Superconducting circuits host two-level systems with lifetimes exceeding one second

Abstract:Understanding the microscopic environment of superconducting qubits is a central challenge for quantum technologies. Parasitic two-level systems (TLSs) of various microscopic origins are ubiquitous and limit qubit performance through decoherence, frequency drifts, and leakage. Recently, long-lived TLSs with lifetimes exceeding those of state-of-the-art qubits have been shown to induce correlated qubit dynamics, with direct implications for quantum error correction. Here, we perform wide-band quantum-jump correlation spectroscopy on flux-tunable transmon qubits and identify microscopic degrees of freedom that outlive the qubit by orders of magnitude. Pump-probe measurements at varying detunings from these objects reveal intrinsic lifetimes exceeding one second. Their weak coupling to the qubit, in the kilohertz range, is consistent with positional defects described by the standard tunneling model, without excluding other microscopic origins such as magnetic spin impurities or trapped quasiparticles. More broadly, these results establish superconducting qubits as a sensitive probe of exceptionally long-lived microscopic degrees of freedom and open a route toward their controlled access and functionalization.

arXiv:2610.21853 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2610.21853v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.21853 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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