Papers

Continuous-variable quantum key distribution provides a theoretical unconditionally secure solution to distribute symmetric keys among users in a communication network. However, the practical devices used to implement these systems are intrinsically imperfect, and, as a result, open the door to eavesdropper attacks. In this work, we present a novel implementation of a coherent detector blinding attack, in which the eavesdropper hinders the capability of the receiver to properly estimate the channel parameters, hiding the impact of their collective attack. Our results show that excess noise in excess of 2.5 SNU can be reliably hidden by the eavesdropper, thus demonstrating the feasibility of the attack. We also discuss how our attack strategy can be further improved to allow for even stronger attacks (by using more advanced modulation formats), and propose some countermeasures to prevent it.

Quantum machines are among the most promising technologies expected to provide significant improvements in the following years. However, bridging the gap between real-world applications and their implementation on quantum hardware is still a complicated task. One of the main challenges is to represent through qubits (i.e., the basic units of quantum information) the problems of interest. According to the specific technology underlying the quantum machine, it is necessary to implement a proper representation strategy, generally referred to as embedding. This paper introduces a neural-enhanced optimization framework to solve the constrained unit disk problem, which arises in the context of qubits positioning for neutral atoms-based quantum hardware. The proposed approach involves a modified autoencoder model, i.e., the Distances Encoder Network, and a custom loss, i.e., the Embedding Loss Function, respectively, to compute Euclidean distances and model the optimization constraints. The core idea behind this design relies on the capability of neural networks to approximate non-linear transformations to make the Distances Encoder Network learn the spatial transformation that maps initial non-feasible solutions of the constrained unit disk problem into feasible ones. The proposed approach outperforms classical solvers, given fixed comparable computation times, and paves the way to address other optimization problems through a similar strategy.

Quantum tokens are underlying primitives for quantum money and network proposals, which leverage the no-cloning theorem to realize unforgeable authentication. A relevant but overlooked type of attack to such architectures is one in which a hacker steals the classical side information about the token states from the issuing agent (e.g., a bank), enabling the forgery of fake tokens without violating the no-cloning theorem. Our proposal addresses this threat by removing the classical side information about the token states, where instead a copy of the token is stored at the bank, i.e. a quantum vault. This copy can be accessed by anyone to perform authentication, consuming the token pair in the process. We benchmark the protocol and identify quality parameters within a hardware agnostic framework employing IBMQ processors, such that the protocol is applicable to arbitrary quantum platforms. By comparing the efficiency with which genuine tokens are produced and authenticated against a possible estimate-and-forge attack, we quantify the security of the protocol. We achieve probabilities lower than $10^{-4}$ for false-negative errors (Type 1) and $10^{-10}$ for successful attacks (Type 2) when considering quantum bills composed of 200 tokens, even in the worst performing processor and most conservative uncertainty estimate. The quantum vault not only protects both user and bank symmetrically with the same quantum principles, but provides a step towards public key authentication, since any untrusted party can have access granted by the bank to the tokens' authentication interface without being able to clone them. Besides this bank-mediated form of publicly accessible verifiability, our proposal achieves traceability and revocability, since the bank retains the vault copy of the tokens.

The concept of the dissipative quantum limit (DQL) was first put forward in 1980s and was analyzed in detail much later in Ref. [Phys. Rev. A 103, 043721 (2021)] for the particular case of stationary (invariant with respect to a shift of time) systems. Here we extend that analysis to the general non-stationary case.

Decomposing Pauli exponentials efficiently to quantum circuits has been the subject of intense research in recent years. Pauli exponentials are an essential component of many different quantum algorithms. Due to the error-prone nature of current and near term quantum devices, it is crucial that quantum circuits are as compact as possible. Several different types of algorithms have been developed to decompose Pauli exponentials into as short circuits as possible. We propose a novel algorithm for architecture-aware synthesis of Pauli exponentials that also determines the initial qubit placement on the device. We call this the Shortest Path in Pauli Forest algorithm. The results show an improved CNOT count and runtime for both random Pauli exponentials and molecular ansätze.

