Ultrasensitive calorimetric detection of single photons from qubit decay

TL;DR

This paper presents a highly sensitive calorimetric method for detecting single photons emitted from qubit decay, utilizing a realistic circuit model and a novel cross-correlation measurement technique to improve detection accuracy.

Contribution

It introduces a calorimetric detection scheme for qubit decay in solid-state circuits, including a cavity-mediated decay control and a cross-correlation approach for enhanced signal-to-noise ratio.

Findings

Numerical verification of qubit decay with up to 10^6 oscillators.

Cavity detuning allows control of decay rate for detection.

Cross-correlation measurement significantly improves detection sensitivity.

Abstract

We describe a qubit linearly coupled to a heat bath, either directly or via a cavity. The main focus of the paper is on calorimetric detection in a realistic circuit, specifically a solid-state qubit coupled to a resistor as an absorber. The bath in the model is formed of oscillators initially in the ground state with a distribution of energies and coupling strengths. A direct numerical solution of the Schr\"odinger equation for the full system including up to $10^6$ oscillators in the bath verifies the expected decay process. We address quantitatively the question of separation of the qubit and bath by adding a cavity in between which by detuning allows one to adjust the decay rate into a convenient regime for detection purposes. Most importantly, we propose splitting a quantum to two uncoupled baths and performing a cross-correlation measurement of their temperatures. This technique enhances significantly the signal-to-noise ratio of the calorimeter.