QIPID · Quantum Information Processing with Trapped Ion Qudits
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-09-01 → 2022-08-31
- EU contribution
- €186,167
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Quantum Information Processing with Trapped Ion Qudits
Today's quantum devices are almost exclusively built with binary information processing in mind. While this has been highly successful for classical computers, quantum systems do not naturally fit into this binary paradigm. Instead, virtually all quantum systems underpinning today's quantum technologies are naturally multilevel systems and must be artificially constrained to be operated in a binary fashion. As a result, today's quantum hardware is not used to its full potential, which could be achieved by using the full Hilbert space for computation. Quantum computers and simulators hold the promise to vastly speed up certain information processing tasks, including in fields such as physics, chemistry, material science, optimization, and finance. The breadth of these applications translates means that such devices are expected to have a wide impact on technology and society. Any improvements in the efficiency of quantum computers or the computational power of a given number of quantum particles will be critical for enabling these technologies to deliver results beyond the capabilities of classical devices sooner. The objective of this project is to develop the tools for and demonstrate in a proof-of-principle experiment that trapped-ion quantum computers can be operated in a way that makes use of the full Hilbert space by encoding information into so-called qudits (quantum digits), rather than qubits (quantum bits). This approach has the potential to significantly boost the performance of existing quantum computers and enable them to perform more complex tasks with fewer resources.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Just like digital information processing has revolutionized 20th century technology, quantum information processing and the second quantum revolution are shaping the 21st century. Yet, while classical computing is long set in the path of binary information, the future is still open for quantum information processing, and it would be fatal to force it into the same restrictive paradigm. The goal of this project is to break out of this artificial two-dimensional structure and tap into the large unused potential of high-dimensional quantum information processing. I have extensive expertise in the field of quantum information processing. During my PhD in photonics, I realized the highest fidelity state preparation and measurement of qudits reported to date, and recently I developed a full mathematical and experimental framework for the characterization of quantum coherence in multilevel systems. Building on this expertise, I will develop the first universal qudit quantum processor, using four electronic levels of trapped Ca ions, which are one of the most advanced platforms for quantum information processing. The hosting group of Prof. Rainer Blatt in Innsbruck is a world leader in trapped ion quantum information processing and pioneered all the necessary groundwork, such as laser cooling, coherent control, and large scale entanglement of ions to make this project possible. I will apply the newly developed qudit quantum processor to the quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories of critical interest in high energy physics. The development of this new technology also unlocks a wide range of open questions from quantum simulation to quantum communication and computation, which I and the host institution will be in a unique position to address. This fellowship will give me protected time to realise the proposed research and establish myself as an independent researcher in Europe and an expert in the new paradigm of qudit quantum information processing.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK · InnsbruckCoordinatorAustria
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union