

Abstract: Polarization-entangled photon pairs are essential sources for photonic quantum information processing. However, generating entangled photon pairs with large detuning via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) often requires complex configurations to compensate for phase matching. Here, we propose a simple and efficient scheme to generate polarization-entangled photon pairs based on type-0 S… ▽ More Polarization-entangled photon pairs are essential sources for photonic quantum information processing. However, generating entangled photon pairs with large detuning via spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) often requires complex configurations to compensate for phase matching. Here, we propose a simple and efficient scheme to generate polarization-entangled photon pairs based on type-0 SPDC in a thin-film lithium niobate waveguide with a single poling period. By utilizing the strong dispersion engineering capabilities of thin-film waveguides, we can achieve both degenerate and highly detuned entangled photon pairs. Furthermore, we demonstrate on-chip temporal compensation using an integrated waveguide structure. Our approach offers a compact and scalable solution for integrated quantum photonic circuits. △ Less

Submitted 30 October, 2024; originally announced October 2024.

VeriQR: A Robustness Verification Tool for Quantum Machine Learning Models

Authors: Yanling Lin, Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying, Zhaofeng Su

Abstract: Adversarial noise attacks present a significant threat to quantum machine learning (QML) models, similar to their classical counterparts. This is especially true in the current Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum era, where noise is unavoidable. Therefore, it is essential to ensure the robustness of QML models before their deployment. To address this challenge, we introduce \textit{VeriQR}, the first… ▽ More Adversarial noise attacks present a significant threat to quantum machine learning (QML) models, similar to their classical counterparts. This is especially true in the current Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum era, where noise is unavoidable. Therefore, it is essential to ensure the robustness of QML models before their deployment. To address this challenge, we introduce \textit{VeriQR}, the first tool designed specifically for formally verifying and improving the robustness of QML models, to the best of our knowledge. This tool mimics real-world quantum hardware's noisy impacts by incorporating random noise to formally validate a QML model's robustness. \textit{VeriQR} supports exact (sound and complete) algorithms for both local and global robustness verification. For enhanced efficiency, it implements an under-approximate (complete) algorithm and a tensor network-based algorithm to verify local and global robustness, respectively. As a formal verification tool, \textit{VeriQR} can detect adversarial examples and utilize them for further analysis and to enhance the local robustness through adversarial training, as demonstrated by experiments on real-world quantum machine learning models. Moreover, it permits users to incorporate customized noise. Based on this feature, we assess \textit{VeriQR} using various real-world examples, and experimental outcomes confirm that the addition of specific quantum noise can enhance the global robustness of QML models. These processes are made accessible through a user-friendly graphical interface provided by \textit{VeriQR}, catering to general users without requiring a deep understanding of the counter-intuitive probabilistic nature of quantum computing. △ Less

Submitted 18 July, 2024; originally announced July 2024.

Multi-Scale Feature Fusion Quantum Depthwise Convolutional Neural Networks for Text Classification

Authors: Yixiong Chen, Weichuan Fang

Abstract: In recent years, with the development of quantum machine learning, quantum neural networks (QNNs) have gained increasing attention in the field of natural language processing (NLP) and have achieved a series of promising results. However, most existing QNN models focus on the architectures of quantum recurrent neural network (QRNN) and self-attention mechanism (QSAM). In this work, we propose a no… ▽ More In recent years, with the development of quantum machine learning, quantum neural networks (QNNs) have gained increasing attention in the field of natural language processing (NLP) and have achieved a series of promising results. However, most existing QNN models focus on the architectures of quantum recurrent neural network (QRNN) and self-attention mechanism (QSAM). In this work, we propose a novel QNN model based on quantum convolution. We develop the quantum depthwise convolution that significantly reduces the number of parameters and lowers computational complexity. We also introduce the multi-scale feature fusion mechanism to enhance model performance by integrating word-level and sentence-level features. Additionally, we propose the quantum word embedding and quantum sentence embedding, which provide embedding vectors more efficiently. Through experiments on two benchmark text classification datasets, we demonstrate our model outperforms a wide range of state-of-the-art QNN models. Notably, our model achieves a new state-of-the-art test accuracy of 96.77% on the RP dataset. We also show the advantages of our quantum model over its classical counterparts in its ability to improve test accuracy using fewer parameters. Finally, an ablation test confirms the effectiveness of the multi-scale feature fusion mechanism and quantum depthwise convolution in enhancing model performance. △ Less

Submitted 22 May, 2024; originally announced May 2024.

All-optical ultrafast arbitrary rotation of hole orbital qubits with direct phase control

Authors: Jun-Yong Yan, Liang Zhai, Hans-Georg Babin, Yuanzhen Li, Si-Hui Pei, Moritz Cygorek, Wei Fang, Fei Gao, Andreas D. Wieck, Arne Ludwig, Chao-Yuan Jin, Da-Wei Wang, Feng Liu

Abstract: Complete quantum control of a stationary quantum bit embedded in a quantum emitter is crucial for photonic quantum information technologies. Recently, the orbital degree of freedom in optically active quantum dots has emerged as a promising candidate. However, the essential ability to perform arbitrary rotations on orbital qubits remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate arbitrary rotation of a hole o… ▽ More Complete quantum control of a stationary quantum bit embedded in a quantum emitter is crucial for photonic quantum information technologies. Recently, the orbital degree of freedom in optically active quantum dots has emerged as a promising candidate. However, the essential ability to perform arbitrary rotations on orbital qubits remains elusive. Here, we demonstrate arbitrary rotation of a hole orbital qubit with direct phase control using picosecond optical pulses. This is achieved by successfully inducing stimulated Raman transitions within $Λ$ systems coupled via radiative Auger processes. The new capability enables direct control of polar and azimuth angles of the Bloch vector without requiring timed precession. Our results establish orbital states in solid-state quantum emitters as a viable resource for applications in high-speed quantum information processing. △ Less

Submitted 29 September, 2024; v1 submitted 22 March, 2024; originally announced March 2024.

