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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

07:56
A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
Published on: September 5, 2019
Observation of Berry's phase in a solid-state qubit.
1Department of Physics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Schafmattstrasse 16, 8093 Zürich, Switzerland. leek@phys.ethz.ch
Summary
Researchers controlled geometric phase, or Berry
Area of Science:
- Quantum Information Science
- Superconducting Qubits
- Quantum Computing
Background:
- The phase of a quantum wave function is crucial for encoding information in quantum information science.
- Current methods primarily use dynamic effects for phase manipulation, but geometric phase offers potential fault tolerance.
- Berry's phase, a form of geometric phase, is a key concept in quantum mechanics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the controlled accumulation of geometric phase (Berry's phase) in a superconducting qubit.
- To explore an alternative method for quantum information manipulation using geometric phase.
- To investigate the potential fault tolerance benefits of geometric phase in quantum systems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a superconducting qubit as the quantum system.
- Employed microwave radiation to geometrically manipulate the qubit.
- Conducted an interference experiment to observe the accumulated geometric phase.
Main Results:
- Successfully demonstrated the controlled accumulation of Berry's phase in a superconducting qubit.
- Observed excellent agreement between experimental results and theoretical predictions of Berry's phase.
- Identified a geometry-dependent contribution to dephasing, impacting qubit stability.
Conclusions:
- Controlled geometric phase accumulation is achievable in superconducting qubits.
- Geometric manipulation offers a viable alternative to dynamic methods for quantum information processing.
- Understanding geometry-dependent dephasing is essential for developing fault-tolerant quantum computers.
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