Quantum entanglement goes large: Quantum entanglement occurs when two separate entities become strongly linked in a way that cannot be explained by classical physics; it is a powerful resource in quantum communication protocols and advanced technologies that aim to exploit the enhanced capabilities of quantum systems. To date, entanglement has generally been limited to microscopic quantum units such as pairs or multiples of single ions, atoms, photons, and so on. Kotler et al. and Mercier de Lépinay et al. demonstrate the ability to extend quantum entanglement to massive macroscopic systems (see the Perspective by Lau and Clerk). Entanglement of two mechanical oscillators on such a large length and mass scale is expected to find widespread use in both applications and fundamental physics to probe the boundary between the classical and quantum worlds. Science , this issue p. 622 , p. 625 ; see also p. 570
Teleporting a trapped-ion quantum gate: Gating—controlling the state of one qubit conditioned on the state of another—is a key procedure in all quantum information processors. As the scale of quantum processors increases, the qubits will need to interact over larger and larger distances, which presents an experimental challenge in solid-state architectures. Wan et al. implemented the 20-year-old theoretical proposal of quantum gate teleportation that allows separated qubits to interact effectively. They deterministically teleported a controlled-NOT gate between two computational qubits in spatially separated zones in a segmented ion trap, demonstrating a feasible route toward scalable quantum information processors. Science , this issue p. 875
The quantum statistical fluctuations of electromagnetic fields establish a limit, known as the shot-noise limit, on the sensitivity of optical measurements performed with classical technologies. However, quantum technologies are not constrained by this shot-noise limit. In this regard, the possibility of using every photon produced by quantum sources of light to estimate small physical parameters, beyond the shot-noise limit, constitutes one of the main goals of quantum optics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a scalable protocol for quantum-enhanced optical phase estimation across a broad range of phases, with neither pre- nor post-selected measurements. This is achieved through the efficient design of a source of spontaneous parametric downconversion in combination with photon-number-resolving detection. The robustness of two-mode squeezed vacuum states against loss allows us to outperform schemes based on N00N states, in which the loss of a single photon is enough to remove all phase information from a quantum state. In contrast to other schemes that rely on N00N states or conditional measurements, the sensitivity of our technique could be improved through the generation and detection of high-order photon pairs. This unique feature of our protocol makes it scalable. Our work is important for quantum technologies that rely on multiphoton interference such as quantum imaging, boson sampling, and quantum networks.
We propose and demonstrate a protocol for high-fidelity indirect readout of trapped ion hyperfine qubits, where the state of a qubit ion is mapped to a readout ion using laser-driven Raman transitions. By partitioning the ground-state hyperfine manifold into two subspaces representing the two qubit states and choosing appropriate laser parameters, the protocol can be made robust to spontaneous photon scattering errors on the Raman transitions, enabling repetition for increased readout fidelity. We demonstrate combined readout and back-action errors for the two subspaces of and with 68% confidence while avoiding decoherence of spectator qubits due to stray resonant light that is inherent to direct fluorescence detection.