Comments: Manuscript with 7 pages and 4 figures plus Supplementary Material comprising 9 pages and 10 figures

Quantum computation of conical intersections on a programmable superconducting quantum processor

Authors: Shoukuan Zhao, Diandong Tang, Xiaoxiao Xiao, Ruixia Wang, Qiming Sun, Zhen Chen, Xiaoxia Cai, Zhendong Li, Haifeng Yu, Wei-Hai Fang

Abstract: Conical intersections (CIs) are pivotal in many photochemical processes. Traditional quantum chemistry methods, such as the state-average multi-configurational methods, face computational hurdles in solving the electronic Schrödinger equation within the active space on classical computers. While quantum computing offers a potential solution, its feasibility in studying CIs, particularly on real qu… ▽ More Conical intersections (CIs) are pivotal in many photochemical processes. Traditional quantum chemistry methods, such as the state-average multi-configurational methods, face computational hurdles in solving the electronic Schrödinger equation within the active space on classical computers. While quantum computing offers a potential solution, its feasibility in studying CIs, particularly on real quantum hardware, remains largely unexplored. Here, we present the first successful realization of a hybrid quantum-classical state-average complete active space self-consistent field method based on the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE-SA-CASSCF) on a superconducting quantum processor. This approach is applied to investigate CIs in two prototypical systems - ethylene (C2H4) and triatomic hydrogen (H3). We illustrate that VQE-SA-CASSCF, coupled with ongoing hardware and algorithmic enhancements, can lead to a correct description of CIs on existing quantum devices. These results lay the groundwork for exploring the potential of quantum computing to study CIs in more complex systems in the future. △ Less

Submitted 27 June, 2024; v1 submitted 19 February, 2024; originally announced February 2024.

Comments: This paper includes 18 pages, 11 figures and 91 references. This paper has not been submitted to any other journals

Symbolic Execution for Quantum Error Correction Programs

Authors: Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: We define QSE, a symbolic execution framework for quantum programs by integrating symbolic variables into quantum states and the outcomes of quantum measurements. The soundness of QSE is established through a theorem that ensures the correctness of symbolic execution within operational semantics. We further introduce symbolic stabilizer states, which symbolize the phases of stabilizer generators,… ▽ More We define QSE, a symbolic execution framework for quantum programs by integrating symbolic variables into quantum states and the outcomes of quantum measurements. The soundness of QSE is established through a theorem that ensures the correctness of symbolic execution within operational semantics. We further introduce symbolic stabilizer states, which symbolize the phases of stabilizer generators, for the efficient analysis of quantum error correction (QEC) programs. Within the QSE framework, we can use symbolic expressions to characterize the possible discrete Pauli errors in QEC, providing a significant improvement over existing methods that rely on sampling with simulators. We implement QSE with the support of symbolic stabilizer states in a prototype tool named QuantumSE.jl. Our experiments on representative QEC codes, including quantum repetition codes, Kitaev's toric codes, and quantum Tanner codes, demonstrate the efficiency of QuantumSE.jl for debugging QEC programs with over 1000 qubits. In addition, by substituting concrete values in symbolic expressions of measurement results, QuantumSE.jl is also equipped with a sampling feature for stabilizer circuits. Despite a longer initialization time than the state-of-the-art stabilizer simulator, Google's Stim, QuantumSE.jl offers a quicker sampling rate in the experiments. △ Less

Submitted 28 April, 2024; v1 submitted 19 November, 2023; originally announced November 2023.

Comments: 41pages, 11 figures. v2: fix inappropriate use of Stim. v3: Extended version of PLDI 2024 publication

SymPhase: Phase Symbolization for Fast Simulation of Stabilizer Circuits

Authors: Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: This paper proposes an efficient stabilizer circuit simulation algorithm that only traverses the circuit forward once. We introduce phase symbolization into stabilizer generators, which allows possible Pauli faults in the circuit to be accumulated explicitly as symbolic expressions in the phases of stabilizer generators. This way, the measurement outcomes are also symbolic expressions, and we can… ▽ More This paper proposes an efficient stabilizer circuit simulation algorithm that only traverses the circuit forward once. We introduce phase symbolization into stabilizer generators, which allows possible Pauli faults in the circuit to be accumulated explicitly as symbolic expressions in the phases of stabilizer generators. This way, the measurement outcomes are also symbolic expressions, and we can sample them by substituting the symbolic variables with concrete values, without traversing the circuit repeatedly. We show how to integrate symbolic phases into the stabilizer tableau and maintain them efficiently using bit-vector encoding. A new data layout of the stabilizer tableau in memory is proposed, which improves the performance of our algorithm (and other stabilizer simulation algorithms based on the stabilizer tableau). We implement our algorithm and data layout in a Julia package named SymPhase.jl, and compare it with Stim, the state-of-the-art simulator, on several benchmarks. We show that SymPhase.jl has superior performance in terms of sampling time, which is crucial for generating a large number of samples for further analysis. △ Less

Submitted 21 November, 2023; v1 submitted 7 November, 2023; originally announced November 2023.

Comments: 7 pages, 3 figures; v2: fix inappropriate use of Stim

A distributed multi-GPU ab initio density matrix renormalization group algorithm with applications to the P-cluster of nitrogenase

Authors: Chunyang Xiang, Weile Jia, Wei-Hai Fang, Zhendong Li

Abstract: The presence of many degenerate $d/f$ orbitals makes polynuclear transition metal compounds such as iron-sulfur clusters in nitrogenase challenging for state-of-the-art quantum chemistry methods. To address this challenge, we present the first distributed multi-GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) \emph{ab initio} density matrix renormalization (DMRG) algorithm, suitable for modern high-performance comp… ▽ More The presence of many degenerate $d/f$ orbitals makes polynuclear transition metal compounds such as iron-sulfur clusters in nitrogenase challenging for state-of-the-art quantum chemistry methods. To address this challenge, we present the first distributed multi-GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) \emph{ab initio} density matrix renormalization (DMRG) algorithm, suitable for modern high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructures. The central idea is to parallelize the most computationally intensive part - the multiplication of $O(K^2)$ operators with a trial wavefunction, where $K$ is the number of spatial orbitals, by combining operator parallelism for distributing the workload with a batched algorithm for performing contractions on GPU. With this new implementation, we are able to reach an unprecedentedly large bond dimension $D=14000$ on 48 GPUs (NVIDIA A100 80 GB SXM) for an active space model (114 electrons in 73 active orbitals) of the P-cluster, which is nearly three times larger than the bond dimensions reported in previous DMRG calculations for the same system using only CPUs. △ Less

Submitted 21 December, 2023; v1 submitted 5 November, 2023; originally announced November 2023.

