Fast, High-Fidelity Erasure Detection of Dual-Rail Qubits with Symmetrically Coupled Readout
Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 08:30 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
Symmetrically coupled dispersive readout achieves 384 ns single-shot erasure detection on dual-rail qubits with 6.0(2)×10^{-4} residual error per check and enables parallel erasure checks during single-qubit gates with median 7.2×10^{-5} error per gate.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
We realize erasure detection with a hardware-efficient circuit consisting of a single readout resonator dispersively and symmetrically coupled to both transmons of a dual-rail qubit... achieving a residual error per check of 6.0(2) × 10^{-4}, with only 8(3) × 10^{-5} induced dephasing per check, and an erasure error per check of 2.54(1)×10^{-2}. ... median 7.2 × 10^{-5} error per gate with < 1 × 10^{-5} error induced by erasure detection.
Load-bearing premise
The assumption that the dispersive couplings χ to the two transmons can be matched closely enough inside the dual-rail code space that the resonator does not distinguish the logical states and therefore adds negligible dephasing or leakage during the check or during concurrent gates.
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read the original abstract
Erasure qubits are a promising platform for implementing hardware-efficient quantum error correction. Realizing the error-correction advantages of this encoding requires frequent mid-circuit erasure checks that are fast, high-fidelity, and scalable. Here, we realize erasure detection with a hardware-efficient circuit consisting of a single readout resonator dispersively and symmetrically coupled to both transmons of a dual-rail qubit. We use this circuit to demonstrate single-shot erasure detection in 384 ns with minimal impact on the dual-rail logical manifold, achieving a residual error per check of $6.0(2) \times 10^{-4}$, with only $8(3) \times 10^{-5}$ induced dephasing per check, and an erasure error per check of $2.54(1)\times 10^{-2}$. The high degree of matched dispersive readout coupling ($\chi$-matching) within the dual-rail qubit code space also allows us to realize a new modality: time-continuous erasure detection performed in parallel with single-qubit gates. Here we achieve a median $7.2 \times 10^{-5}$ error per gate with $< 1 \times 10^{-5}$ error induced by erasure detection. This demonstrates a reduction in erasure detection overhead as well as a crucial ingredient for soft information quantum error correction. Together, these results establish symmetrically coupled dispersive readout as a fast, hardware-efficient, and scalable component for erasure-based quantum error correction using transmon dual-rail qubits.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript demonstrates a hardware-efficient erasure detection protocol for dual-rail qubits that uses a single readout resonator dispersively and symmetrically coupled to both transmons. It reports single-shot erasure detection in 384 ns with residual error per check of 6.0(2)×10^{-4}, induced dephasing of 8(3)×10^{-5}, and erasure error of 2.54(1)×10^{-2}, plus a continuous-detection modality performed in parallel with single-qubit gates that yields median gate error 7.2×10^{-5} with <1×10^{-5} added by the check.
Significance. If the reported performance is confirmed, the work is significant for erasure-based quantum error correction. It supplies a concrete, low-overhead experimental implementation that reduces mid-circuit check cost and enables concurrent soft-information readout, both of which are recognized bottlenecks for scaling erasure codes on transmon hardware. The numerical benchmarks with uncertainties provide a clear reference point for the community.
major comments (1)
- [Abstract and experimental results] The central performance claims (induced dephasing 8(3)×10^{-5} per check and <1×10^{-5} during concurrent gates) rest on the assumption that the dispersive couplings satisfy |χ₁ − χ₂| small enough that the resonator cannot distinguish the logical states |01⟩ and |10⟩ inside the dual-rail code space. The manuscript provides no direct measurement or bound on the residual detuning, no quantification of higher-order terms (χ^{(2)}, cross-Kerr), and no verification that the matching is preserved throughout the 384 ns pulse or under simultaneous single-qubit drives. This is load-bearing for the claim of negligible logical dephasing.
minor comments (1)
- [Methods] Clarify in the methods how χ-matching was calibrated and whether it was achieved by design or post-selection; include the raw resonator spectroscopy data that bounds |χ₁ − χ₂|.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the positive assessment of the manuscript's significance for erasure-based quantum error correction and for the constructive major comment. We address the concern point by point below, providing the strongest honest defense based on the reported measurements while agreeing to strengthen the presentation where appropriate.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: [Abstract and experimental results] The central performance claims (induced dephasing 8(3)×10^{-5} per check and <1×10^{-5} during concurrent gates) rest on the assumption that the dispersive couplings satisfy |χ₁ − χ₂| small enough that the resonator cannot distinguish the logical states |01⟩ and |10⟩ inside the dual-rail code space. The manuscript provides no direct measurement or bound on the residual detuning, no quantification of higher-order terms (χ^{(2)}, cross-Kerr), and no verification that the matching is preserved throughout the 384 ns pulse or under simultaneous single-qubit drives. This is load-bearing for the claim of negligible logical dephasing.
Authors: The measured induced dephasing of 8(3)×10^{-5} per check directly bounds the effective mismatch |χ₁ − χ₂|, as any appreciable detuning would produce observable dephasing within the code space at a rate set by the difference in dispersive shifts; the reported value is therefore an experimental upper limit on the logical dephasing contribution. We agree that an explicit, independent bound obtained from separate measurements of χ₁ and χ₂ (and their difference) is not presented and would strengthen the manuscript. Higher-order terms (χ^{(2)}, cross-Kerr) are not quantified in the current text; given the short 384 ns readout duration and the low observed erasure error of 2.54(1)×10^{-2}, their contribution is expected to be subdominant, but we will add device-parameter estimates in revision. Preservation of matching throughout the pulse is supported by the overall single-shot fidelity, while the concurrent-gate experiment (median gate error 7.2×10^{-5} with <1×10^{-5} added by the check) directly verifies that the symmetry holds under simultaneous single-qubit drives. We will revise the manuscript to include these additional bounds and clarifications. revision: partial
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
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