To explore the possibilities of a near-term intermediate-scale quantum algorithm and long-term fault-tolerant quantum computing, a fast and versatile quantum circuit simulator is needed. Here, we introduce Qulacs, a fast simulator for quantum circuits intended for research purpose. We show the main concepts of Qulacs, explain how to use its features via examples, describe numerical techniques to speed-up simulation, and demonstrate its performance with numerical benchmarks.

Researchers experimentally demonstrate on-demand transfer of trapped photons on a photonic crystal chip for the first time.

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We improve design quality factors of slotted photonic crystal nanocavities embedded in electro-optic polymers (EOPs), which enables control of resonant wavelengths without the use of light-absorbing free carriers. We form nanocavities by modifying single- and double-slotted line-defect waveguides with lattice-constant modulations analytically determined based on dispersions of the waveguides. A double-slotted nanocavity achieves a fourfold increase in Q factor (36 million) compared to a single-slotted nanocavity with similar modulation of lattice constants. Both structures can realize large concentration of light in the EOP region (50%), and resonant wavelength modulations of ∼0.01% are expected with applied voltage of 2 V.

Photonic crystal (PC) nanocavities with ultra-high quality (Q) factors and small modal volumes enable advanced photon manipulations, such as photon trapping. In order to improve the Q factors of such nanocavities, we have recently proposed a cavity design method based on machine learning. Here, we experimentally compare nanocavities designed by using a deep neural network with those designed by the manual approach that enabled a record value. Thirty air-bridge-type two-dimensional PC nanocavities are fabricated on silicon-on-insulator substrates, and their photon lifetimes are measured. The realized median Q factor increases by about one million by adopting the machine-learning-based design approach.