At the Center for Quantum Leaps, researchers use nano-fabrication to create superconducting quantum circuits to explore fundamental quantum mechanics questions. They have created a novel approach to combating decoherence in quantum systems, using dissipation to maintain quantum entanglement within qubits, marking a significant advancement in the field of quantum technology. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

Research at the Center for Quantum Leaps has led to a new method for reducing decoherence in quantum systems, enhancing the stability and feasibility of quantum technologies.

As part of the Center for Quantum Leaps, a signature initiative of the Arts & Sciences strategic plan, physicist Kater Murch and his research group use nano-fabrication techniques to construct superconducting quantum circuits that allow them to probe fundamental questions in quantum mechanics. Qubits are promising systems for realizing quantum schemes for computation, simulation, and data encryption.

Murch and his collaborators published a new paper, published on May 13 in Physical Review Letters, that explores the effects of memory in quantum systems and ultimately offers a novel solution to decoherence, one of the primary problems facing quantum technologies.

“Our work shows that there’s a new way to prevent decoherence from corrupting quantum entanglement,” said Murch, the Charles M. Hohenberg Professor of Physics at Washington University in St. Louis. “We can use dissipation to prevent entanglement from leaving our qubits in the first place.”

View the team’s illustrated video about their research findings:

Reference: “Entanglement Assisted Probe of the Non-Markovian to Markovian Transition in Open Quantum System Dynamics” by Chandrashekhar Gaikwad, Daria Kowsari, Carson Brame, Xingrui Song, Haimeng Zhang, Martina Esposito, Arpit Ranadive, Giulio Cappelli, Nicolas Roch, Eli M. Levenson-Falk and Kater W. Murch, 13 May 2024, Physical Review Letters.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.132.200401