Among the limitations of current quantum machines, the qubits count represents one of the most critical challenges for porting reasonably large computational problems, such as those coming from real-world applications, to the scale of the quantum hardware. In this regard, one possibility is to decompose the problems at hand and exploit parallelism over multiple size-limited quantum resources. To this purpose, we designed a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, i.e., BBQ-mIS, to solve graph coloring problems on Rydberg atoms quantum machines. The BBQ-mIS algorithm combines the natural representation of Maximum Independent Set (MIS) problems onto the machine Hamiltonian with a Branch&Bound (BB) approach to identify a proper graph coloring. In the proposed solution, the graph representation emerges from qubit interactions (qubits represent vertexes of the graph), and the coloring is then retrieved by iteratively assigning one color to a maximal set of independent vertexes of the graph, still minimizing the number of colors with the Branch&Bound approach. We emulated real quantum hardware onto an IBM Power9-based cluster, with 32 cores/node and 256 GB/node, and exploited an MPI-enhanced library to implement the parallelism for the BBQ-mIS algorithm. Considering this use case, we also identify some technical requirements and challenges for an effective HPC-QC integration. The results show that our problem decomposition is effective in terms of graph coloring solutions quality, and provide a reference for applying this methodology to other quantum technologies or applications.

Device-independent certification of multipartite entangled states plays a central role in a wide range of practical applications, including quantum networks, conference key agreement, and verifiable distributed quantum computation. A particularly important class of multipartite entangled states is the class of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states. Many Bell operators have been proposed to self-test GHZ states. However, in practical scenarios, due to imperfections and the finite collection of statistics, the observed statistics do not satisfy the ideal self-testing relations. Hence, it becomes essential to investigate and compare the robustness of the different self-testing protocols. In this work, we investigate the robustness of self-testing schemes constructed from Bell operators due to Svetlichny and Mermin–Ardehali–Belinskii–Klyshko (MABK), using the analytic operator-inequality framework developed by Kaniewski [\href{https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.070402}{Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 070402 (2016)}]. We derive lower bounds on the extractable fidelity as a function of the observed value of these Bell operators. Although these protocols self-test the same underlying state, they exhibit markedly different levels of robustness. By comparing the resulting fidelity bounds, we demonstrate that the self-testing scheme based on the Svetlichny's Bell operator is the more robust among the two. Our results thus identify the Svetlichny operator based self-testing protocol as the most favorable candidate for device-independent certification of GHZ states in realistic, noisy experimental scenarios.

Accurate characterization of measurement backaction is crucial for understanding the limits of reusing quantum correlations in sequential scenarios. Here, we develop a unified quantum-instrument framework that goes beyond simple measurement statistics, explicitly attributing correlation sharing to Kraus-structure-dependent backaction. By tracing operational differences to this underlying physical mechanism, our framework integrates previously disparate strategies. Within this formulation, we derive general conditions for unbounded unilateral nonlocality sharing across arbitrarily many observers. The framework further reveals that Bell nonlocality remains shareable in bilateral sequential scenarios. These results establish quantum instruments, rather than POVMs alone, as the fundamental constraints on correlation sharing, providing a unified conceptual framework for quantum resource recycling.

We present our work on effectively representing unit-disk graphs on the registers of neutral atom quantum machines. Specifically, we aimed to embed graphs corresponding to proteins and cellular antenna networks into unit-disk graphs, ensuring compatibility with the registers of two real QPUs: Orion Alpha by PASQAL and Aquila by QuEra. To address machine-specific constraints, we made adjustments and integrated Distance Encoder Networks (DEN) from our previous work. Despite these challenges, we successfully embedded up to 76% of protein-representing graphs for a quantum machine learning classification task on the Aquila QPU, and all subgraphs derived from 90 antenna geographical positions in Turin, Italy, on the Orion Alpha QPU. In the latter case, the graphs represented instances of the graph coloring problem, which we tackled using the hybrid quantum-classical algorithm BBQ-mIS. These promising results underscore the effectiveness and versatility of our embedding approach for representing unit-disk graphs on neutral atom quantum computers across diverse applications.

