Non-Local and Non-Markovian Effects of a Microscopic Two-Level Defect in Superconducting Quantum Circuits

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Gao, Yang, Zhang, Yujia, Xu, Huikai, Shi, Pan, Li, Feiyu, Feng, Yaqing, Sun, Weijie, Ding, Jiayu, Liu, Yang, Wang, He, Wang, Ruixia, Yang, Zhen, Jin, Yirong, Yu, Haifeng, Yan, Fei
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Publié: 2026
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author Gao, Yang
Zhang, Yujia
Xu, Huikai
Shi, Pan
Li, Feiyu
Feng, Yaqing
Sun, Weijie
Ding, Jiayu
Liu, Yang
Wang, He
Wang, Ruixia
Yang, Zhen
Jin, Yirong
Yu, Haifeng
Yan, Fei
author_facet Gao, Yang
Zhang, Yujia
Xu, Huikai
Shi, Pan
Li, Feiyu
Feng, Yaqing
Sun, Weijie
Ding, Jiayu
Liu, Yang
Wang, He
Wang, Ruixia
Yang, Zhen
Jin, Yirong
Yu, Haifeng
Yan, Fei
contents Microscopic two-level systems (TLS) -- ubiquitous atomic-scale defects in solid-state quantum devices -- are a dominant source of qubit decoherence, yet their role is often considered local and short-memoried. Here, we report the observation of a coherent TLS that couples simultaneously to two spatially distant superconducting qubits. The TLS is identified to reside within the tunable coupler linking the qubits, enabling controllability of the TLS-qubit coupling strength via coupler frequency -- a capability absent in earlier studies. This tunability allows us to systematically probe how TLS distorts qubit dynamics, revisiting the decoherence model in the presence of non-Markovian TLS dephasing noise. This is corroborated by the reconstructed $1/f$ noise spectrum of TLS frequency fluctuation spanning more than ten orders of magnitude (0.1\,mHz -- 1\,MHz) that reveals discrete fluctuator signatures. Quantum process tomography further unveils TLS-induced correlated qubit dynamics, highlighting the long-lived TLS as an effective source of non-Markovianity. Our findings expose a previously overlooked interaction mechanism in scalable quantum architectures: defects embedded in coupling elements can simultaneously affect multiple qubits with variable impact. Beyond immediate implications for system characterization and calibration, this situation provides a powerful testbed for studying defect-driven quantum dynamics, refining error suppression strategies, and advancing architecture design for scalable quantum technologies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_23385
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Non-Local and Non-Markovian Effects of a Microscopic Two-Level Defect in Superconducting Quantum Circuits
Gao, Yang
Zhang, Yujia
Xu, Huikai
Shi, Pan
Li, Feiyu
Feng, Yaqing
Sun, Weijie
Ding, Jiayu
Liu, Yang
Wang, He
Wang, Ruixia
Yang, Zhen
Jin, Yirong
Yu, Haifeng
Yan, Fei
Quantum Physics
Microscopic two-level systems (TLS) -- ubiquitous atomic-scale defects in solid-state quantum devices -- are a dominant source of qubit decoherence, yet their role is often considered local and short-memoried. Here, we report the observation of a coherent TLS that couples simultaneously to two spatially distant superconducting qubits. The TLS is identified to reside within the tunable coupler linking the qubits, enabling controllability of the TLS-qubit coupling strength via coupler frequency -- a capability absent in earlier studies. This tunability allows us to systematically probe how TLS distorts qubit dynamics, revisiting the decoherence model in the presence of non-Markovian TLS dephasing noise. This is corroborated by the reconstructed $1/f$ noise spectrum of TLS frequency fluctuation spanning more than ten orders of magnitude (0.1\,mHz -- 1\,MHz) that reveals discrete fluctuator signatures. Quantum process tomography further unveils TLS-induced correlated qubit dynamics, highlighting the long-lived TLS as an effective source of non-Markovianity. Our findings expose a previously overlooked interaction mechanism in scalable quantum architectures: defects embedded in coupling elements can simultaneously affect multiple qubits with variable impact. Beyond immediate implications for system characterization and calibration, this situation provides a powerful testbed for studying defect-driven quantum dynamics, refining error suppression strategies, and advancing architecture design for scalable quantum technologies.
title Non-Local and Non-Markovian Effects of a Microscopic Two-Level Defect in Superconducting Quantum Circuits
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.23385