Trajectory-Protected Quantum Computing

Abstract: We introduce a novel method that simultaneously isolates a quantum computer from decoherence and enables the controlled implementation of computational gates. We demonstrate a quantum computing model that utilizes a qubit's motion to protect it from decoherence. We model a qubit interacting with a quantum field via the standard light-matter interaction model: an Unruh-DeWitt detector, i.e., the qubit, follows a prescribed classical trajectory while interacting with a scalar quantum field. We switch off the rotating-wave terms, i.e., the resonant transitions, using the technique of acceleration-induced transparency which eliminates the dominant decoherence channels by controlling the qubit's trajectory. We are able to perform one-qubit gates by stimulating the counter-rotating wave terms (i.e., the non-resonant transitions) and two-qubit gates by extracting the entanglement from the quantum field prepared in a squeezed state. Finally, we discuss the fundamental limits on quantum error protection: on the trade-off between isolating a quantum computer from decoherence, and the speed with which entangling gates may be applied, comparable to the Eastin-Knill theorem for quantum error correction.