Comments: 34 pages, 6 figures

Detecting Violations of Differential Privacy for Quantum Algorithms

Authors: Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Mingyu Huang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: Quantum algorithms for solving a wide range of practical problems have been proposed in the last ten years, such as data search and analysis, product recommendation, and credit scoring. The concern about privacy and other ethical issues in quantum computing naturally rises up. In this paper, we define a formal framework for detecting violations of differential privacy for quantum algorithms. A det… ▽ More Quantum algorithms for solving a wide range of practical problems have been proposed in the last ten years, such as data search and analysis, product recommendation, and credit scoring. The concern about privacy and other ethical issues in quantum computing naturally rises up. In this paper, we define a formal framework for detecting violations of differential privacy for quantum algorithms. A detection algorithm is developed to verify whether a (noisy) quantum algorithm is differentially private and automatically generate bugging information when the violation of differential privacy is reported. The information consists of a pair of quantum states that violate the privacy, to illustrate the cause of the violation. Our algorithm is equipped with Tensor Networks, a highly efficient data structure, and executed both on TensorFlow Quantum and TorchQuantum which are the quantum extensions of famous machine learning platforms -- TensorFlow and PyTorch, respectively. The effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm are confirmed by the experimental results of almost all types of quantum algorithms already implemented on realistic quantum computers, including quantum supremacy algorithms (beyond the capability of classical algorithms), quantum machine learning models, quantum approximate optimization algorithms, and variational quantum eigensolvers with up to 21 quantum bits. △ Less

Submitted 9 September, 2023; originally announced September 2023.

Journal ref: In Proceedings of the 2023 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS 2023)

Wavelength-tunable high-fidelity entangled photon sources enabled by dual Stark effects

Authors: Chen Chen, Jun-Yong Yan, Hans-Georg Babin, Jiefei Wang, Xingqi Xu, Xing Lin, Qianqian Yu, Wei Fang, Run-Ze Liu, Yong-Heng Huo, Han Cai, Wei E. I. Sha, Jiaxiang Zhang, Christian Heyn, Andreas D. Wieck, Arne Ludwig, Da-Wei Wang, Chao-Yuan Jin, Feng Liu

Abstract: The construction of a large-scale quantum internet requires quantum repeaters containing multiple entangled photon sources with identical wavelengths. Semiconductor quantum dots can generate entangled photon pairs deterministically with high fidelity. However, realizing wavelength-matched quantum-dot entangled photon sources faces two difficulties: the non-uniformity of emission wavelength and exc… ▽ More The construction of a large-scale quantum internet requires quantum repeaters containing multiple entangled photon sources with identical wavelengths. Semiconductor quantum dots can generate entangled photon pairs deterministically with high fidelity. However, realizing wavelength-matched quantum-dot entangled photon sources faces two difficulties: the non-uniformity of emission wavelength and exciton fine-structure splitting induced fidelity reduction. Typically, these two factors are not independently tunable, making it challenging to achieve simultaneous improvement. In this work, we demonstrate wavelength-tunable entangled photon sources based on droplet-etched GaAs quantum dots through the combined use of AC and quantum-confined Stark effects. The emission wavelength can be tuned by ~1 meV while preserving an entanglement fidelity f exceeding 0.955(1) in the entire tuning range. Based on this hybrid tuning scheme, we finally demonstrate multiple wavelength-matched entangled photon sources with f>0.919(3), paving a way towards robust and scalable on-demand entangled photon sources for quantum internet and integrated quantum optical circuits. △ Less

Submitted 21 April, 2024; v1 submitted 9 August, 2023; originally announced August 2023.

Comments: Main text: 11 pages, 6 figures, Supplementary information: 7 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables

Physics-Constrained Hardware-Efficient Ansatz on Quantum Computers that is Universal, Systematically Improvable, and Size-consistent

Authors: Xiaoxiao Xiao, Hewang Zhao, Jiajun Ren, Wei-hai Fang, Zhendong Li

Abstract: Variational wavefunction ansätze are at the heart of solving quantum many-body problems in physics and chemistry. Previous designs of hardware-efficient ansatz (HEA) on quantum computers are largely based on heuristics and lack rigorous theoretical foundations. In this work, we introduce a physics-constrained approach for designing HEA with rigorous theoretical guarantees by imposing a few fundame… ▽ More Variational wavefunction ansätze are at the heart of solving quantum many-body problems in physics and chemistry. Previous designs of hardware-efficient ansatz (HEA) on quantum computers are largely based on heuristics and lack rigorous theoretical foundations. In this work, we introduce a physics-constrained approach for designing HEA with rigorous theoretical guarantees by imposing a few fundamental constraints. Specifically, we require that the target HEA to be universal, systematically improvable, and size-consistent, which is an important concept in quantum many-body theories for scalability, but has been overlooked in previous designs of HEA. We extend the notion of size-consistency to HEA, and present a concrete realization of HEA that satisfies all these fundamental constraints while only requiring linear qubit connectivity. The developed physics-constrained HEA is superior to other heuristically designed HEA in terms of both accuracy and scalability, as demonstrated numerically for the Heisenberg model and some typical molecules. In particular, we find that restoring size-consistency can significantly reduce the number of layers needed to reach certain accuracy. In contrast, the failure of other HEA to satisfy these constraints severely limits their scalability to larger systems with more than ten qubits. Our work highlights the importance of incorporating physical constraints into the design of HEA for efficiently solving many-body problems on quantum computers. △ Less

Submitted 21 December, 2023; v1 submitted 7 July, 2023; originally announced July 2023.

