Quantum-phase synchronization
Lukas J. Fiderer, Marek Kuś, Daniel Braun · Physical Review A · 2016
We study mechanisms that allow one to synchronize the quantum phase of two qubits relative to a fixed basis. Starting from one qubit in a fixed reference state and the other in an unknown state, we find that, contrary to the impossibility of perfect quantum cloning, the quantum phase can be synchronized perfectly through a joined unitary operation. When both qubits are initially in a pure unknown state, perfect quantum-phase synchronization through unitary operations becomes impossible. In this situation we determine the maximum average quantum-phase synchronization fidelity and the distribution of relative phases and fidelities, and we identify optimal quantum circuits that achieve this maximum fidelity. A subset of these optimal quantum circuits enable perfect quantum-phase synchronization for a class of unknown initial states restricted to the equatorial plane of the Bloch sphere.