Quantum Non-Gaussian State Preparation of Levitated Particles via Time-Dependent Control of Weakly Nonharmonic Hybrid Potentials
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Quantum Physics arXiv:2606.10042 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 8 Jun 2026] Title:Quantum Non-Gaussian State Preparation of Levitated Particles via Time-Dependent Control of Weakly Nonharmonic Hybrid Potentials Authors:Piotr T. Grochowski, Oriol Romero-Isart View a PDF of the paper titled Quantum Non-Gaussian State Preparation of Levitated Particles via Time-Dependent Control of Weakly Nonharmonic Hybrid Potentials, by Piotr T. Grochowski and 1 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Levitated high-mass quantum systems provide access to unprecedented regimes in both fundamental science and technological applications. However, deterministic generation and manipulation of quantum non-Gaussian states, which are central to many continuous-variable quantum advantages, remain elusive in such platforms. In this work, we propose a theoretical protocol for preparing a continuous-variable degree of freedom of a levitated massive object in a variety of quantum states, including Fock and Schrödinger cat states, without coupling to auxiliary two-level systems. Our approach enhances otherwise weak nonharmonic effects by transient wave-function delocalization and combines this with optimal control of the potential. Specifically, time-dependent modulation of the linear component of the potential, in the presence of a static cubic nonharmonicity, provides a route to universal control of the mode. We analyze quantum state preparation under such control and estimate the required nonharmonicity, motional delocalization, and maximum tolerable decoherence for generating target non-Gaussian states. The proposed optimal-control scheme can also be readily extended beyond single-particle state preparation, for example, to unitary transformations and nonlinear measurements. As a concrete example, we demonstrate mechanical Bell-state preparation for two interacting particles using only local modulation of weakly nonharmonic potentials, while the interparticle interaction remains effectively linear. We emphasize that the protocols presented here apply to different mechanical degrees of freedom, such as center-of-mass motion and libration, and can also be implemented in other weakly nonharmonic systems with a leading cubic nonharmonicity. Comments: Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2606.10042 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2606.10042v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.10042 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Piotr Tadeusz Grochowski [view email] [v1] Mon, 8 Jun 2026 18:14:51 UTC (5,502 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Quantum Non-Gaussian State Preparation of Levitated Particles via Time-Dependent Control of Weakly Nonharmonic Hybrid Potentials, by Piotr T. Grochowski and 1 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-06 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)