We present a theoretical framework for universal single-qutrit control in asymmetric-top molecules, advancing molecular quantum information processing. In this approach, the qutrit is encoded in three rotational eigenstates, with an auxiliary state providing independent phase control within the computational manifold. We explore an analytic protocol for arbitrary single-qutrit gates, combining directly addressable SU(2) rotations with auxiliary-state-mediated phase operations. To support this, we derive a multilevel pulse-area theorem that provides an explicit analytic mapping between gate parameters and control fields, enabling systematic design of high-fidelity microwave pulse sequences. Numerical simulations with 1,2-propanediol confirm the robustness of our approach, achieving Walsh-Hadamard gates with minimal leakage from the computational subspace. We further examine four SU(2) decomposition strategies and find that phase-error sensitivity depends on the decomposition sequence, while amplitude errors propagate along specific coherence pathways. Our results establish asymmetric-top molecules as a viable platform for qutrit-based quantum operations and offer an analytical method for precise quantum control of complex multilevel systems.

Distribution network reconfiguration (DNR) can minimise power losses by identifying the optimal topology of the electricity grid. Determining the minimum loss configuration is NP-hard, and classical optimisation methods struggle to scale to real-world distribution grids. This paper explores the use of gate-based quantum computing to solve DNR for power loss reduction. We formulate DNR as a higher-order unconstrained binary optimisation (HUBO) problem, avoiding the need for auxiliary variables, thereby reducing the required number of qubits. This is applied to a real medium voltage (MV) network operated by Alliander, a Dutch distribution system operator (DSO). For each biconnected component in the network graph, we construct the corresponding HUBO, derive the cost and mixer operators, and determine the number of required logical qubits and rotation gates. These are then mapped to physical qubits and execution time estimates using quantum resource estimation (QRE). The results suggest that the quantum resource requirements depend not only on component size but also on structural characteristics such as connectivity and cyclicity. Overall, the novelty of this work lies in directly framing the optimisation problem as a HUBO, applying it to real-world MV networks, and performing a QRE to assess future feasibility.

Complex control protocols and sensitivity to experimental imperfections have limited the practical implementation of quantum gate operations. Here, we present an analytical framework for universal single-qubit gates using rotational states of ultracold NaCs molecules. By encoding qubits in the lowest rotational energy levels, we employ a first-order Magnus expansion to derive closed-form unitary evolution from an optimized two-pulse sequence. This approach establishes precise amplitude and phase conditions for arbitrary single-qubit rotations, achieving gate fidelities above 0.9999 in numerical simulations. We further demonstrate that complex multi-gate sequences, including phase-locked operations, can be executed with minimal population leakage into auxiliary states. The time-dependent molecular orientation is shown to faithfully encode both the gate truth table and coherence dynamics, enabling practical gate tomography via weak-field polarization detection. Our analytical method is also applicable to other molecules and physical platforms, offering a potential path to high-fidelity, scalable molecular quantum processors.

While parameterized quantum computations have shown success in standard reinforcement learning (RL), whether these advantages adapt to hierarchical RL (HRL) remains a critical open question. This work demonstrates that variational quantum circuits (VQCs) can effectively enhance HRL agents based on the option-critic architecture. Evaluated in standard environments, a hybrid HRL agent with a quantum feature extractor outperforms classical baselines while using fewer parameters. We also identify an architectural bottleneck: using VQCs for option-value estimation severely degrades learning. Further ablations reveal how quantum circuit design affects performance. Our work establishes design principles for parameter-efficient hybrid HRL agents.

We treat the convergence of Carleman linearization of nonlinear evolutionary equations through the approximation theory of strongly continuous semigroups, by Carleman embedding the underlying nonlinear semigroups as linear semigroups. Linear semigroup theory then lets one replace the norm constraint on the convergence of Carleman linearization in the form used by quantum algorithms for a class of semi-discretized evolution equations by a dissipativity constraint, simplifying arguments for convergence. Applying Trotter-Kato approximation theorem to the linearized semigroup realizes the semigroup as a limit finite dimensional operator exponentials, reducing the question of convergence rate of Carleman linearization to that of the Trotter-Kato approximation. We then examine convergence of the Carleman linearization as the operators become unbounded, treating the hyperviscuous Burger's equation as an example. Next we consider the perturbation theory of the Carleman semigroup and obtain conditions when polynomial nonlinearities correspond to the Carleman linearized semigroup being a $1$-integrated semigroup, so convergence is implied by variants of Trotter-Kato approximation for integrated semigroups.

