Trapped-ion quantum logic gates based on oscillating magnetic fields

TL;DR

This paper explores the use of oscillating magnetic fields generated by microfabricated traps to implement fast, laser-free quantum gates in trapped-ion systems, potentially reducing control complexity and decoherence.

Contribution

It demonstrates the feasibility of magnetic-field-mediated quantum gates with speeds comparable to optical methods, offering a promising alternative for trapped-ion quantum computing.

Findings

Magnetic fields can implement single-qubit and multi-qubit gates in trapped ions.

Gate speeds are comparable to optical methods for realistic trap distances.

Magnetic gates reduce laser control overhead and eliminate spontaneous scattering.

Abstract

Oscillating magnetic fields and field gradients can be used to implement single-qubit rotations and entangling multi-qubit quantum gates for trapped-ion quantum information processing (QIP). With fields generated by currents in microfabricated surface-electrode traps, it should be possible to achieve gate speeds that are comparable to those of optically induced gates for realistic distances between the ion crystal and the electrode surface. Magnetic-field-mediated gates have the potential to significantly reduce the overhead in laser beam control and motional state initialization compared to current QIP experiments with trapped ions and will eliminate spontaneous scattering, a fundamental source of decoherence in laser-mediated gates.