Solving linear differential equations (LDEs) is a hard problem for classical computers, while quantum algorithms have been proposed to be capable of speeding up the calculation. However, they are yet to be realized in experiment as it cannot be easily converted into an implementable quantum circuit. Here, we present and experimentally realize an implementable gate-based quantum algorithm for efficiently solving the LDE problem: given an $N\times N$ matrix $\mathcal{M}$, an $N$-dimensional vector $\mathbf{b}$, and an initial vector $\mathbf{x}\left(0\right)$, we obtain a target vector $\mathbf{x}\left(t\right)$ as a function of time $t$ according to the constraint $d\mathbf{x}\left(t\right)/dt=\mathcal{M}\mathbf{x}\left(t\right)+\mathbf{b}$. We show that our algorithm exhibits an exponential speedup over its classical counterpart in certain circumstances, and a gate-based quantum circuit is produced which is friendly to the experimentalists and implementable in current quantum techniques. In addition, we experimentally solve a $4\times 4$ linear differential equation using our quantum algorithm in a four-qubit nuclear magnetic resonance quantum information processor. Our algorithm provides a key technique for solving many important problems which rely on the solutions to linear differential equations.

We propose a method to simulate spin models in trapped ions using a digital-analog approach, consisting in a suitable gate decomposition in terms of analog blocks and digital steps. In this way, we show that the quantum dynamics of an enhanced variety of spin models could be implemented with substantially less number of gates than a fully digital approach. Typically, analog blocks are built of multipartite dynamics providing the complexity of the simulated model, while the digital steps are local operations bringing versatility to it. Finally, we describe a possible experimental implementation in trapped-ion technologies.

We study the nonlinear dynamics of trapped-ion models far away from the Lamb-Dicke regime. This nonlinearity induces a blockade on the propagation of quantum information along the Hilbert space of the Jaynes-Cummings and quantum Rabi models. We propose to use this blockade as a resource for the dissipative generation of high-number Fock states. Also, we compare the linear and nonlinear cases of the quantum Rabi model in the ultrastrong and deep strong-coupling regimes. Moreover, we propose a scheme to simulate the nonlinear quantum Rabi model in all coupling regimes. This can be done via off-resonant nonlinear red- and blue-sideband interactions in a single trapped ion, yielding applications as a dynamical quantum filter.

We demonstrate the emergence of selective $k$-photon interactions in the strong and ultrastrong coupling regimes of the quantum Rabi model with a Stark coupling term. In particular, we show that the interplay between the rotating and counterrotating terms produces multiphoton interactions whose resonance frequencies depend, due to the Stark term, on the state of the bosonic mode. We develop an analytical framework to explain these $k$-photon interactions by using time-dependent perturbation theory. Finally, we propose a method to achieve the quantum simulation of the quantum Rabi model with a Stark term by using the internal and vibrational degrees of freedom of a trapped ion, and demonstrate its performance with numerical simulations considering realistic physical parameters.

We propose a pulsed dynamical decoupling protocol as the generator of tunable, fast, and robust quantum phase gates between two microwave-driven trapped-ion hyperfine qubits. The protocol consists of sequences of $\pi$ pulses acting on ions that are oriented along an externally applied magnetic-field gradient. In contrast to existing approaches, in our design the two vibrational modes of the ion chain cooperate under the influence of the external microwave driving to achieve significantly increased gate speeds. Our scheme is robust against the dominant noise sources, which are errors on the magnetic-field and microwave pulse intensities, as well as motional heating, predicting two-qubit gates with fidelities above 99.9% in tens of microseconds.