We investigate a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric Klein–Gordon (KG) oscillator in a $(3+1)$-dimensional Lorentz-violating (LV) traversable wormhole spacetime. The geometry is characterized by a smooth throat of radius $a$ and a constant lapse function, $\mathcal{A}(x)=1$, so that no Killing horizons occur and the two asymptotic regions at \(x\to \pm\infty\) remain connected through the throat. The Lorentz violation modifies the radial geometry and the oscillator scale according to $\widetilde{\Omega}=\Omega/\sqrt{1-\zeta}$. A nonminimal non-Hermitian coupling, $\mathcal{F}_t(x)=i\widetilde{\Omega}x$, leads to a $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric KG oscillator with a regular effective potential at the throat and a quadratic confinement at large $|x|$. The radial equation can be mapped to the confluent Heun equation, and polynomial truncation gives a conditionally exactly solvable sector in which the oscillator frequency, throat radius, LV parameter, angular momentum, and radial quantum number satisfy algebraic constraints. For the degree-1 sector, these conditions restrict the allowed angular momenta and correlate them with the LV parameter. The resulting bound-state energies are real and discrete, with exact particle–antiparticle symmetry, $E^{-}=-E^{+}$, while the corresponding wave functions are regular and localized on the two-sided wormhole geometry. These results show how Lorentz violation and the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric coupling modify the relativistic bound-state spectrum through the geometry of the wormhole.

We derive a finite-frequency fluctuation-response inequality for Markovian open quantum systems in an input-output setting. For any downstream measurement of the emitted field, the measured lock-in response-to-noise matrix is bounded by the output-field quantum Fisher information rate. For dissipative amplitude modulation with vacuum inputs, this information rate is further bounded by a frequency-independent signal-channel activity, which reduces for kinetic modulation to the stationary channel fluxes. The result is detector-facing but unraveling-independent: it applies after choosing a measurement record, while the information ceiling is set by the quantum field before any detection scheme or trajectory representation is selected. We formulate the bound for multiple signal channels and real finite-frequency quadratures, and illustrate it with a single-sided cavity, resonance fluorescence, and a truncated Kerr-parametric cat resonator.

For the last decade, layered stacks have dominated the way of reasoning about architectures for quantum networks. However, layered architectures impose stringent design and timing constraints on quantum networks, adding additional latency to the time required to serve an entanglement generation request. Moreover, increasing delays from the layered approach to network control causes degradation of state, effectively minimizing achievable fidelities. In this work we simulate a resource-centric, task-based approach to quantum network control by utilizing a centralized controller. Using the SeQUeNCe quantum network simulator, we implement the centralized controller which tracks quantum memory availability across all nodes, and schedules objectives in an offline fashion using a priority-based scheduler. We evaluate the performance of this controller on multiple topologies (bottleneck, grid, star, caveman) of significant scale, with varying reservation patterns; thereby we demonstrate the viability of the resource-centric task-based quantum network control framework for scaling. Our simulation results show that the caveman and grid topologies have a higher fraction of delivered requests with low delay compared to the star topology, but with a higher fraction of highly delayed requests as well. Furthermore, we find a linear shift of the CDFs in terms of queue size for all topologies depending on the reservation delay. More interestingly, we conclude that the CDFs of priority queues for the star topology converge fast into saturation for increasing request arrival rates, demonstrating together with the other results that the framework is robust for high load scenarios in quantum networks.

Time boundaries (TBs), temporal analogues of spatial interfaces, offer a powerful handle to engineer quantum systems. However, unlike the well-developed stationary scattering theory at spatial interfaces, a unified framework for quantum scattering at TBs has been missing. Here we develop a Bloch-wave scattering theory for TBs by introducing a temporal scattering matrix $S$ between incoming and outgoing Bloch channels. We uncover topological resonant transmissions (RTs) – poles of $S$ that yield perfect interband transmission and dynamical freezing of the quantum state. We establish a bulk-time-boundary correspondence for all integer Altland-Zirnbauer classes: the number of RTs equals the jump of the bulk topological invariant across the TB. In one dimension this gives a time-domain Levinson's theorem. A topological analysis further reveals a striking dimensional dependence. In even dimensions RTs are robust to temporal modulations and disorder, whereas in odd dimensions they can be destroyed by dynamical symmetry breaking. Our work places temporal and spatial scattering on the same footing and opens new avenues for engineering and probing quantum dynamics.

