Zhang is part of Google's quantum AI team. He worked at NASA Ames research center before joining Google. His main interests include quantum control, quantum simulation, and quantum optimization.
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Gauge theories describe the fundamental forces in the standard model of particle physics and play an important role in condensed-matter physics. The constituents of gauge theories, for example, charged matter and electric gauge field, are governed by local gauge constraints, which lead to key phenomena such as the confinement of particles that are not fully understood. In this context, quantum simulators may address questions that are challenging for classical methods. Although engineering gauge constraints is highly demanding, recent advances in quantum computing are beginning to enable digital quantum simulations of gauge theories. Here we simulate confinement dynamics in a Z2 lattice gauge theory on a superconducting quantum processor. Tuning a term that couples only to the electric field produces confinement of charges, a manifestation of the tight bond that the gauge constraint generates between both. Moreover, we show how a modification of the gauge constraint from Z2 towards U(1) symmetry freezes the system dynamics. Our work illustrates the restriction that the underlying gauge constraint imposes on the dynamics of a lattice gauge theory, showcases how gauge constraints can be modified and protected, and promotes the study of other models governed by multibody interactions.View details
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Lattice gauge theories (LGTs) can be used to understand a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particle scattering in high-energy physics to effective descriptions of many-body interactions in materials. Studying dynamical properties of emergent phases can be challenging, as it requires solving many-body problems that are generally beyond perturbative limits. Here we investigate the dynamics of local excitations in a LGT using a two-dimensional lattice of superconducting qubits. We first construct a simple variational circuit that prepares low-energy states that have a large overlap with the ground state; then we create charge excitations with local gates and simulate their quantum dynamics by means of a discretized time evolution. As the electric field coupling constant is increased, our measurements show signatures of transitioning from deconfined to confined dynamics. For confined excitations, the electric field induces a tension in the string connecting them. Our method allows us to experimentally image string dynamics in a (2+1)D LGT, from which we uncover two distinct regimes inside the confining phase: for weak confinement, the string fluctuates strongly in the transverse direction, whereas for strong confinement, transverse fluctuations are effectively frozen. We also demonstrate a resonance condition at which dynamical string breaking is facilitated. Our LGT implementation on a quantum processor presents a new set of techniques for investigating emergent excitations and string dynamics.View details
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Lattice gauge theories (LGTs) can be used to understand a wide range of phenomena, from elementary particle scattering in high-energy physics to effective descriptions of many-body interactions in materials. Studying dynamical properties of emergent phases can be challenging, as it requires solving many-body problems that are generally beyond perturbative limits. Here we investigate the dynamics of local excitations in a LGT using a two-dimensional lattice of superconducting qubits. We first construct a simple variational circuit that prepares low-energy states that have a large overlap with the ground state; then we create charge excitations with local gates and simulate their quantum dynamics by means of a discretized time evolution. As the electric field coupling constant is increased, our measurements show signatures of transitioning from deconfined to confined dynamics. For confined excitations, the electric field induces a tension in the string connecting them. Our method allows us to experimentally image string dynamics in a (2+1)D LGT, from which we uncover two distinct regimes inside the confining phase: for weak confinement, the string fluctuates strongly in the transverse direction, whereas for strong confinement, transverse fluctuations are effectively frozen. We also demonstrate a resonance condition at which dynamical string breaking is facilitated. Our LGT implementation on a quantum processor presents a new set of techniques for investigating emergent excitations and string dynamics.View details
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Precise microwave control is critical for the optimal performance of superconducting quantum processors. We present an in-situ sideband calibration technique of IQ mixers with superconducting qubits, enabling the diagnosis and elimination of unwanted image-sideband signals without additional hardware. Although such calibration could be achieved by adjusting the qubit frequency to be resonant with the image sideband and minimizing the Rabi oscillation driven by the image sideband, it is inherently limited by the qubit's flux-tuning frequency range. To overcome this limitation, we propose a novel strategy to learn and correct imperfect mixer phases. Our experimental validation confirms the effectiveness of this protocol in precisely canceling the image sideband, enhancing quantum processor functionality.
