Peter Rabl sitting at his desk and writiing on a notepad.

Applied Quantum Theory

Walther Meißner Institute, Technical University of Munich

Walther-Meißner-Straße 8

85748 Garching

Tel.: +49-89-289-14205

Email: peter.rabl[at]wmi.badw.de

Research Website

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Description

Research focus: open quantum systems, cavity and waveguide QED, superconducting circuits, optomechanics, spin qubits

Research in our group focuses on the theoretical analysis of quantum engineering and quantum control schemes in AMO, solid-state and hybrid quantum systems. This includes, in particular, quantized superconducting circuits, nano- and optomechanical systems, as well as solid-state spin qubits and defect centers. A main motivation for this work is to identify suitable physical systems and processes for the realization of practical quantum information processing and quantum simulation applications. Other parts of our research are purely curiosity driven and address novel few and many-body effects that arise in such artificial quantum systems under ultrastrong coupling conditions, the presence of long-ranged coherent and dissipative interactions, or otherwise unconventional conditions. Some of our current research directions include :

  • Quantum networks with photons and phonons.
  • Waveguide QED and light-matter-interactions in low dimensions.
  • Cavity QED and circuit QED systems in the ultrastrong coupling regimes.
  • Nonequilibrium phase transitions and transport in quantum optical systems.


Featured

Publications

Theory of multiphoton processes for applications in quantum control

L. Huang, J. Luneau, J. Schirk, F. Wallner, C. M. F. Schneider, S. Filipp, K. Liegener, P. Rabl

Physical Review A 113 (3), 32620 (2026).

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We present a general theoretical framework for evaluating multiphoton processes in periodically driven quantum systems, which have been identified as a versatile tool for engineering and controlling nontrivial interactions in various quantum technology platforms. To achieve the accuracy required for such applications, the resulting effective coupling rates, as well as any drive-induced frequency shifts, must be determined with very high precision. Here, we employ degenerate Floquet perturbation theory together with a diagrammatic representation of multiphoton processes to develop a systematic and automatable approach for evaluating the effective dynamics of driven quantum systems to arbitrary orders in the drive strength. As a specific example, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this framework by applying it to the study of multiphoton Rabi oscillations in a superconducting fluxonium qubit, finding excellent agreement between our theoretical predictions and exact numerical simulations, even for large driving amplitudes.

10.1103/tnkf-ckfz

Engineering protected cavity-QED interactions through pulsed dynamical decoupling

I. Arrazola, P. Bertet, Y. Chu, P. Rabl

Npj Quantum Information 11 (1), 197 (2025).

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We study a generic cavity QED setup under conditions where the coupling between the two-level systems and a single bosonic mode is significantly degraded by low-frequency noise. To overcome this problem, we identify pulsed dynamical decoupling strategies that suppress the effects of noise while still allowing for a coherent exchange of excitations between the individual subsystems. The corresponding pulse sequences can be further designed to realize either Jaynes-Cummings, anti-Jaynes-Cummings, or Rabi couplings, as well as different types of cavity-mediated interactions between the two-level systems. A detailed analysis of the residual imperfections demonstrates that this decoupling strategy can boost the effective cooperativity of the cavity QED system by several orders of magnitude and improve the fidelity of quantum-technologically relevant operations accordingly.

10.1038/s41534-025-01143-5

Dynamical cluster-based strategy for improving tensor network algorithms in quantum circuit simulations

A. De Girolamo, P. Facchi, P. Rabl, S. Pascazio, C. Lupo, G. Magnifico

Physical Review Research 7 (4), 43170 (2025).

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"We optimize matrix-product state-based algorithms for simulating quantum circuits with finite fidelity, specifically the time-evolving block decimation (TEBD) and the density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) algorithms, by exploiting the irregular arrangement of entangling operations in circuits. We introduce a variation of the standard TEBD algorithm, we termed ""cluster-TEBD,"" which dynamically arranges qubits into entanglement clusters, enabling the exact contraction of multiple circuit layers in a single time step. Moreover, we enhance the DMRG algorithm by introducing an adaptive protocol, which analyzes the entanglement distribution within each circuit section to be contracted, dynamically adjusting the qubit grouping at each iteration. We analyze the performances of these enhanced algorithms in simulating both stabilizer and nonstabilizer randomstructured quantum circuits, with up to 1000 qubits and 100 layers of Clifford and non-Clifford gates, and in simulating Shor's quantum algorithm with up to hundreds of thousands of layers. Our findings show that, even with reasonable computational resources per task, cluster-based approaches can significantly speed up simulations of large-sized quantum circuits and improve the fidelity of the final states."

10.1103/x7x4-kn4n

Unraveling Superradiance: Entanglement and Mutual Information in Collective Decay

X. H. H. Zhang, D. Malz, P. Rabl

Physical Review Letters 135 (3), 33602 (2025).

