Superconducting qubits as musical synthesizers for live performance

TL;DR

This paper presents Quantum Sound, a novel artistic project that transforms signals from superconducting quantum devices into live music, blending quantum physics with artistic expression.

Contribution

It introduces a new method of sonification of superconducting qubits for live musical performance, bridging quantum research and art.

Findings

First live performance of quantum device sonification

Successful transformation of GHz signals into audible sounds

Demonstration of quantum data as artistic expression

Abstract

In the frame of a year-long artistic residency at the Yale Quantum Institute in 2019, artist and technologist Spencer Topel and quantum physicists Kyle Serniak and Luke Burkhart collaborated to create Quantum Sound, the first-ever music created and performed directly from measurements of superconducting quantum devices. Using analog- and digital-signal-processing sonification techniques, the team transformed GHz-frequency signals from experiments inside dilution refrigerators into audible sounds. The project was performed live at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut on June 14, 2019 as a structured improvisation using the synthesis methods described in this chapter. At the interface between research and art, Quantum Sound represents an earnest attempt to produce a sonic reflection of the quantum realm.