Comments: 34 pages, 7 figures

Coherent control of a high-orbital hole in a semiconductor quantum dot

Authors: Jun-Yong Yan, Chen Chen, Xiao-Dong Zhang, Yu-Tong Wang, Hans-Georg Babin, Andreas D. Wieck, Arne Ludwig, Yun Meng, Xiaolong Hu, Huali Duan, Wenchao Chen, Wei Fang, Moritz Cygorek, Xing Lin, Da-Wei Wang, Chao-Yuan Jin, Feng Liu

Abstract: Coherently driven semiconductor quantum dots are one of the most promising platforms for non-classical light sources and quantum logic gates which form the foundation of photonic quantum technologies. However, to date, coherent manipulation of single charge carriers in quantum dots is limited mainly to their lowest orbital states. Ultrafast coherent control of high-orbital states is obstructed by… ▽ More Coherently driven semiconductor quantum dots are one of the most promising platforms for non-classical light sources and quantum logic gates which form the foundation of photonic quantum technologies. However, to date, coherent manipulation of single charge carriers in quantum dots is limited mainly to their lowest orbital states. Ultrafast coherent control of high-orbital states is obstructed by the demand for tunable terahertz pulses. To break this constraint, we demonstrate an all-optical method to control high-orbital states of a hole via stimulated Auger process. The coherent nature of the Auger process is proved by Rabi oscillation and Ramsey interference. Harnessing this coherence further enables the investigation of single-hole relaxation mechanism. A hole relaxation time of 161 ps is observed and attributed to the phonon bottleneck effect. Our work opens new possibilities for understanding the fundamental properties of high-orbital states in quantum emitters and developing new types of orbital-based quantum photonic devices. △ Less

Submitted 16 July, 2023; v1 submitted 20 December, 2022; originally announced December 2022.

Comments: Manuscript with 14 pages and 6 figures plus supplementary Information comprising 15 pages and 14 figures. Nature Nanotechnology (24 July 2023)

Approximation Algorithm for Noisy Quantum Circuit Simulation

Authors: Mingyu Huang, Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: Simulating noisy quantum circuits is vital in designing and verifying quantum algorithms in the current NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era, where quantum noise is unavoidable. However, it is much more inefficient than the classical counterpart because of the quantum state explosion problem (the dimension of state space is exponential in the number of qubits) and the complex (non-unitary)… ▽ More Simulating noisy quantum circuits is vital in designing and verifying quantum algorithms in the current NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era, where quantum noise is unavoidable. However, it is much more inefficient than the classical counterpart because of the quantum state explosion problem (the dimension of state space is exponential in the number of qubits) and the complex (non-unitary) representation of noises. Consequently, only noisy circuits with up to about 50 qubits can be simulated approximately well. This paper introduces a novel approximation algorithm for simulating noisy quantum circuits when the noisy effectiveness is insignificant to improve the scalability of the circuits that can be simulated. The algorithm is based on a new tensor network diagram for the noisy simulation and uses the singular value decomposition to approximate the tensors of quantum noises in the diagram. The contraction of the tensor network diagram is implemented on Google's TensorNetwork. The effectiveness and utility of the algorithm are demonstrated by experimenting on a series of practical quantum circuits with realistic superconducting noise models. As a result, our algorithm can approximately simulate quantum circuits with up to 225 qubits and 20 noises (within about 1.8 hours). In particular, our method offers a speedup over the commonly-used approximation (sampling) algorithm -- quantum trajectories method. Furthermore, our approach can significantly reduce the number of samples in the quantum trajectories method when the noise rate is small enough. △ Less

Submitted 23 November, 2023; v1 submitted 30 November, 2022; originally announced November 2022.

Differentiable Quantum Programming with Unbounded Loops

Authors: Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying, Xiaodi Wu

Abstract: The emergence of variational quantum applications has led to the development of automatic differentiation techniques in quantum computing. Recently, Zhu et al. (PLDI 2020) have formulated differentiable quantum programming with bounded loops, providing a framework for scalable gradient calculation by quantum means for training quantum variational applications. However, promising parameterized quan… ▽ More The emergence of variational quantum applications has led to the development of automatic differentiation techniques in quantum computing. Recently, Zhu et al. (PLDI 2020) have formulated differentiable quantum programming with bounded loops, providing a framework for scalable gradient calculation by quantum means for training quantum variational applications. However, promising parameterized quantum applications, e.g., quantum walk and unitary implementation, cannot be trained in the existing framework due to the natural involvement of unbounded loops. To fill in the gap, we provide the first differentiable quantum programming framework with unbounded loops, including a newly designed differentiation rule, code transformation, and their correctness proof. Technically, we introduce a randomized estimator for derivatives to deal with the infinite sum in the differentiation of unbounded loops, whose applicability in classical and probabilistic programming is also discussed. We implement our framework with Python and Q#, and demonstrate a reasonable sample efficiency. Through extensive case studies, we showcase an exciting application of our framework in automatically identifying close-to-optimal parameters for several parameterized quantum applications. △ Less

Submitted 8 November, 2022; originally announced November 2022.

Comments: Codes are available at https://github.com/njuwfang/DifferentiableQPL

Verifying Fairness in Quantum Machine Learning

Authors: Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: Due to the beyond-classical capability of quantum computing, quantum machine learning is applied independently or embedded in classical models for decision making, especially in the field of finance. Fairness and other ethical issues are often one of the main concerns in decision making. In this work, we define a formal framework for the fairness verification and analysis of quantum machine learni… ▽ More Due to the beyond-classical capability of quantum computing, quantum machine learning is applied independently or embedded in classical models for decision making, especially in the field of finance. Fairness and other ethical issues are often one of the main concerns in decision making. In this work, we define a formal framework for the fairness verification and analysis of quantum machine learning decision models, where we adopt one of the most popular notions of fairness in the literature based on the intuition -- any two similar individuals must be treated similarly and are thus unbiased. We show that quantum noise can improve fairness and develop an algorithm to check whether a (noisy) quantum machine learning model is fair. In particular, this algorithm can find bias kernels of quantum data (encoding individuals) during checking. These bias kernels generate infinitely many bias pairs for investigating the unfairness of the model. Our algorithm is designed based on a highly efficient data structure -- Tensor Networks -- and implemented on Google's TensorFlow Quantum. The utility and effectiveness of our algorithm are confirmed by the experimental results, including income prediction and credit scoring on real-world data, for a class of random (noisy) quantum decision models with 27 qubits ($2^{27}$-dimensional state space) tripling ($2^{18}$ times more than) that of the state-of-the-art algorithms for verifying quantum machine learning models. △ Less

Submitted 22 July, 2022; originally announced July 2022.

