We propose a compact and highly efficient scheme for solid-state photonic quantum gates. At the core of our scheme is a $SWA{P}^{\varphi }$ gate based on giant Cooper-pair-based optical nonlinearity we predict in a semiconductor-superconductor structure, selectively introducing a phase to the $|{\Psi }_{+}\rangle$ Bell state. We theoretically demonstrate this scheme on a practical device based on a superconducting contact coupled to a GaAs/AlGaAs waveguide structure. We model the Cooper-pair-induced nonlinear change of the refractive index showing strong nonlinearities at energies close to the superconducting gap inside a semiconductor band. We calculate the fidelity of the proposed $SWA{P}^{\varphi }$ gate, as well as the sensitivity of the gate to device parameters. As short photon wave packets are crucial for efficient higher-order interactions, we investigate the integrated fidelity for short wave packets with different central wavelengths and bandwidths, providing limiting factors as well as possible optimizations. This theoretically demonstrated concept can pave the way toward practical realizations of scalable photonic quantum circuits.

We propose free-electron Rabi oscillation by creating an isolated two-level system in a synthetic energy space induced by laser. The {\pi}/2-pulse and {\pi}-pulse in synthetic Rabi dynamics can function as 'beam splitters' and 'mirrors' for free-electron interferometry, allowing us to detect local electromagnetic fields and plasmonic excitations. When the coupling field is quantized, we can observe quantum and vacuum Rabi oscillations of the two-level electron, which can be used to investigate the quantum statistics of optical excitations and electron-photon entanglement. Recent advances in laser control of electron microscopes and spectroscopes makes the experimental detection of synthetic Rabi oscillations possible. However, observing the quantum Rabi oscillation of electrons remains challenging. Our work has the potential to advance various fundamentals and applications of resonant light-matter interactions between low-energy electrons and quatum light.

Recent years have shown increasing interest in understanding the role of the wavefunction of a quantum source on the characteristics of its emitted radiation. In this work, we demonstrate that shaping the wavefunction of the source can drastically change the instantaneous emission. We exemplify this concept by examining an electron in cyclotron motion, calculating the angular power distribution of emission by an electron in a Schrodinger cat state. The emitted cyclotron radiation reveals a breakdown of classical–quantum correspondence. The short-time dynamics of the radiation process shows deviations in the power and electron trajectory that disappear at long times, where the predictions of classical electrodynamics are recovered.

Specific types of spatial defects or potentials can turn monolayer graphene into a topological material. These topological defects are classified by a spatial dimension $D$ and they are systematically obtained from the Hamiltonian by means of its symbol $\mathcal{H} (\boldsymbol{k}, \boldsymbol{r}) $, an operator which generalises the Bloch Hamiltonian and contains all topological information. This approach, when applied to Dirac operators, allows to recover the tenfold classification of insulators and superconductors. The existence of a stable $\mathbb{Z}$-topology is predicted as a condition on the dimension $D$, similar to the classification of defects in thermodynamic phase transitions. Kekule distortions, vacancies and adatoms in graphene are proposed as examples of such defects and their topological equivalence is discussed.

Proximity-induced superconductivity in fractional quantum Hall edges is a prerequisite to proposed realizations of parafermion zero modes. A recent experimental work [Gül et al., Phys. Rev. X 12, 021057 (2022)] provided evidence for such coupling, in the form of a crossed Andreev reflection signal, in which electrons enter a superconductor from one chiral mode and are reflected as holes to another, counterpropagating chiral mode. Remarkably, while the probability for crossed Andreev reflection was small, it was stronger for $\nu =1/3$ fractional quantum Hall edges than for integer ones. We theoretically explain these findings, including the relative strengths of the signals in the two cases and their qualitatively different temperature dependencies. An essential part of our model is the coupling of the edge modes to normal states in the cores of Abrikosov vortices induced by the magnetic field, which provide a fermionic bath. We find that the stronger crossed Andreev reflection in the fractional case originates from the suppression of electronic tunneling between the fermionic bath and the fractional quantum Hall edges. Our theory shows that the mere observation of crossed Andreev reflection signal does not necessarily imply the presence of localized parafermion zero modes, and suggests ways to identify their presence from the behavior of this signal in the low-temperature regime.