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We study the collective decay of an initially inverted ensemble of two-level emitters in two distinct scenarios: when coupled to a squeezed photonic reservoir and when interacting with a one-dimensional waveguide. Using a quantum-state diffusion approach to unravel the emission process, we investigate entanglement and classical correlations along individual quantum trajectories over time. This numerical analysis shows that despite an initial buildup of entanglement and a significant amount of entanglement due to either spin squeezing or dark states at late times, the essential features of the superradiant burst are well described by averages over fully factorizable states. We explain this observation in terms of an almost complete factorization of all 2-local observables, which we identify as a generic property of superradiant decay. Based on this insight, we provide a purely classical theory for the burst in squeezed superradiance, which is both intuitive and exact for a large number of emitters. Moreover, we find that our numerical approach also performs well in the presence of subradiant states, which dominate the slow residual decay of nonuniform ensembles at late times.

10.1103/qbfk-zrzc

Mapping of a many-qubit state onto an oscillator using controlled displacements

A. J. E. Bjerrum, U. L. Andersen, P. Rabl

Physical Review A 111 (6), 62613 (2025).

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We extend the controlled displacement interaction between a qubit and a harmonic oscillator to the multiqubit (qudit) case. We define discrete quadratures of the qudit and show how the qudit state can be displaced in these quadratures controlled by an oscillator quadrature. Using this interaction, a periodic repetition of the state encoded in the qudit, can be deterministically mapped onto the oscillator, which is initialized in a squeezed state. Based on this controlled displacement interaction, we present a full circuit that encodes quantum information in a superposition of qudit quadrature states, and successively prepares the oscillator in the corresponding superposition of approximate Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states. This preparation scheme is found to be similar to phase estimation, with the addition of a disentanglement gate. Our protocol for GKP state preparation is efficient in the sense, that the set of qubits need only interact with the oscillator through two time-independent interactions, and in the sense that the squeeze factor (in dB) of the produced GKP state grows linearly in the number of qubits used.

10.1103/fdx5-kftm

Unified Interface Model for Dissipative Transport of Bosons and Fermions

Y. Minoguchi, J. Huber, L. Garbe, A. Gambassi, P. Rabl

Physical Review Letters 134 (20), 207102 (2025).

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We study the directed transport of bosons along a one dimensional lattice in a dissipative setting, where the hopping is only facilitated by coupling to a Markovian reservoir. By combining numerical simulations with a field-theoretic analysis, we investigate the current fluctuations for this process and determine its asymptotic behavior. These findings demonstrate that dissipative bosonic transport belongs to the KardarParisi-Zhang universality class and therefore, in spite of the drastic difference in the underlying particle statistics, it features the same coarse-grained behavior as the corresponding asymmetric simple exclusion process for fermions. However, crucial differences between the two processes emerge when focusing on the full counting statistics of current fluctuations. By mapping both models to the physics of fluctuating interfaces, we find that dissipative transport of bosons and fermions can be understood as surface growth and erosion processes, respectively. Within this unified description, both the similarities and discrepancies between the full counting statistics of the transport are reconciled. Beyond purely theoretical interest, these findings are relevant for experiments with cold atoms or long-lived quasiparticles in nanophotonic lattices, where such transport scenarios can be realized.

10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.207102

Toward high-fidelity quantum information processing and quantum simulation with spin qubits and phonons

I. Arrazola, Y. Minoguchi, M. A. Lemonde, A. Sipahigil, P. Rabl

Physical Review B 110 (4), 45419 (2024).

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We analyze the implementation of high-fidelity, phonon-mediated gate operations and quantum simulation schemes for spin qubits associated with silicon vacancy centers in diamond. Specifically, we show how the application of continuous dynamical decoupling techniques can substantially boost the coherence of the qubit states while increasing at the same time the variety of effective spin models that can be implemented in this way. Based on realistic models and detailed numerical simulations, we demonstrate that this decoupling technique can suppress gate errors by more than two orders of magnitude and enable gate infidelities below similar to 10 - 4 for experimentally relevant noise parameters. Therefore, when generalized to phononic lattices with arrays of implanted defect centers, this approach offers a realistic path toward moderate- and large-scale quantum devices with spins and phonons at a level of control that is competitive with other leading quantum-technology platforms.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.110.045419

The bosonic skin effect: Boundary condensation in asymmetric transport

L. Garbe, Y. Minoguchi, J. Huber, P. Rabl

Scipost Physics 16 (1), 29 (2024).

