Andreev spin qubits have recently emerged as an alternative qubit platform with realizations in semiconductor–superconductor hybrid nanowires. In these qubits, the spin degree of freedom of a quasiparticle trapped in a Josephson junction is intrinsically spin–orbit coupled to the supercurrent across the junction. This interaction has previously been used to perform spin readout, but it has also been predicted to facilitate inductive multi-qubit coupling. Here we demonstrate a strong supercurrent-mediated longitudinal coupling between two distant Andreev spin qubits. We show that it is both gate- and flux-tunable into the strong coupling regime and, furthermore, that magnetic flux can be used to switch off the coupling in situ. Our results demonstrate that integrating microscopic spin states into a superconducting qubit architecture can combine the advantages of both semiconductors and superconducting circuits and pave the way to fast two-qubit gates between distant spins.

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The attachment of porous media to a blunt trailing edge (TE) can significantly suppress vortex shedding processes and the related tonal noise, yet the near-wall and internal flow fields of porous media are difficult to analyze experimentally and rely on numerical simulations to elucidate the internal flow features. A structured porous trailing edge (SPTE) has been recently designed that follows a methodology of a structured porous coated cylinder. The SPTE acoustic response was compared against randomized porous media with 10 and 30 pores/in. in an anechoic wind tunnel over a range of flow velocities. Acoustic beamforming revealed that the dominant acoustic sources were at the end of the solid plate, even when a porous TE was attached. A region of integration was used to extract acoustic spectra without additional noise sources, revealing that the SPTE possesses superior noise reduction capability. Dipolar directivity patterns were observed at the vortex shedding frequency for each TE, and the coherence between microphones revealed the complex acoustic propagation of the high-frequency content. A wavelet analysis revealed how the SPTE breaks periodic vortex shedding cycles into smaller cycles over a wider frequency range, leading to an overall noise reduction relative to the other TEs.

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Spin qubits in semiconductors are a promising platform for producing highly scalable quantum computing devices. However, it is difficult to realize multiqubit interactions over extended distances. Superconducting spin qubits provide an alternative by encoding a qubit in the spin degree of freedom of an Andreev level. These Andreev spin qubits have an intrinsic spin–supercurrent coupling that enables the use of recent advances in circuit quantum electrodynamics. The first realization of an Andreev spin qubit encoded the qubit in the excited states of a semiconducting weak link, leading to frequent decay out of the computational subspace. Additionally, rapid qubit manipulation was hindered by the need for indirect Raman transitions. Here we use an electrostatically defined quantum dot Josephson junction with large charging energy, which leads to a spin-split doublet ground state. We tune the qubit frequency over a frequency range of 10 GHz using a magnetic field, which also enables us to investigate the qubit performance using direct spin manipulation. An all-electric microwave drive produces Rabi frequencies exceeding 200 MHz. We embed the Andreev spin qubit in a superconducting transmon qubit, demonstrating strong coherent qubit–qubit coupling. These results are a crucial step towards a hybrid architecture that combines the beneficial aspects of both superconducting and semiconductor qubits.

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Quantum error correction will be an essential ingredient in realizing fault-tolerant quantum computing. However, most correction schemes rely on the assumption that errors are sufficiently uncorrelated in space and time. In superconducting qubits, this assumption is drastically violated in the presence of ionizing radiation, which creates bursts of high-energy phonons in the substrate. These phonons can break Cooper pairs in the superconductor and, thus, create quasiparticles over large areas, consequently reducing qubit coherence across the quantum device in a correlated fashion. A potential mitigation technique is to place large volumes of normal or superconducting metal on the device, capable of reducing the phonon energy to below the superconducting gap of the qubits. To investigate the effectiveness of this method, we fabricate a quantum device with four nominally identical nanowire-based transmon qubits. On the device, half of the niobium-titanium-nitride ground plane is replaced with aluminum (Al), which has a significantly lower superconducting gap. We deterministically inject high-energy phonons into the substrate by voltage biasing a galvanically isolated Josephson junction. In the presence of the small-gap material, we find a factor of 2–5 less degradation in the injection-dependent qubit lifetimes and observe that the undesired excited qubit state population is mitigated by a similar factor. We furthermore turn the Al normal with a magnetic field, finding no change in the phonon protection. This suggests that the efficacy of the protection in our device is not limited by the size of the superconducting gap in the Al ground plane. Our results provide a promising foundation for protecting superconducting-qubit processors against correlated errors from ionizing radiation.@en

We report the detection of a gate-tunable kinetic inductance in a hybrid InAs/Al nanowire. For this purpose, we embed the nanowire into a quarter-wave coplanar waveguide resonator and measure the resonance frequency of the circuit. We find that the resonance frequency can be changed via the gate voltage that controls the electron density of the proximitized semiconductor and thus the nanowire inductance. Applying Mattis-Bardeen theory, we extract the gate dependence of the normal-state conductivity of the nanowire, as well as its superconducting gap. Our measurements complement existing characterization methods for hybrid nanowires and provide a useful tool for gate-controlled superconducting electronics.

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We realize a hybrid superconductor-semiconductor transmon device in which the Josephson effect is controlled by a gate-defined quantum dot in an InAs-Al nanowire. Microwave spectroscopy of the transition spectrum of the transmon allows us to probe the ground-state parity of the quantum dot as a function of the gate voltages, the external magnetic flux, and the magnetic field applied parallel to the nanowire. The measured parity phase diagram is in agreement with that predicted by a single-impurity Anderson model with superconducting leads. Through continuous-time monitoring of the circuit, we furthermore resolve the quasiparticle dynamics of the quantum dot Josephson junction across the phase boundaries. Our results can facilitate the realization of semiconductor-based 0-π qubits and Andreev qubits.

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Sustainable and resilient pavement infrastructure is critical for current economic and environmental challenges. In the past 10 years, the pavement infrastructure strongly supports the rapid development of the global social economy. New theories, new methods, new technologies and new materials related to pavement engineering are emerging. Deterioration of pavement infrastructure is a typical multi-physics problem. Because of actual coupled behaviors of traffic and environmental conditions, predictions of pavement service life become more and more complicated and require a deep knowledge of pavement material analysis. In order to summarize the current and determine the future research of pavement engineering, Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering (English Edition) has launched a review paper on the topic of “New innovations in pavement materials and engineering: A review on pavement engineering research 2021”. Based on the joint-effort of 43 scholars from 24 well-known universities in highway engineering, this review paper systematically analyzes the research status and future development direction of 5 major fields of pavement engineering in the world. The content includes asphalt binder performance and modeling, mixture performance and modeling of pavement materials, multi-scale mechanics, green and sustainable pavement, and intelligent pavement. Overall, this review paper is able to provide references and insights for researchers and engineers in the field of pavement engineering.

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We study the electronic properties of InAs/EuS/Al heterostructures as explored in a recent experiment, combining both spectroscopic results and microscopic device simulations. In particular, we use angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to investigate the band bending at the InAs/EuS interface. The resulting band offset value serves as an essential input to subsequent microscopic device simulations, allowing us to map the electronic wave function distribution. We conclude that the magnetic proximity effects at the Al/EuS as well as the InAs/EuS interfaces are both essential to achieve topological superconductivity at zero applied magnetic field. Mapping the topological phase diagram as a function of gate voltages and proximity-induced exchange couplings, we show that the ferromagnetic hybrid nanowire with overlapping Al and EuS layers can become a topological superconductor within realistic parameter regimes. Our work highlights the need for a combined experimental and theoretical effort for faithful device simulations.

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