Cited by 7Quantum Computing Algorithms and ArchitectureQuantum Information and CryptographyQuantum Mechanics and Applications

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 26 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Experimental realization of universal quantum gates and a six-qubit entangled state using a photonic quantum walk

Open access
Sengupta, Kanad, Dinesh, S.P., Shafi, K. Muhammed, Asokan, Soumya, Chandrashekar, C.M.·2025·Physical Review Applied

Abstract

For quantum computation using photons, performing deterministic quantum gate operations is a challenge due to the probabilistic nature of the photon-photon interaction. Encoding qubits in multiple degrees-of-freedom of photons and controlling operations between them is one of the promising ways to navigate the probabilistic behavior. Using single-photon discrete-time quantum walk in combination with polarization and path degrees-of-freedom, we experimentally demonstrate the realization of a universal set of quantum gates with high fidelity at room temperature. The deterministic realization of quantum gates through photonic quantum walk are characterized via quantum state tomography. For a three-qubit system using a single photon, the first qubit is encoded using polarization information, and the other two qubits are encoded using path information, closely resembling a Galton-board setup. To generate a six-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, entangled photon pairs are used to entangle the two three-qubit modules on which gate operations are performed. We also provide insights into the mapping of photonic quantum walk operations to quantum circuits and propose methods to resourcefully scale. This demonstration marks a significant progress towards using quantum walks for quantum computing and provides a framework for using fewer photons in combination with different degrees-of-freedom of photon to scale the number of qubits.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The paper experimentally demonstrates a universal set of quantum gates and a six-qubit GHZ state using single-photon discrete-time quantum walks with polarization and path degrees of freedom. Gates are realized deterministically at room temperature and characterized by quantum state tomography and entanglement visibility.

Key findings

  • Universal gates—Hadamard, phase, and controlled-NOT—were implemented using a single photon’s polarization and path degrees of freedom, with the paper reporting “100% success probability” and high fidelity at room temperature.
  • Two- and three-qubit modules were built by encoding the first qubit in polarization and additional qubits in path; C-NOT between path qubits was especially high fidelity because it is implemented by swapping or relabeling paths.
  • A six-qubit GHZ state was generated by entangling two three-qubit modules with an SPDC photon pair; entanglement-witness visibilities in the H and D bases were 98.3% and 95.1%, respectively.
  • Supporting characterization included single-photon Mach-Zehnder visibility \(V \approx 93.4\%\), Bell-state fidelity 98.12%, H/V and A/D visibilities of 98.6% and 98.1%, and a Bell-CHSH violation \(S = 2.77(\pm 0.001)\).

Methods

  • Heralded single photons and entangled photon pairs were generated via type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a 10-mm PPKTP crystal pumped by a 405 nm CW diode laser, with the crystal at 32.3°C for degenerate 810 nm emission.
  • Qubits were encoded in polarization using quarter-half-quarter wave plates and in path using beam splitters, Mach-Zehnder interferometry, and phase control; gate operations were mapped from discrete-time quantum walk coin and shift operators.
  • Output states were characterized by quantum state tomography for two- and three-qubit gates, and the six-qubit GHZ state was assessed by entanglement-witness visibility measurements; the paper reports average ten gate operations for two-qubit QST and up to twenty-eight for three-qubit QST.

Limitations

  • Stated: the beam splitter used for two-qubit tomography was not exactly 50:50 (BS005), which significantly impacts fidelity; path-encoded qubits are sensitive to phase instability, and no active stabilization was used, only passive stabilization.
  • Stated: Hadamard on the path qubit relies on path interference and slightly lowers fidelity during QST; the polarization-controlled C-NOT used a PBS with 1000:1 extinction ratio, and better extinction would improve results.
  • Stated and evident: scaling by using a single photon in multiple two-qubit path networks causes fidelity loss, while involving more photons makes connections between modules probabilistic; the six-qubit state is characterized by visibility/witness rather than full six-qubit tomography in the provided text.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1103/r7yp-1vz4

Cites

60 of 60 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 26 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 33 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 24
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 18
36 of 36
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Photons are naturally resistant to interactions with background electromagnetic fields and can function efficiently at room temperature while maintaining stability and coherence during quantum operations.

    “Since photons are naturally resistant to interactions with background electromagnetic fields, they can function efficiently at room temperature while maintaining stability and coherence during quantum operations.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Path-encoded qubits are sensitive to phase instability.

    “Path-encoded qubits are sensitive to phase instability.”
2 of 2

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • GHZ visibility checks name different path pairs

    Minor

    The results text says the visibility checks compare |00⟩ with |10⟩ and |01⟩ with |11⟩. The figure caption instead identifies the measured coincidences as |00⟩-|00⟩ and |11⟩-|11⟩, while reporting the same H- and D-basis visibilities.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. 10.1103/physrevlett.104.050502 · DOI · Paper page
  2. G. Weihs, Coherence and Statistics of Photons and Atoms
  3. See Supplemental Material at http://link.aps.org/supplemental/10.1103/r7yp-1vz4 for generic state preparation and state tomography.

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Sengupta, K., Dinesh, S. P., Shafi, K. M., Asokan, S., & Chandrashekar, C. M.
Affiliations
  • Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IN)
  • Homi Bhabha National Institute (IN)
Venue
Physical Review Applied
Published
2025-08-06
Volume
24
Issue
2
ISSN
2331-7019 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4412403190
Cited by
7
References
58
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 2
FWCI
1.80
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Physical Review Applied (publishedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
Office of Principal Scientific Advisor (Prn.SA/QSim/2020)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum Information and Cryptography
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Keywords
photonic quantum walks, universal quantum gates, GHZ states, polarization encoding, path encoding, deterministic quantum gates, quantum circuit mapping

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