VeriQBench: A Benchmark for Multiple Types of Quantum Circuits

Authors: Kean Chen, Wang Fang, Ji Guan, Xin Hong, Mingyu Huang, Junyi Liu, Qisheng Wang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce VeriQBench -- an open source benchmark for quantum circuits. It offers high-level quantum circuit abstractions of various circuit types, including 1) combinational, 2) dynamic, 3) sequential, and 4) variational quantum circuits, which cover almost all existing types of quantum circuits in the literature. Meanwhile, VeriQBench is a versatile benchmark which can be used i… ▽ More In this paper, we introduce VeriQBench -- an open source benchmark for quantum circuits. It offers high-level quantum circuit abstractions of various circuit types, including 1) combinational, 2) dynamic, 3) sequential, and 4) variational quantum circuits, which cover almost all existing types of quantum circuits in the literature. Meanwhile, VeriQBench is a versatile benchmark which can be used in verifying quantum software for different applications, as is evidenced by the existing works including quantum circuit verification (e.g., equivalence checking [Hon+21a; WLY21] and model checking [Yin21]), simulation (e.g., fault simulation), testing (e.g., test pattern generation [CY22]) and debugging (e.g., runtime assertions [Li+20b]). All the circuits are described in OpenQASM and are validated on Qiskit and QCOR simulators. With the hope that it can be used by other researchers, VeriQBench is released at: https://github.com/Veri-Q/Benchmark. △ Less

Submitted 22 June, 2022; originally announced June 2022.

isQ: Towards a Practical Software Stack for Quantum Programming

Authors: Jingzhe Guo, Huazhe Lou, Riling Li, Wang Fang, Junyi Liu, Peixun Long, Shenggang Ying, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: We introduce isQ, a new software stack for quantum programming in an imperative programming language, also named isQ. The aim of isQ is to make the programmers write quantum programs as conveniently as possible. In particular: 1) The isQ language and its compiler contain many features, including some not well supported by (most) other quantum programming platforms, e.g. classical control flow such… ▽ More We introduce isQ, a new software stack for quantum programming in an imperative programming language, also named isQ. The aim of isQ is to make the programmers write quantum programs as conveniently as possible. In particular: 1) The isQ language and its compiler contain many features, including some not well supported by (most) other quantum programming platforms, e.g. classical control flow such as recursion; decomposition of selfdefined unitary gates; and oracle programming and its circuit realization. 2) To make it flexible, an isQ program can be compiled into several kinds of intermediate representation, including OpenQASM 3.0, QIR and QCIS (specially tailored for the superconducting quantum hardware at USTC). 3) Besides interfacing isQ with true superconducting hardware, a QIR simulator is also developed for demonstration and testing of isQ programs. △ Less

Submitted 21 November, 2023; v1 submitted 8 May, 2022; originally announced May 2022.

Comments: This old version was not well written. And a new version of this paper is published (open access) on TQE. DOI:doi.org/10.1109/TQE.2023.3275868

Composite picosecond control of atomic state through a nanofiber interface

Authors: Yudi Ma, Ruijuan Liu, Lingjing Ji, Liyang Qiu, Saijun Wu, Dianqiang Su, Yanting Zhao, Ni Yao, Wei Fang

Abstract: Atoms are ideal quantum sensors and quantum light emitters. Interfacing atoms with nanophotonic devices promises novel nanoscale sensing and quantum optical functionalities. But precise optical control of atomic states in these devices is challenged by the spatially varying light-atom coupling strength, generic to nanophotonic. We demonstrate numerically that despite the inhomogenuity, composite p… ▽ More Atoms are ideal quantum sensors and quantum light emitters. Interfacing atoms with nanophotonic devices promises novel nanoscale sensing and quantum optical functionalities. But precise optical control of atomic states in these devices is challenged by the spatially varying light-atom coupling strength, generic to nanophotonic. We demonstrate numerically that despite the inhomogenuity, composite picosecond optical pulses with optimally tailored phases are able to evanescently control the atomic electric dipole transitions nearly perfectly, with $f>99\%$ fidelity across large enough volumes for {\it e.g.} controlling cold atoms confined in near-field optical lattices. Our proposal is followed by a proof-of-principle demonstration with a $^{85}$Rb vapor -- optical nanofiber interface, where the excitation by an $N=3$ sequence of guided picosecond D1 control reduces the absorption of a co-guided nanosecond D2 probe by up to $\sim70\%$. The close-to-ideal performance is corroborated by comparing the absorption data across the parameter space with first-principle modeling of the mesoscopic atomic vapor response. Extension of the composite technique to $N\geq 5$ appears highly feasible to support arbitrary local control of atomic dipoles with exquisite precision. This unprecedented ability would allow error-resilient atomic spectroscopy and open up novel nonlinear quantum optical research with atom-nanophotonic interfaces. △ Less

Submitted 9 May, 2023; v1 submitted 13 March, 2022; originally announced March 2022.

Comments: 19 pages, 12 figures, substantial revision

Variational Quantum Computation of Molecular Linear Response Properties on a Superconducting Quantum Processor

Authors: Kaixuan Huang, Xiaoxia Cai, Hao Li, Zi-Yong Ge, Ruijuan Hou, Hekang Li, Tong Liu, Yunhao Shi, Chitong Chen, Dongning Zheng, Kai Xu, Zhi-Bo Liu, Zhendong Li, Heng Fan, Wei-Hai Fang

Abstract: Simulating response properties of molecules is crucial for interpreting experimental spectroscopies and accelerating materials design. However, it remains a long-standing computational challenge for electronic structure methods on classical computers. While quantum computers hold the promise to solve this problem more efficiently in the long run, existing quantum algorithms requiring deep quantum… ▽ More Simulating response properties of molecules is crucial for interpreting experimental spectroscopies and accelerating materials design. However, it remains a long-standing computational challenge for electronic structure methods on classical computers. While quantum computers hold the promise to solve this problem more efficiently in the long run, existing quantum algorithms requiring deep quantum circuits are infeasible for near-term noisy quantum processors. Here, we introduce a pragmatic variational quantum response (VQR) algorithm for response properties, which circumvents the need for deep quantum circuits. Using this algorithm, we report the first simulation of linear response properties of molecules including dynamic polarizabilities and absorption spectra on a superconducting quantum processor. Our results indicate that a large class of important dynamical properties such as Green's functions are within the reach of near-term quantum hardware using this algorithm in combination with suitable error mitigation techniques. △ Less

Submitted 26 September, 2022; v1 submitted 7 January, 2022; originally announced January 2022.

