2005/02/27 by Nicholas Peters, Joseph Altepeter, Evan Jeffrey +2 · 1 voice
Physics and Astronomy · #quant-ph
published as Quantum Information Computation v3 p 503 (2003) · 15 pages, 8 figures
arxiv created 2005/02/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We present the theoretical basis for and experimental verification of arbitrary single-qubit state generation, using the polarization of photons generated via spontaneous parametric downconversion. Our precision measurement and state reconstruction system has the capability to distinguish over 3 million states, all of which can be reproducibly generated using our state creation apparatus. In order to complete the triumvirate of single qubit control, there must be a way to not only manipulate single qubits after creation and before measurement, but a way to characterize the manipulations themselves. We present a general representation of arbitrary processes, and experimental techniques for generating a variety of single qubit manipulations, including unitary, decohering, and (partially) polarizing operations.