Readout-induced degradation of transmon lifetimes: interplay of TLSs and qubit spectral reshaping
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1866917341708681216 |
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| author | Huang, Ziwen Hung, Jimmy Shih-Chun Raha, Mouktik Chou, Ming-Han Levine, Harry Retzker, Alex Hann, Connor T. Hover, David Brandão, Fernando G. S. L. Clerk, Aashish A. Haim, Arbel Painter, Oskar |
| author_facet | Huang, Ziwen Hung, Jimmy Shih-Chun Raha, Mouktik Chou, Ming-Han Levine, Harry Retzker, Alex Hann, Connor T. Hover, David Brandão, Fernando G. S. L. Clerk, Aashish A. Haim, Arbel Painter, Oskar |
| contents | Measurement backaction degrades dispersive readout of superconducting qubits even at modest drive strengths, often via the reduction of qubit lifetimes during readout. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally study this degradation and show how it can result from the interplay between detuned two-level systems (TLSs) and a drive-renormalized qubit spectrum. For modest to strong readout, the qubit emission spectrum becomes non-Lorentzian and depends sensitively on the readout drive frequency (even when measurement rate is fixed). We combine the readout-modified qubit emission spectrum with time-dependent perturbation theory to predict qubit lifetimes in the presence of a TLS bath. Master equation simulations and experimental measurements on a frequency-tunable transmon confirm these predictions quantitatively. In particular, we find that driving at the resonator frequency associated with the qubit ground state yields the narrowest qubit emission spectrum and the least lifetime degradation for a fixed measurement rate, providing a practical guideline for optimizing readout protocols in future quantum processors. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_13857 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Readout-induced degradation of transmon lifetimes: interplay of TLSs and qubit spectral reshaping Huang, Ziwen Hung, Jimmy Shih-Chun Raha, Mouktik Chou, Ming-Han Levine, Harry Retzker, Alex Hann, Connor T. Hover, David Brandão, Fernando G. S. L. Clerk, Aashish A. Haim, Arbel Painter, Oskar Quantum Physics Measurement backaction degrades dispersive readout of superconducting qubits even at modest drive strengths, often via the reduction of qubit lifetimes during readout. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally study this degradation and show how it can result from the interplay between detuned two-level systems (TLSs) and a drive-renormalized qubit spectrum. For modest to strong readout, the qubit emission spectrum becomes non-Lorentzian and depends sensitively on the readout drive frequency (even when measurement rate is fixed). We combine the readout-modified qubit emission spectrum with time-dependent perturbation theory to predict qubit lifetimes in the presence of a TLS bath. Master equation simulations and experimental measurements on a frequency-tunable transmon confirm these predictions quantitatively. In particular, we find that driving at the resonator frequency associated with the qubit ground state yields the narrowest qubit emission spectrum and the least lifetime degradation for a fixed measurement rate, providing a practical guideline for optimizing readout protocols in future quantum processors. |
| title | Readout-induced degradation of transmon lifetimes: interplay of TLSs and qubit spectral reshaping |
| topic | Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13857 |