Comments: 22 pages, 4 figures

Journal ref: J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2022, 13, 9114-9121

Quantum Algorithm for Fidelity Estimation

Authors: Qisheng Wang, Zhicheng Zhang, Kean Chen, Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Junyi Liu, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: For two unknown mixed quantum states $ρ$ and $σ$ in an $N$-dimensional Hilbert space, computing their fidelity $F(ρ,σ)$ is a basic problem with many important applications in quantum computing and quantum information, for example verification and characterization of the outputs of a quantum computer, and design and analysis of quantum algorithms. In this paper, we propose a quantum algorithm that… ▽ More For two unknown mixed quantum states $ρ$ and $σ$ in an $N$-dimensional Hilbert space, computing their fidelity $F(ρ,σ)$ is a basic problem with many important applications in quantum computing and quantum information, for example verification and characterization of the outputs of a quantum computer, and design and analysis of quantum algorithms. In this paper, we propose a quantum algorithm that solves this problem in $\operatorname{poly}(\log (N), r, 1/\varepsilon)$ time, where $r$ is the lower rank of $ρ$ and $σ$, and $\varepsilon$ is the desired precision, provided that the purifications of $ρ$ and $σ$ are prepared by quantum oracles. This algorithm exhibits an exponential speedup over the best known algorithm (based on quantum state tomography) which has time complexity polynomial in $N$. △ Less

Submitted 28 September, 2022; v1 submitted 16 March, 2021; originally announced March 2021.

Comments: Final version with an improvement over the previous version. 19 pages, 2 tables, 1 algorithm

Journal ref: IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 69(1): 273-282, 2023

Both qubits of the singlet state can be steered simultaneously by multiple independent observers via sequential measurement

Authors: Kun Liu, Tongjun Liu, Wei Fang, Jian Li, Qin Wang

Abstract: Quantum correlation is a fundamental property which distinguishes quantum systems from classical ones, and it is also a fragile resource under projective measurement. Recently, it has been shown that a subsystem in entangled pairs can share nonlocality with multiple observers in sequence. Here we present a new steering scenario where both subsystems are accessible by multiple observers. And it is… ▽ More Quantum correlation is a fundamental property which distinguishes quantum systems from classical ones, and it is also a fragile resource under projective measurement. Recently, it has been shown that a subsystem in entangled pairs can share nonlocality with multiple observers in sequence. Here we present a new steering scenario where both subsystems are accessible by multiple observers. And it is found that the two qubits in singlet state can be simultaneously steered by two sequential observers, respectively. △ Less

Submitted 24 February, 2021; originally announced February 2021.

Observation of photon antibunching with a single conventional detector

Authors: Shaojie Liu, Xing Lin, Feng Liu, Hairui Lei, Wei Fang, Chaoyuan Jin

Abstract: The second-order photon correlation function is of great importance in quantum optics which is typically measured with the Hanbury Brown and Twiss interferometer which employs a pair of single-photon detectors and a dual-channel time acquisition module. Here we demonstrate a new method to measure and extract the second-order correlation function with a standard single-photon avalanche photodiode (… ▽ More The second-order photon correlation function is of great importance in quantum optics which is typically measured with the Hanbury Brown and Twiss interferometer which employs a pair of single-photon detectors and a dual-channel time acquisition module. Here we demonstrate a new method to measure and extract the second-order correlation function with a standard single-photon avalanche photodiode (dead-time = 22 ns) and a single-channel time acquisition module. This is realized by shifting the informative coincidence counts near the zero-time delay to a time window which is not obliterated by the dead-time and after-pulse of detection system. The new scheme is verified by measuring the second-order correlation from a single colloidal nanocrystal. Photon antibunching is unambiguously observed and agrees well with the result measured using the standard HBT setup. Our scheme simplifies the higher-order correlation technique and might be favored in cost-sensitive circumstances. △ Less

Submitted 28 August, 2020; originally announced August 2020.

Comments: 6 pages and 5 figures

Robustness Verification of Quantum Classifiers

Authors: Ji Guan, Wang Fang, Mingsheng Ying

Abstract: Several important models of machine learning algorithms have been successfully generalized to the quantum world, with potential speedup to training classical classifiers and applications to data analytics in quantum physics that can be implemented on the near future quantum computers. However, quantum noise is a major obstacle to the practical implementation of quantum machine learning. In this wo… ▽ More Several important models of machine learning algorithms have been successfully generalized to the quantum world, with potential speedup to training classical classifiers and applications to data analytics in quantum physics that can be implemented on the near future quantum computers. However, quantum noise is a major obstacle to the practical implementation of quantum machine learning. In this work, we define a formal framework for the robustness verification and analysis of quantum machine learning algorithms against noises. A robust bound is derived and an algorithm is developed to check whether or not a quantum machine learning algorithm is robust with respect to quantum training data. In particular, this algorithm can find adversarial examples during checking. Our approach is implemented on Google's TensorFlow Quantum and can verify the robustness of quantum machine learning algorithms with respect to a small disturbance of noises, derived from the surrounding environment. The effectiveness of our robust bound and algorithm is confirmed by the experimental results, including quantum bits classification as the "Hello World" example, quantum phase recognition and cluster excitation detection from real world intractable physical problems, and the classification of MNIST from the classical world. △ Less

Submitted 31 May, 2021; v1 submitted 17 August, 2020; originally announced August 2020.

