Fluxons in a superconducting loop can be coherently coupled by quantum phase slips occurring at a weak link such as a Josephson junction. If Cooper pair tunneling at the junction occurs through a resonant level, then 2π quantum phase slips are suppressed, and fluxons are predominantly coupled by 4π quantum phase slips. We analyze this scenario by computing the coupling between fluxons as the level is brought into resonance with the superconducting condensate. The results indicate that the 4π-dominated regime can be observed directly in the transition spectrum for circuit parameters typical of a fluxonium qubit. We also show that if the inductive energy of the loop is much smaller than the plasma frequency of the junction, then the low-energy Hamiltonian of the circuit is dual to that of a topological superconducting island. These findings can inform experiments on bifluxon qubits as well as the design of novel types of protected qubits.

Josephson elements are cornerstones of cryogenic classical and quantum superconducting technology, owing to their nonlinearity. Two important types of Josephson elements are often considered distinct: the tunnel junction (superconductor-insulator-superconductor, SIS) and the normal weak link (superconductor-normal-superconductor, SNS) referring to any non-superconducting and non-insulating central region. SNS junctions and SIS junctions have appeared in related technological and basic science contexts over the last decade. In this perspective article, we review correspondences between SISIS junctions and SNS junctions in limiting regimes, in which a single, general energy-phase relationship describes the systems. We show how this insight helped to connect recent bodies of theoretical and experimental work in both systems. We conclude by describing a few important differences that also impact their use in applied contexts.

Electrostatic charging affects the many-body spectrum of Andreev states, yet its influence on their microwave properties has not been elucidated. We developed a circuit quantum electrodynamics probe that, in addition to transition spectroscopy, measures the microwave susceptibility of different states of a semiconductor nanowire weak link with a single dominant (spin-degenerate) Andreev level. We found that the microwave susceptibility does not exhibit a particle-hole symmetry, which we qualitatively explain as an influence of Coulomb interaction. Moreover, our state-selective measurement reveals a large, ?-phase shifted contribution to the response common to all many-body states which can be interpreted as arising from a phase-dependent continuum in the superconducting density of states.

The multi-terminal Josephson effect allows DC supercurrent to flow at finite commensurate voltages. Existing proposals to realize this effect rely on nonlocal Andreev processes in superconductor-normal-superconductor junctions. However, this approach requires precise control over microscopic states and is obscured by dissipative current. We show that standard tunnel Josephson circuits also support multiplet supercurrent mediated only by local tunneling processes. Furthermore, we observe that the supercurrents persist even in the high charging energy regime in which only sequential Cooper transfers are allowed. Finally, we demonstrate that the multiplet supercurrent in these circuits has a quantum geometric component that is distinguishable from the well-known adiabatic contribution.

In this Letter the following original sentence has been amended for clarity: “As the Kramers theorem does not hold in the presence of a non-zero weak-link phase bias φ, the splitting of the spin states requires an additional ingredient.”; it has been changed to: “Although the presence of a non-zero weak-link phase bias φ breaks time-reversal symmetry so that the Kramers theorem does not hold, this alone is insufficient to lift the spin degeneracy—an additional effect is required.” The online versions of the Letter have been amended.

Two promising architectures for solid-state quantum information processing are based on electron spins electrostatically confined in semiconductor quantum dots and the collective electrodynamic modes of superconducting circuits. Superconducting electrodynamic qubits involve macroscopic numbers of electrons and offer the advantage of larger coupling, whereas semiconductor spin qubits involve individual electrons trapped in microscopic volumes but are more difficult to link. We combined beneficial aspects of both platforms in the Andreev spin qubit: the spin degree of freedom of an electronic quasiparticle trapped in the supercurrent-carrying Andreev levels of a Josephson semiconductor nanowire. We performed coherent spin manipulation by combining single-shot circuit–quantum-electrodynamics readout and spin-flipping Raman transitions and found a spin-flip time T_S = 17 microseconds and a spin coherence time T_2E = 52 nanoseconds. These results herald a regime of supercurrent-mediated coherent spin-photon coupling at the single-quantum level.

We introduce Weyl Josephson circuits: small Josephson junction circuits that simulate Weyl band structures. We first formulate a general approach to design circuits that are analogous to Bloch Hamiltonians of a desired dimensionality and symmetry class. We then construct and analyze a six-junction device that produces a three-dimensional (3D) Weyl Hamiltonian with broken inversion symmetry and in which topological phase transitions can be triggered in situ. We argue that currently available superconducting circuit technology allows experiments that probe topological properties inaccessible in condensed matter systems.

Readout and control of electrostatically confined electrons in semiconductors are key primitives of quantum information processing with solid-state spin qubits^1,2. In superconductor–semiconductor heterostructures, localized electronic modes known as Andreev levels result from confinement that is provided by the pair potential^3,4. Unlike electronic modes confined exclusively via electrostatic effects, Andreev levels carry supercurrent. Therefore, they naturally integrate with the techniques of circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) that have been developed in the field of superconducting qubits and used to detect pairs of quasiparticles that are trapped in Andreev levels^5–8. Here, we demonstrate single-shot cQED readout of the spin of an individual quasiparticle trapped in the Andreev levels of a semiconductor nanowire Josephson element. Owing to a spin-orbit interaction in the nanowire, this ‘superconducting spin’ directly determines the flow of supercurrent through the element. We harnessed this spin-dependent supercurrent to achieve both a zero-field spin splitting and a long-range interaction between the quasiparticle and a superconducting microwave resonator^9–13. Measurement of the resultant spin-dependent resonator frequency yielded quantum non-demolition spin readout with 92% fidelity in 1.9 μs, which enabled us to monitor the quasiparticle spin in real time. These results pave the way for superconducting spin qubits that operate at zero magnetic field and for time-domain measurements of Majorana zero modes^{9,10,12,14,15}.

With the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers turn to online conferencing. While posing new challenges, this format also brings multiple advantages. We argue that virtual conferences will become part of our regular scientific communication and invite community members to join the movement.