Quantum optimal control theory for the shaping of flying qubits

Abstract

The control of flying qubits carried by itinerant photons is ubiquitous in quantum networks. In addition to their logical states, the shapes of flying qubits must also be tailored for high-efficiency information transmission. In this paper, we introduce quantum optimal control theory to the shaping of flying qubits. Building on the flying-qubit control model established in our previous work, we design objective functionals for the generation of shaped flying qubits under practical constraints on the emitters and couplers. Numerical simulations employing gradient-descent algorithms demonstrate that the optimized control can effectively mitigate unwanted level and photon leakage caused by these nonidealities. Notably, while coherent control offers limited shaping capacity with a fixed coupler, it can significantly enhance the shaping performance when combined with a tunable coupler that has restricted tunability. The proposed optimal control framework provides a systematic approach to achieving high-quality control of flying qubits using realistic quantum devices.