Quantum computation of molecular response properties

Authors: Xiaoxia Cai, Wei-Hai Fang, Heng Fan, Zhendong Li

Abstract: Accurately predicting response properties of molecules such as the dynamic polarizability and hyperpolarizability using quantum mechanics has been a long-standing challenge with widespread applications in material and drug design. Classical simulation techniques in quantum chemistry are hampered by the exponential growth of the many-electron Hilbert space as the system size increases. In this work… ▽ More Accurately predicting response properties of molecules such as the dynamic polarizability and hyperpolarizability using quantum mechanics has been a long-standing challenge with widespread applications in material and drug design. Classical simulation techniques in quantum chemistry are hampered by the exponential growth of the many-electron Hilbert space as the system size increases. In this work, we propose an algorithm for computing linear and nonlinear molecular response properties on quantum computers, by first reformulating the target property into a symmetric expression more suitable for quantum computation via introducing a set of auxiliary quantum states, and then determining these auxiliary states via solving the corresponding linear systems of equations on quantum computers. On one hand, we prove that using the quantum linear system algorithm [Harrow et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 150502 (2009)] as a subroutine the proposed algorithm scales only polynomially in the system size instead of the dimension of the exponentially large Hilbert space, and hence achieves an exponential speedup over existing classical algorithms. On the other hand, we introduce a variational hybrid quantum-classical variant of the proposed algorithm, which is more practical for near-term quantum devices. △ Less

Submitted 27 July, 2020; v1 submitted 10 January, 2020; originally announced January 2020.

Comments: 7 pages

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. Research 2, 033324 (2020)

Towards high-capacity quantum communications by combining wavelength- and time-division multiplexing technologies

Authors: Wen-Tan Fang, Yin-Hai Li, Zhi-Yuan Zhou, Li-Xin Xu, Guang-Can Guo, Bao-Sen Shi

Abstract: Optical communication systems are able to send the information from one user to another in light beams that travel through the free space or optical fibers, therefore how to send larger amounts of information in smaller periods of time is a long term concern, one promising way is to use multiplexing of photon's different degrees of freedoms to parallel handle the large amounts of information in mu… ▽ More Optical communication systems are able to send the information from one user to another in light beams that travel through the free space or optical fibers, therefore how to send larger amounts of information in smaller periods of time is a long term concern, one promising way is to use multiplexing of photon's different degrees of freedoms to parallel handle the large amounts of information in multiple channels independently. In this work, by combining the wavelength and time division multiplexing technologies, we prepare a multifrequency mode time bin entangled photon pair source at different time slots by using four wave mixing in a silicon nanowire waveguide, and distribute entangled photons into 3 time by 14 wavelength channels independently, which can significantly increase the bit rate compared with the single channel systems in quantum communication. Our work paves a new and promising way to achieve a high capacity quantum communication and to generate a multiple photon nonclassical state. △ Less

Submitted 5 March, 2018; originally announced March 2018.

Comments: 11 pages, 6 figures, comments welcome

All-optical quantum signal demultiplexer

Authors: Yin-Hai Li, Wen-Tan Fang, Zhi-Yuan Zhou, Shi-Long Liu, Shi-Kai Liu, Zhao-Huai Xu, Chen Yang, Yan Li, Li-Xin Xu, Guang-Can Guo, Bao-Sen Shi

Abstract: Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is one of the most successful methods for enhancing data transmission rates in both classical and quantum communication networks. Although signal multiplexing and demultiplexing are equally important, traditional multiplexing and demultiplexing methods are based on passive devices such as arrayed waveguides and fiber Bragg cascade filters, which, altho… ▽ More Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is one of the most successful methods for enhancing data transmission rates in both classical and quantum communication networks. Although signal multiplexing and demultiplexing are equally important, traditional multiplexing and demultiplexing methods are based on passive devices such as arrayed waveguides and fiber Bragg cascade filters, which, although widely used in commercial devices, lack any active tuning ability. In this work, we propose a signal demultiplexing method based on sum frequency generation (SFG) with two significant features: first, any signal from the common communication channel can be demultiplexed to a single user by switching the pump wavelength; second, a cheap high-performance detector can be used for signal detection. These two features were demonstrated by demultiplexing multi-channel energy-time entanglement generated by a micro-cavity silicon chip. High interference visibilities over three channels after demultiplexing showed that entanglement was preserved and verified the high performance of the demultiplexer, which will find wide application in high-capacity quantum communication networks. △ Less

Submitted 28 February, 2018; originally announced March 2018.

Comments: 7 pages, 4 figures, comments welcome

Fast magnetic field manipulations and nonadiabatic geometric phases of nitrogen-vacancy center spin in diamond

Authors: Wen-Qi Fang, Bang-Gui Liu

Abstract: Fast quantum spin manipulation is needed to design spin-based quantum logic gates and other quantum applications. Here, we construct exact evolution operator of the nitrogen-vacancy-center (NV) spin in diamond under external magnetic fields and investigate the nonadiabatic geometric phases, both cyclic and non-cyclic, in these fast-manipulated NV spin systems. It is believed that the nonadiabatic… ▽ More Fast quantum spin manipulation is needed to design spin-based quantum logic gates and other quantum applications. Here, we construct exact evolution operator of the nitrogen-vacancy-center (NV) spin in diamond under external magnetic fields and investigate the nonadiabatic geometric phases, both cyclic and non-cyclic, in these fast-manipulated NV spin systems. It is believed that the nonadiabatic geometric phases can be measured in future experiments and these fast quantum manipulations can be useful in designing spin-based quantum applications. △ Less

Submitted 6 April, 2017; originally announced April 2017.

Comments: 5 pages, 4 figures

Journal ref: J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 50 (2017) 375002

Collective dynamics and entanglement of two atoms embedded into negative index material

Authors: Wei Fang, Gao-xiang Li, Zbigniew Ficek

Abstract: We study the dynamics of two two-level atoms embedded near to the interface of paired meta-material slabs, one of negative permeability and the other of negative permittivity. The interface behaves as a plasmonic waveguide composed of surface-plasmon polariton modes. It is found that significantly different dynamics occur for the resonant and an off-resonant couplings of the plasma field to the at… ▽ More We study the dynamics of two two-level atoms embedded near to the interface of paired meta-material slabs, one of negative permeability and the other of negative permittivity. The interface behaves as a plasmonic waveguide composed of surface-plasmon polariton modes. It is found that significantly different dynamics occur for the resonant and an off-resonant couplings of the plasma field to the atoms. In the case of the resonant coupling, the plasma field does not appear as a dissipative reservoir to the atoms. We adopt the image method and show that the dynamics of the two atoms are completely equivalent to those of a four-atom system. Moreover, two threshold coupling strengths exist, one corresponding to the strength of coupling of the plasma field to the symmetric and the other the antisymmetric mode of the two-atom system. The thresholds distinguish between the non-Markovian (memory preserving) and Markovian (memoryless) regimes of the evolutions that different time scales of the evolution of the memory effects and entanglement can be observed. The Markovian regime is characterized by exponentially decaying whereas the non-Markovian regime by sinusoidally oscillating contributions to the evolution of the probability amplitudes. The solutions predict a large and long living entanglement mediated by the plasma field in both Markovian and non-Markovian regimes of the evolution. We also show that a simultaneous Markovian and non-Markovian regime of the evolution may occur in which the memory effects exist over a finite evolution time. In the case of an off-resonant coupling of the atoms to the plasma field, the atoms interact with each other by exchanging virtual photons which results in the dynamics corresponding to those of two atoms coupled to a common reservoir. In addition, the entanglement is significantly enhanced under the off-resonant coupling. △ Less

Submitted 18 September, 2016; originally announced September 2016.

