Realization of fractional quantum Hall state with interacting photons
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Abstract
Fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states are known for their robust topological order and possess properties that are appealing for applications in fault-tolerant quantum computing. An engineered quantum platform would provide opportunities to operate FQH states without an external magnetic field and enhance local and coherent manipulation of these exotic states. We demonstrate a lattice version of photon FQH states using a programmable on-chip platform based on photon blockade and engineering gauge fields on a two-dimensional circuit quantum electrodynamics system. We observe the effective photon Lorentz force and butterfly spectrum in the artificial gauge field, a prerequisite for FQH states. After adiabatic assembly of Laughlin FQH wave function of 1/2 filling factor from localized photons, we observe strong density correlation and chiral topological flow among the FQH photons. We then verify the unique features of FQH states in response to external fields, including the incompressibility of generating quasiparticles and the smoking-gun signature of fractional quantum Hall conductivity. Our work illustrates a route to the creation and manipulation of novel strongly correlated topological quantum matter composed of photons and opens up possibilities for fault-tolerant quantum information devices. Editor’s summary Subjecting a two-dimensional electron system to high magnetic fields results in the formation of correlated electronic states called fractional quantum Hall states. These exotic states are topologically robust and are of interest in condensed matter physics and fault-tolerant quantum computation. Wang et al. report on the optical simulation of fractional quantum Hall physics using a lattice of superconducting qubits. Using a four-by-four array of superconducting qubits, the authors demonstrate the formation of strongly correlated photonic states displaying topological features of the electronic counterpart. The engineered, bottom-up approach provides a scalable platform for achieving topological quantum computing and for studying topological quantum physics more generally. —Ian S. Osbourne