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Repeating a gate sequence multiple times amplifies systematic errors coherently, making it a useful tool for characterizing quantum gates. However, the precision of such an approach is limited by low-frequency noise, while its efficiency is hindered by time-consuming scans required to match up the phases of the off-diagonal matrix elements being amplified. Here, we overcome both challenges by interleaving the gate of interest with dynamical decoupling sequences in a protocol we call Matrix-Element Amplification using Dynamical Decoupling (MEADD). Using frequency-tunable superconducting qubits from a Google Sycamore quantum processor, we experimentally demonstrate that MEADD surpasses the accuracy and precision of existing characterization protocols for estimating systematic errors in single- and two-qubit gates. We use MEADD to estimate coherent parameters of CZ gates with 5 to 10 times the precision of existing methods and to characterize previously undetectable coherent crosstalk, reaching a precision below one milliradian.View details
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Precision quantum estimation in the presence of noise remains a serious practical challenge for calibrating state-of-the-art quantum processors. Noise processes, such as flux noise in superconducting qubits, introduce fluctuations that obscure the true values of system parameters and hinder coherent amplification. We demonstrate a novel characterization technique that enables precise estimation of select unitary parameters for two-qubit gates by applying dynamical decoupling to suppress low-frequency noise. Our method exhibits order-of-magnitude improvements in parameter precision, is efficient in the number of experiments required, adapts to a variety of target two-qubit gates, and is robust to implementation imperfections.View details
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Understanding universal aspects of quantum dynamics is an unresolved problem in statistical mechanics. In particular, the spin dynamics of the one-dimensional Heisenberg model were conjectured as to belong to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) universality class based on the scaling of the infinite-temperature spin-spin correlation function. In a chain of 46 superconducting qubits, we studied the probability distribution of the magnetization transferred across the chain’s center, P(M). The first two moments of P(M) show superdiffusive behavior, a hallmark of KPZ universality. However, the third and fourth moments ruled out the KPZ conjecture and allow for evaluating other theories. Our results highlight the importance of studying higher moments in determining dynamic universality classes and provide insights into universal behavior in quantum systems.View details
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Engineered dissipative reservoirs have the potential to steer many-body quantum systems toward correlated steady states useful for quantum simulation of high-temperature superconductivity or quantum magnetism. Using up to 49 superconducting qubits, we prepared low-energy states of the transverse-field Ising model through coupling to dissipative auxiliary qubits. In one dimension, we observed long-range quantum correlations and a ground-state fidelity of 0.86 for 18 qubits at the critical point. In two dimensions, we found mutual information that extends beyond nearest neighbors. Lastly, by coupling the system to auxiliaries emulating reservoirs with different chemical potentials, we explored transport in the quantum Heisenberg model. Our results establish engineered dissipation as a scalable alternative to unitary evolution for preparing entangled many-body states on noisy quantum processors.View details
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Measurement has a special role in quantum theory: by collapsing the wavefunction, it can enable phenomena such as teleportation and thereby alter the ‘arrow of time’ that constrains unitary evolution. When integrated in many-body dynamics, measurements can lead to emergent patterns of quantum information in space–time that go beyond the established paradigms for characterizing phases, either in or out of equilibrium. For present-day noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) processors, the experimental realization of such physics can be problematic because of hardware limitations and the stochastic nature of quantum measurement. Here we address these experimental challenges and study measurement-induced quantum information phases on up to 70 superconducting qubits. By leveraging the interchangeability of space and time, we use a duality mapping to avoid mid-circuit measurement and access different manifestations of the underlying phases, from entanglement scaling to measurement-induced teleportation. We obtain finite-sized signatures of a phase transition with a decoding protocol that correlates the experimental measurement with classical simulation data. The phases display remarkably different sensitivity to noise, and we use this disparity to turn an inherent hardware limitation into a useful diagnostic. Our work demonstrates an approach to realizing measurement-induced physics at scales that are at the limits of current NISQ processors.View details
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Inherent symmetry of a quantum system may protect its otherwise fragile states. Leveraging such protection requires testing its robustness against uncontrolled environmental interactions. Using 47 superconducting qubits, we implement the kicked Ising model which exhibits Majorana edge modes (MEMs) protected by a $\mathbb{Z}_2$-symmetry. Remarkably, we find that any multi-qubit Pauli operator overlapping with the MEMs exhibits a uniform decay rate comparable to single-qubit relaxation rates, irrespective of its size or composition. This finding allows us to accurately reconstruct the exponentially localized spatial profiles of the MEMs. Spectroscopic measurements further indicate exponentially suppressed hybridization between the MEMs over larger system sizes, which manifests as a strong resilience against low-frequency noise. Our work elucidates the noise sensitivity of symmetry-protected edge modes in a solid-state environment.View details