Comments: 17 pages, 15 figures

Optical analogy to quantum Fourier transform based on pseudorandom phase ensemble

Authors: Jian Fu, Wei Fang, Yongzheng Ye

Abstract: In this paper, we introduce an optical analogy to quantum Fourier tanformation based on a pseudorandom phase ensemble. The optical analogy also brings about exponential speedup over classical Fourier tanformation. Using the analogy, we demonstrate three classcial fields to realize Fourier transform similar to three quantum particles. In this paper, we introduce an optical analogy to quantum Fourier tanformation based on a pseudorandom phase ensemble. The optical analogy also brings about exponential speedup over classical Fourier tanformation. Using the analogy, we demonstrate three classcial fields to realize Fourier transform similar to three quantum particles. △ Less

Submitted 14 August, 2016; v1 submitted 27 July, 2016; originally announced July 2016.

Comments: A small amount of errors modification,16 Pages, 1 figure

Exact magnetic field control of nitrogen-vacancy center spin for realizing fast quantum logic gates

Authors: Wen-Qi Fang, Bang-Gui Liu

Abstract: The negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spin in diamond can be used to realize quantum computation and to sense magnetic fields. Its spin triplet consists of three levels labeled with its spin z-components of +1, 0, and -1. Without external field, the +1 and -1 states are degenerate and higher than the 0 state due to the zero-field splitting. By taking the symmetrical and anti-symmetri… ▽ More The negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spin in diamond can be used to realize quantum computation and to sense magnetic fields. Its spin triplet consists of three levels labeled with its spin z-components of +1, 0, and -1. Without external field, the +1 and -1 states are degenerate and higher than the 0 state due to the zero-field splitting. By taking the symmetrical and anti-symmetrical superpositions of the +1 and -1 states as our qubit basis, we obtain exact evolution operator of the NV center spin under time-dependent magnetic field by mapping the three-level system on time-dependent quantum two-level systems with exact analytical solutions. With our exact evolution operator of the NV center spin including three levels, we show that arbitrary qubits can be prepared from the starting 0 state and arbitrary rapid quantum logic gates of these qubits can be realized with magnetic fields. In addition, it is made clear that the typical quantum logic gates can be accomplished within a few nanoseconds and the fidelity can be very high because only magnetic field strength needs to be controlled in this approach. These results should be useful to realizing quantum computing with the NV center spin systems in diamond and exploring other effects and applications. △ Less

Submitted 24 September, 2015; originally announced September 2015.

Comments: 7 pages including 3 figures

Journal ref: Phys. Rev. B 92, 174423 (2015)

Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulation: An approach based on quantum measurement picture

Authors: Wei Feng, Luting Xu, Xin-Qi Li, Weihai Fang, YiJing Yan

Abstract: Mixed-quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulation implies an effective measurement on the electronic states owing to continuously tracking the atomic forces.Based on this insight, we propose a quantum trajectory mean-field approach for nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. The new protocol provides a natural interface between the separate quantum and classical treatments, without invoki… ▽ More Mixed-quantum-classical molecular dynamics simulation implies an effective measurement on the electronic states owing to continuously tracking the atomic forces.Based on this insight, we propose a quantum trajectory mean-field approach for nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations. The new protocol provides a natural interface between the separate quantum and classical treatments, without invoking artificial surface hopping algorithm. Moreover, it also bridges two widely adopted nonadiabatic dynamics methods, the Ehrenfest mean-field theory and the trajectory surface-hopping method. Excellent agreement with the exact results is illustrated with representative model systems, including the challenging ones for traditional methods. △ Less

Submitted 24 March, 2014; v1 submitted 17 December, 2013; originally announced December 2013.

Journal ref: AIP Advances 4, 077131 (2014)

Generation of correlated photon pairs in micro/nano-fibers

Authors: Liang Cui, Xiaoying Li, Cheng Guo, Y. H. Li, Z. Y. Xu, L. J. Wang, Wei Fang

Abstract: We study the generation of correlated photon pairs via spontaneous four wave mixing in a 15 cm long micro/nano-fiber (MNF). The MNF is properly fabricated to satisfy the phase matching condition for generating the signal and idler photon pairs at the wavelengths of about 1310 and 851 nm, respectively. Photon counting measurements yield a coincidence-to-accidental ratio of 530 for a photon producti… ▽ More We study the generation of correlated photon pairs via spontaneous four wave mixing in a 15 cm long micro/nano-fiber (MNF). The MNF is properly fabricated to satisfy the phase matching condition for generating the signal and idler photon pairs at the wavelengths of about 1310 and 851 nm, respectively. Photon counting measurements yield a coincidence-to-accidental ratio of 530 for a photon production rate of about 0.002 (0.0005) per pulse in the signal (idler) band. We also analyze the spectral information of the signal photons originated from the spontaneous four wave mixing and Raman scattering. In addition to discovering some unique feature of Raman scattering, we find the bandwidth of the individual signal photons is much greater than the calculated value for the MNF with homogeneous structure. Our investigations indicate the MNF is a promising candidate for developing the sources of nonclassical light and the spectral property of photon pairs can be used to non-invasively test the diameter and homogeneity of the MNF. △ Less

Submitted 3 November, 2013; v1 submitted 16 October, 2013; originally announced October 2013.

Comments: To appear in Opt. Lett

Journal ref: Optics Letters, Vol. 38, Issue 23, pp. 5063-5066 (2013)