In this work, we examine the problem of stationary superposition in the Bohmian amplitude phase formulation, where amplitude and phase obey coupled nonlinear equations and direct linear superposition is not generally preserved. Considering two near degenerate stationary branches, we derive a hierarchical reduction in which the mean amplitude satisfies an Ermakov Pinney equation, while the difference amplitude evolves through a forced Mathieu Hill type modulation induced by energy and stationary current differences. It is shown that energy coherence alone does not uniquely determine phase coherence, since independent stationary currents continue to enter both the modulation and phase difference equations. For weak amplitude modulation, a Wronskian based stationary branch obtained from an Ermakov Pinney solution admits a controlled amplitude phase construction, leading to an algebraic phase representation and a Jacobi Anger spectral expansion. As a result, a linear spectral structure emerges through Bessel weighted amplitude and phase modulation. Such a representation is naturally suited for modelling aperture geometries, as illustrated by rectangular and parabolic slit reductions exhibiting Fresnel type phase chirp and modulation driven sidebands. The present construction therefore provides an analytical route by which linear spectral superposition reemerges from nonlinear Bohmian amplitude phase dynamics. Keywords Bohmian mechanics; stationary superposition; amplitude and phase modulation; nonlinear superposition; Mathieu Hill equation; Fourier Bessel expansion.

Tracking the coupled motion of electrons and nuclei on their intrinsic timescales is essential to understanding and controlling photochemical transformations. While attosecond techniques have provided unprecedented insight into electronic dynamics, they have largely been restricted to ionic systems, with nuclear motion often neglected or indirectly inferred. Here, we demonstrate a “molecular attoscope", which uses shaped laser pulses in the deep ultraviolet to perform a coherent measurement of electronic and nuclear dynamics in an entangled wave packet in neutral benzene. This enables us to trace both the 856-attosecond-period electronic motion and the 36-femtosecond-period nuclear motion. We observe electronic coherence persisting over hundreds of optical cycles, modulated by nuclear dynamics. Our holographic approach is general, and lays the groundwork for coherent measurements capable of visualizing the evolution of the coupled electronic-nuclear wave function in real time.

It is well known that the repeater node is an essential ingredient for the future global quantum network, which will enable high-rate private communication and entanglement distribution over very long distances. The near-term repeater architecture uses the measurement-based node that operate without both entanglement and quantum memory, which is the main idea of the measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution (MDI-QKD) protocol. The MDI-QKD protocol removes the trust condition from the inter repeaters, while its continuous variable (CV) version, when proposed, benefited from its deterministic nature, compatible with the classical devices, and shows a high rate for the short-range local area network (LAN). Whilst the theoretical backbone of CV-MDI-QKD protocol is well established, its secure transmission range is yet limited for practical LAN. In this study, we propose an enhanced scheme for the asymmetric CV-MDI-QKD protocol by using Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) oscillators-to-oscillators codes, where both loss error and operation error are suppressed to below the break-even point, without any delays caused by classical heralding signals. In particular, the proposed scheme, which correlates the noises of the data and ancilla via a pair of symplectic transforms, extracts the error syndromes from stabilizer measurements on the ancilla mode and informs the data mode for a corrective displacement. Numerical analysis shows the composable finite-size security of the protocol under the collective Gaussian attack, encompassing noiseless and noisy GKP states, with both wired (i.e., fiber-based) and wireless (i.e., free-space) configurations. In addition, we demonstrate that the residual errors of the GKP code can be further reduced by the concatenation method but has a trade-off between the layers number and the finite GKP squeezing.

We apply the complex scaling method to black-hole perturbations in four-dimensional Schwarzschild–de~Sitter (dS) spacetimes. The method converts the outgoing-wave boundary-value problem into a non-Hermitian spectral problem and enables quasinormal-mode poles and the rotated continuum to be treated in a common framework. We focus in particular on the continuum level density, which characterizes the continuum response beyond isolated quasinormal-mode frequencies. Using Regge–Wheeler-type perturbation equations for scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational fields, we investigate how a nonzero cosmological constant modifies the pole and continuum sectors. We also discuss a possible extension to string-inspired coupled-channel systems, and illustrate that higher-dimensional dS black holes can be treated within the same framework, at least in tensor- and vector-type sectors. Our results indicate that complex scaling offers a useful spectral framework for analyzing both quasinormal modes and continuum response in black-hole physics.