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We study the incoherent transport of bosonic particles through a one dimensional lattice with different left and right hopping rates, as modelled by the asymmetric simple inclusion process (ASIP). Specifically, we show that as the current passing through this system increases, a transition occurs, which is signified by the appearance of a characteristic zigzag pattern in the stationary density profile near the boundary. In this highly unusual transport phase, the local particle distribution alternates on every site between a thermal distribution and a Bose-condensed state with broken U(1)-symmetry. Furthermore, we show that the onset of this phase is closely related to the so-called non-Hermitian skin effect and coincides with an exceptional point in the spectrum of density fluctuations. Therefore, this effect establishes a direct connection between quantum transport, non-equilibrium condensation phenomena and non-Hermitian topology, which can be probed in cold-atom experiments or in systems with long-lived photonic, polaritonic and plasmonic excitations.

DOI: 10.21468/SciPostPhys.16.1.029

Autonomous Distribution of Programmable Multiqubit Entanglement in a Dual-Rail Quantum Network

J. Agustí, X. H. H. Zhang, Y. Minoguchi, P. Rabl

Physical Review Letters 131 (25), 250801 (2023).

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We propose and analyze a scalable and fully autonomous scheme for preparing spatially distributed multiqubit entangled states in a dual-rail waveguide QED setup. In this approach, arrays of qubits located along two separated waveguides are illuminated by correlated photons from the output of a nondegenerate parametric amplifier. These photons drive the qubits into different classes of pure entangled steady states, for which the degree of multipartite entanglement can be conveniently adjusted by the chosen pattern of local qubit-photon detunings. Numerical simulations for moderate-sized networks show that the preparation time for these complex multiqubit states increases at most linearly with the system size and that one may benefit from an additional speedup in the limit of a large amplifier bandwidth. Therefore, this scheme offers an intriguing new route for distributing ready-to-use multipartite entangled states across large quantum networks, without requiring any precise pulse control and relying on a single Gaussian entanglement source only.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.250801

Chiral Quantum Optics in the Bulk of Photonic Quantum Hall Systems

D. De Bernardis, F. S. Piccioli, P. Rabl, I. Carusotto

Prx Quantum 4 (3), 30306 (2023).

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We study light-matter interactions in the bulk of a two-dimensional photonic lattice system, where photons are subject to the combined effect of a synthetic magnetic field and an orthogonal synthetic electric field. In this configuration, chiral waveguide modes appear in the bulk region of the lattice, in direct analogy to transverse Hall currents in electronic systems. By evaluating the non-Markovian dynamics of emitters that are coupled to those modes, we identify critical coupling conditions, under which the shape of the spontaneously emitted photons becomes almost fully symmetric. Combined with a directional, dispersionless propagation, this property enables a complete reabsorption of the photon by another distant emitter, without relying on any time-dependent control. We show that this mechanism can be generalized to arbitrary in-plane synthetic potentials, thereby enabling flexible realizations of reconfigurable networks of quantum emitters with arbitrary chiral connectivity.

DOI: 10.1103/PRXQuantum.4.030306

Can We Observe Nonperturbative Vacuum Shifts in Cavity QED?

R. Sáez-Blázquez, D. de Bernardis, J. Feist, P. Rabl

Physical Review Letters 131 (1), 13602 (2023).

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We address the fundamental question of whether or not it is possible to achieve conditions under which the coupling of a single dipole to a strongly confined electromagnetic vacuum can result in nonperturbative corrections to the dipole's ground state. To do so we consider two simplified, but otherwise rather generic cavity QED setups, which allow us to derive analytic expressions for the total ground-state energy and to distinguish explicitly between purely electrostatic and genuine vacuum-induced contributions. Importantly, this derivation takes the full electromagnetic spectrum into account while avoiding any ambiguities arising from an ad hoc mode truncation. Our findings show that while the effect of confinement per se is not enough to result in substantial vacuum-induced corrections, the presence of high-impedance modes, such as plasmons or engineered LC resonances, can drastically increase these effects. Therefore, we conclude that with appropriately designed experiments it is at least in principle possible to access a regime where light-matter interactions become nonperturbative.

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.013602

Entangling microwaves with light

R. Sahu, L. Qiu, W. Hease, G. Arnold, Y. Minoguchi, P. Rabl, J. M. Fink

Science 380 (6646), 718-721 (2023).

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Quantum entanglement is a key resource in currently developed quantum technologies. Sharing would enable new functionalities, but this has been hindered by an energy scale mismatch of entanglement between microwave and optical fields in a millikelvin environment. Using an optically pulsed superconducting electro-optical device, we show entanglement between propagating microwave and optical fields in the continuous variable domain. This achievement not only paves the way for entanglement between superconducting circuits and telecom wavelength light, but also has wide-ranging implications for hybrid quantum networks in the context of modularization, scaling, sensing, and cross-platform verification.

DOI: 10.1126/science.adg3812

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