Theoretical studies for experimental implementation of quantum computing with trapped ions

Abstract

Certain quantum many-body physics problems, such as the transverse field Ising model are intractable on a classical computer, meaning that as the number of particles grows, or spins, the amount of memory and computational time required to solve the problem exactly increases faster than a polynomial behavior. However, quantum simulators are being developed to efficiently solve quantum problems that are intractable via conventional computing. Some of the most successful quantum simulators are based on ion traps. Their success depends on the ability to achieve long coherence time, precise spin control, and high fidelity in state preparation.

In this work, I present calculations that characterizes the oblate Paul trap that creates two-dimensional Coulomb crystals in a triangular lattice and phonon modes. We also calculate the spin-spin Ising-like interaction that can be generated in the oblate Paul trap using the same techinques as the linear radiofrequency Paul trap. In addition, I discuss two possible challenges that arise in the Penning trap: the effects of defects ( namely when $Be^+ \rightarrow BeH^+$) and the creation of a more uniform spin-spin Ising-like interaction. We show that most properties are not significantly influenced by the appearance of defects, and that by adding two potentials to the Penning trap a more uniform spin-spin Ising-like interaction can be achieved.

Next, I discuss techniques tfor preparing the ground state of the Ising-like Hamiltonian. In particular, we explore the use of the bang-bang protocol to prepare the ground state and compare optimized results to conventional adiabatic ramps ( the exponential and locally adiabatic ramp ). The bang-bang optimization in general outperforms the exponential; however the locally adiabatic ramp consistently is somewhat better. However, compared to the locally adiabatic ramp, the bang-bang optimization is simpler to implement, and it has the advantage of providingrovide a simple procedure for estimating the ground-state probability.

Finally, I discuss techniques for exploring the coherent dynamics of the many-body system. Since diabatic excitations occur in experimental implementation of adiabatic state preparation one can ask whether these states resemble thermal distributions. In addition we can use these excitations to calculate the energy spectra of the transverse field Ising model. Finally we investigate a procedure that can be used to study both the short-time and long-time behavior of the system. The former directly relates to bounds for the transport of many-body correlations, while the latter rlates to the excitation spectra of the Hamiltonian.