Section: New Results

Single-Photon-Resolved Cross-Kerr Interaction for Autonomous Stabilization of Photon-Number States

Participants: Zaki Leghtas and Mazyar Mirrahimi

Quantum states can be stabilized in the presence of intrinsic and environmental losses by either applying active feedback conditioned on an ancillary system or through reservoir engineering. Reservoir engineering maintains a desired quantum state through a combination of drives and designed entropy evacuation. In a collaboration with the team of Robert J. Schoelkopf at Yale university, we propose and implement a quantum reservoir engineering protocol that stabilizes Fock states in a microwave cavity. This protocol is realized with a circuit quantum electrodynamics platform where a Josephson junction provides direct, nonlinear coupling between two superconducting waveguide cavities. The nonlinear coupling results in a single photon resolved cross-Kerr effect between the two cavities enabling a photon number dependent coupling to a lossy environment. The quantum state of the microwave cavity is discussed in terms of a net polarization and is analyzed by a measurement of its steady state Wigner function.

This work was published in Physical Review Letters [15] .