Universal interference-based construction of Gaussian operations in hybrid quantum systems

Abstract

Beam-splitter operations are an indispensable resource for processing quantum information encoded in bosonic modes. In hybrid quantum systems, however, it can be challenging to implement reliable beam-splitters between two distinct modes due to various experimental imperfections. Without beam-splitters, realizing arbitrary Gaussian operations between bosonic modes can become highly non-trivial or even infeasible. In this work, we develop interference-based protocols for engineering Gaussian operations in multi-mode hybrid bosonic systems without requiring beam-splitters. Specifically, for a given generic multi-mode Gaussian unitary coupler, we demonstrate a universal scheme for constructing Gaussian operations on a desired subset of the modes, requiring only multiple uses of the given coupler interleaved with single-mode Gaussian unitaries. Our results provide efficient construction of operations crucial to quantum information science, and are derived from fundamental physical properties of bosonic systems. The proposed scheme is thus widely applicable to existing platforms and couplers, with the exception of certain edge cases. We introduce a systematic approach to identify and treat these edge cases by utilizing an intrinsically invariant structure associated with our interference-based construction.