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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13124 |
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| _version_ | 1866918387066601472 |
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| author | McJunkin, Thomas Hunt, A. W. Jones-Alberty, Yenuel Haard, T. M. Spear, M. K. Shackford, James Gilliss, Tom Amezcua, Mayra Watson, C. A. Sweeney, T. M. Hoffmann, J. A. Schultz, Kevin |
| author_facet | McJunkin, Thomas Hunt, A. W. Jones-Alberty, Yenuel Haard, T. M. Spear, M. K. Shackford, James Gilliss, Tom Amezcua, Mayra Watson, C. A. Sweeney, T. M. Hoffmann, J. A. Schultz, Kevin |
| contents | Ionizing radiation is a known source of correlated errors in superconducting quantum processors, inhibiting the functionality of quantum error correction surface codes. High-energy photons and charged particles deposit pair-breaking energy into these systems leading to excess quasiparticles near Josephson junctions that increase qubit decoherence. Previous investigations of this problem have relied on ambient, stochastic sources of ionizing radiation or alternative methods of quasiparticle generation. Here, we present a facility that couples an electron linear accelerator (linac) to a dilution refrigerator to study ionizing radiation in quantum systems. A single linac electron closely mimics the energy deposition characteristics of a typical cosmic-ray muon, and we demonstrate the facility's usefulness with a multi-qubit superconducting transmon chip. Characteristic radiation-induced relaxation errors are quickly and easily collected with the speed and timing information of the linac. Additionally, we present qubit excitation and detuning errors that can be difficult to detect without the on-demand source of ionizing radiation. These error signatures are shown to be dependent on the junction placement and surrounding superconducting gaps. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_13124 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | On-Demand Correlated Errors in Superconducting Qubits from a Particle Accelerator McJunkin, Thomas Hunt, A. W. Jones-Alberty, Yenuel Haard, T. M. Spear, M. K. Shackford, James Gilliss, Tom Amezcua, Mayra Watson, C. A. Sweeney, T. M. Hoffmann, J. A. Schultz, Kevin Quantum Physics Nuclear Experiment Ionizing radiation is a known source of correlated errors in superconducting quantum processors, inhibiting the functionality of quantum error correction surface codes. High-energy photons and charged particles deposit pair-breaking energy into these systems leading to excess quasiparticles near Josephson junctions that increase qubit decoherence. Previous investigations of this problem have relied on ambient, stochastic sources of ionizing radiation or alternative methods of quasiparticle generation. Here, we present a facility that couples an electron linear accelerator (linac) to a dilution refrigerator to study ionizing radiation in quantum systems. A single linac electron closely mimics the energy deposition characteristics of a typical cosmic-ray muon, and we demonstrate the facility's usefulness with a multi-qubit superconducting transmon chip. Characteristic radiation-induced relaxation errors are quickly and easily collected with the speed and timing information of the linac. Additionally, we present qubit excitation and detuning errors that can be difficult to detect without the on-demand source of ionizing radiation. These error signatures are shown to be dependent on the junction placement and surrounding superconducting gaps. |
| title | On-Demand Correlated Errors in Superconducting Qubits from a Particle Accelerator |
| topic | Quantum Physics Nuclear Experiment |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13124 |