We develop a general perturbation theory for the local quantum uncertainty (LQU), a discord-type quantifier of nonclassicality based on the Wigner-Yanase skew information. Starting from a perturbed density matrix $\rho = \rho_0 + \epsilon\rho_1$,we derive an explicit first-order expansion of $\rho^{1/2}$ using an integral representation based on the gamma function, and reduce the LQU optimization to the diagonalization of a $(d_1^2-1) \times (d_1^2-1)$ matrix $w = w^0 + w^1$ defined in terms of the $\mathrm{SU}(d_1)$ generators. The framework is valid for composite systems of arbitrary dimension $d_1 \times d_2$ and provides a direct computational route to the LQU from the spectral decomposition of the unperturbed state. We further specialize the theory to the quantum linear response regime, where the perturbation is generated by a time-dependent external field, and $w^1$ acquires explicit dependence on the driving frequency $\omega$, the eigenstates and occupation probabilities of the equilibrium Hamiltonian $H_0$, and the matrix elements of the coupling operator $\hat{A}$. As an illustration, we apply the formalism to the isotropic Heisenberg model of two coupled spins driven by a local periodic magnetic field, obtaining closed-form expressions for the LQU as a function of temperature $T$ and frequency $\omega$. Comparison with the concurrence shows that above the entanglement critical temperature $T_c$, the external field induces a resonantly enhanced quantum discord without generating entanglement, demonstrating that frequency acts as a tunable modulator of nonclassicality – an effect of purely quantum-discord type inaccessible to entanglement-based quantifiers.

Understanding heat transport in low-dimensional and nano-architectured materials remains a central challenge in nonequilibrium statistical physics due to persistent deviations from Fourier's law. These deviations are driven by anharmonicity, reduced dimensionality, and the emergence of long-lived coherent excitations. In this work, we develop a unified theoretical framework for two-dimensional thermal metamaterials that combines nonlinear lattice dynamics, soliton-based effective field theories, and geometrically organized defect networks as guiding structures for energy flow. We introduce minimal discrete and continuum-inspired models suitable for controlled benchmarking of thermal transport in patterned two-dimensional architectures and identify a two-channel transport mechanism in which coherent nonlinear excitations coexist with incoherent hydrodynamic modes. The interplay between these channels is shown to be highly sensitive to geometry, nonlinearity, and temperature, offering new avenues for thermal management. We establish rigorous connections between microscopic nonlinearity, geometry-driven channeling of heat in two dimensions, and quantum-enabled exploration of both high-occupation classical regimes and genuinely quantum regimes beyond the reach of standard simulation strategies. The theoretical predictions are corroborated by recent experimental and computational results in Stone-Wales-defected PdSSe monolayers and silicon phononic crystal nanostructures, which exhibit ultra-low thermal conductivity coexisting with high carrier mobility and strong anisotropy – direct manifestations of the two-channel mechanism. This synthesis provides actionable guidance for the design of engineered heat-spreading architectures and positions quantum simulation as a transformative tool for advancing the theory of nonlinear heat transport.

Magic-square constraints define Diophantine systems whose solutions, in several natural families, exhibit rigid periodic structure. We study this structure in an oracle setting, where a marked set of integers is given by black-box access and the goal is to decide whether it encodes a magic square. For $3\times 3$ magic squares and weighted variants, we prove explicit periodic characterizations that reduce detection to period finding. For larger orders, we identify a class of solutions built from repeated arithmetic patterns, which can be detected via the quantum Fourier transform. We then introduce a shifted-oracle method, based on interference between an oracle and its translates, that helps reconstruct solutions in structured cases. Together, these ingredients give a quantum framework for detecting and reconstructing certain magic-square solutions under suitable assumptions. We also derive finite bounds that make some instances exhaustively solvable and obtain Shor-based criteria for certifying non-existence in restricted number-theoretic settings. As an application, we sketch a quantum communication protocol based on an oracle encoding of a large magic-square solution.

