Deterministic linear-optical computing with symmetry-based qubits

Abstract

A particular type of linear optical multiport, the Grover four-port, has previously been shown to couple the spatial symmetry of a photon to its direction of travel. It is shown here that use of a nonstandard choice of qubit, based on symmetry, allows Grover four ports to act as compact, low-resource deterministic linear optical controlledNOTgates, with no post-selection or ancilla measurements required. This approach allows programmable devices, made from Grover multiports in combination with other standard optical components, that can implement multiple different one-, two-, and three-qubit gates, including the Fredkin and Toffoli gates.