We experimentally study a fiber loop laser with an integrated Erbium doped fiber (EDF). The output optical spectrum is measured as a function of the EDF temperature. We find that below a critical temperature of about 10K the measured optical spectrum exhibits a sequence of narrow and unequally-spaced peaks. Externally injected light and filtering are employed for tuning the peaks' wavelengths. Operation of the device as an optical memory having storage time of about 20 ms is demonstrated. The multimode lasing tunability can be exploited for novel applications in the fields of sensing, communication, and quantum data storage.

Semiquantum key distribution (SQKD) allows two parties (Alice and Bob) to create a shared secret key, even if one of these parties (say, Alice) is classical. However, most SQKD protocols suffer from severe practical security problems when implemented using photons. The recently developed “Mirror protocol” [1] is an experimentally feasible SQKD protocol overcoming those drawbacks. The Mirror protocol was proven robust (namely, it was proven secure against a limited class of attacks including all noiseless attacks), but its security in case some noise is allowed (natural or due to eavesdropping) has not been proved yet. Here we prove security of the Mirror protocol against a wide class of quantum attacks (the “collective attacks”), and we evaluate the allowed noise threshold and the resulting key rate.

Fundamental physical constants are determined from a collection of precision measurements of elementary particles, atoms, and molecules. This is usually done under the assumption of the standard model (SM) of particle physics. Allowing for light new physics (NP) beyond the SM modifies the extraction of fundamental physical constants. Consequently, setting NP bounds using these data, and at the same time assuming the Committee on Data of the International Science Council recommended values for the fundamental physical constants, is not reliable. As we show in this Letter, both SM and NP parameters can be simultaneously determined in a consistent way from a global fit. For light vectors with QED-like couplings, such as the dark photon, we provide a prescription that recovers the degeneracy with the photon in the massless limit and requires calculations only at leading order in the small new physics couplings. At present, the data show tensions partially related to the proton charge radius determination. We show that these can be alleviated by including contributions from a light scalar with flavor nonuniversal couplings.

We show that the coherent interaction between free electrons and photons can be used for universal control of continuous-variable photonic quantum states in the form of Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) qubits. Specifically, we find that electron energy combs enable non-destructive measurements of the photonic state and can induce arbitrary gates. Moreover, a single electron interacting with multiple photonic modes can create highly entangled states such as Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states and cluster states of GKPs.

Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), wherein a quantum emitter is coupled to electromagnetic cavity modes, is a powerful platform for implementing quantum sensors, memories, and networks. However, due to the fundamental tradeoff between gate fidelity and execution time, as well as limited scalability, the use of cavity-QED for quantum computation was overtaken by other architectures. Here, we introduce a new element into cavity-QED - a free charged particle, acting as a flying qubit. Using free electrons as a specific example, we demonstrate that our approach enables ultrafast, deterministic and universal discrete-variable quantum computation in a cavity-QED-based architecture, with potentially improved scalability. Our proposal hinges on a novel excitation blockade mechanism in a resonant interaction between a free-electron and a cavity polariton. This nonlinear interaction is faster by several orders of magnitude with respect to current photon-based cavity-QED gates, enjoys wide tunability and can demonstrate fidelities close to unity. Furthermore, our scheme is ubiquitous to any cavity nonlinearity, either due to light-matter coupling as in the Jaynes-Cummings model or due to photon-photon interactions as in a Kerr-type many-body system. In addition to promising advancements in cavity-QED quantum computation, our approach paves the way towards ultrafast and deterministic generation of highly-entangled photonic graph states and is applicable to other quantum technologies involving cavity-QED.