The reliable quantification of nonclassicality in quantum states under realistic decoherence remains a central challenge in advancing quantum technologies. Conventional quantifiers such as Wigner negativity, Mandel's $Q$-parameter, nonclassical depth, etc., are often experimentally intractable, non-unique, or insensitive to key quantum signatures. We demonstrate that tomogram-based measures, the homodyne nonclassical area and sum tomographic entropy, offer a robust, experimentally accessible alternative for quantifying nonclassicality dynamics, as they can be directly obtained from optical tomograms via balanced homodyne detection, avoiding density matrix reconstruction and ensuring feasibility. We study coherent, photon-added coherent, and even coherent states evolving in Kerr and cubic nonlinear systems, with environmental effects modelled using the Lindblad master equation under amplitude and phase damping. The homodyne nonclassical area, which quantifies the excess quadrature variance beyond that of a coherent state, tracks both the onset and decay of nonclassicality, clearly identifying fractional revivals, wave packet splitting, and macroscopic superpositions. We find that amplitude damping drives a rapid monotonic decay toward the vacuum, while phase damping allows partial revival features to survive longer. Complementing this, the sum tomographic entropy derived from conjugate-quadrature tomograms captures higher-order fractional revivals and phase-space interference through persistent entropy minima under weak damping. Our results establish homodyne-based quantifiers as powerful, real-time, and experimentally viable tools for tracking nonclassical dynamics in nonlinear optical media, offering a compelling alternative to conventional, experimentally challenging measures.

Quantum low-density parity-check (QLDPC) codes provide non vanishing rates, distance scaling with the blocklength of the code, and facilitate fast iterative decoding because of their sparsity. However, in practice iterative decoding fails to exploit the distance of the code, because it cannot resolve the symmetries imposed by degeneracy. In this work, we provide a graph theoretic characterization of degeneracy for the family of generalized bicycle (GB) codes. This viewpoint shows that harmful degenerate error patterns persist whenever they remain related by automorphisms preserved by the decoder. Motivated by symmetry breaking via graph coloring, we compare three coloring approaches: no coloring, block-coloring, and edge-coloring. For GB codes, we show that edge-coloring can eliminate all automorphisms in low-weight stabilizer-induced subgraphs. We practically realize the coloring schemes as isotropic, block- anisotropic and edge-anisotropic min-sum (MS) decoding. Experimental results show that edge anisotropic min-sum decoding obtains improved performance over isotropic and block anisotropic decoding for several GB codes in a small number of iterations.

We define non-Markovian quantum dynamics as evolution in which the current state depends on all past states, and completely characterize its structure under the assumptions of complete positivity and non-signalling. The resulting continuous-time dynamics is an integro-differential equation that augments the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad equation with a memory integral, and is capable of describing the quantum state of systems exposed to noise with any integrable power spectral density with no further approximations. We then establish a formalism to evaluate multi-time correlations of measurement outcomes in this general setting, obviating the need for a regression theorem. As an application, we derive the emission spectrum of a driven two-level system coupled to a non-Markovian bath: the familiar Mollow triplet acquires a frequency-dependent linewidth that encodes the memory of the bath. Our work provides a rigorous yet transparent description of the quantum state of non-Markovian systems, opening the door for state estimation and state-based quantum control beyond the Markovian regime.

We present a numerical framework for the certification and systematic analysis of the relationship between Bell nonlocality and quantum discord. By determining the minimum discord required for a bipartite state to manifest a specific Bell violation, we establish lower bounds for these correlations. We evaluate this methodology across six distinct Bell expressions, comparing their performance through the minimal discord values observed under varying intensities of white noise. Analysis of the resulting optimization landscape suggests the existence of two characteristic classes of optimized states, categorized by their minimized quantum discord.

Parasitic two-level-system (TLS) defects limit the stability and performance of solid-state quantum processors. Their interaction with a qubit can cause discrete, stochastic shifts of the qubit frequency, making the qubit bistable. We experimentally demonstrate an adaptive protocol for operating a bistable qubit with high fidelity using a classical controller powered by a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Our "1-bit feedback" protocol estimates the qubit's bistable frequency from only one single-shot measurement, reaching the information limit set by the qubit's intrinsic entropy. We validate the protocol in a superconducting qubit by suppressing TLS-induced Ramsey beating, and deploy it to stabilize gate fidelities over time with approximately 136 kHz estimation bandwidth and a 77% error reduction. Our approach provides a simple, yet fundamentally efficient strategy for mitigating dephasing errors induced by strongly coupled TLS defects, and may enable the operation of large future qubit arrays suffering from few remaining, discrete instabilities.