QuIC-TAQS: Quantum Networking with Multipartite Entangled Photons

光学光子是唯一可以在室温下穿越长距离的量子比特。因此，它们独特地适用于连接远程量子节点，用于安全量子通信、分布式量子信息处理和分布式量子传感。这些应用的关键促成因素是能够有效地产生、测量和转换纠缠光子。然而，这些任务极具挑战性，因为光子通常不会相互作用。在这个项目中，主要研究人员将开发一套新技术，用于高效地产生、转换和表征多光子纠缠态，并探索它们在量子网络和量子互连中的新应用。该项目将为量子中继器和量子互联网的发展做出贡献。该计划还包括一项强有力的教育和推广工作，将有助于将量子力学和信息引入高中和早期本科课程。这项工作包括设计在线量子游戏，突出量子力学在通信和网络方面提供的新功能。多光子纠缠态是量子网络、分布式和光子量子计算以及量子传感的基础资源。然而，多光子纠缠态的高效产生、表征和转换仍然是一个突出的挑战。在这个项目中，一个由数学家、信息理论家、量子物理学家、光子工程师和材料科学家组成的跨学科团队将开发一套用于量子网络和量子互连的多光子纠缠态的创建、评估和使用的新技术。该团队最近取得了一项理论突破，表明仅使用单个自旋标记量子发射器加上几个辅助量子比特，就有可能确定地产生各种多光子纠缠态。在这些理论发现的指导下，该团队将通过实验证明，通过使用固体量子发射器与纳米光子腔耦合，有效地产生光子纠缠态。他们还将采用集成非线性光子学进行多光子纠缠态的有效转换。量子态验证协议将用于有效的状态表征，以克服与量子态断层扫描相关的缩放挑战。实验工作将以量子信息理论为指导，量子信息理论探索新的和优化的状态工程协议，以及多部纠缠光子在量子通信和网络中的新应用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Optical photons are the only qubits that can traverse long distances at room temperature. They are thus uniquely suitable for interconnecting remote quantum nodes for secure quantum communication, distributed quantum information processing, and distributed quantum sensing. A key enabler for these applications is the capability to efficiently generate, measure, and transform entangled photons. However, these tasks are extremely challenging since photons normally do not interact with each other. In this program, the principal investigators will develop a set of new technologies for efficient generation, transformation, and characterization of multi-photon entangled states, and explore their new enabling applications in quantum networking and quantum interconnects. The project will contribute to the development of quantum repeaters and the quantum internet. The program also includes a strong education and outreach effort that will contribute to the growing movement to introduce quantum mechanics and information to high-school and early undergraduate curricula. This effort includes designing online quantum games that highlight the novel capabilities that quantum mechanics affords in communication and networking.Multi-photon entangled states are fundamental resources for quantum networking, distributed and photonic quantum computing, and quantum sensing. However, efficient generation, characterization, and transformation of multi-photon entangled states remain an outstanding challenge. In this program, a cross-disciplinary team consisting of mathematicians, information theorists, quantum physicists, photonic engineers, and materials scientists will develop a set of new technologies for creating, evaluating, and using multi-photon entangled states for quantum networking and quantum interconnects. The team has recently made an enabling theoretical breakthrough, showing that it is possible to deterministically generate a variety of multi-photon entangled states by using only a single spin-tagged quantum emitter coupled with a few ancillary qubits. Guided by these theoretical discoveries, the team will experimentally demonstrate efficient generation of photonic entangled states by using solid-state quantum emitters coupled with a nanophotonic cavity. They will also employ integrated nonlinear photonics for efficient transformation of multi-photon entangled states. Quantum state verification protocols will be developed for efficient state characterization to overcome scaling challenges associated with quantum state tomography. The experimental efforts will be informed by quantum information theory that explores new and optimized state engineering protocols as well as novel applications of multipartite entangled photons in quantum communication and networking.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.