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Passive Quantum State Transfer in a Dispersion-Engineered Waveguide

Zeyu Kuang*,†, Oliver Diekmann*, Lorenz Fischer, Stefan Rotter, and Carlos Gonzalez-Ballestero‡

  • Institute for Theoretical Physics, TU Wien, Vienna A-1040, Austria

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: zeyu.kuang@tuwien.ac.at
  • ‡Contact author: carlos.gonzalez-ballestero@tuwien.ac.at
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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 103605 – Published 4 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/m2md-rxkv

Abstract

High-fidelity state transfer between two qubits is fundamentally limited by time-reversal symmetry: one qubit emits a photon with a certain temporal pulse shape, whereas a second qubit requires the time-reversed pulse shape to efficiently absorb this photon. This limitation is often overcome by introducing active elements. Here, we propose an alternative solution: by tailoring the dispersion relation of a waveguide, the photon pulse emitted by one qubit is passively reshaped into its time-reversed counterpart, thus enabling perfect absorption. We analytically derive the optimal dispersion relations in the limit of small and large qubit-qubit separations and numerically extend our results to arbitrary separations via multiparameter optimization. We further propose a spatially inhomogeneous waveguide that renders the state transfer robust to variations in qubit separations. In all cases, we obtain near-unity transfer fidelity (≥98%) that is robust against imperfections in parameter values and propagation loss. Our dispersion-engineered waveguide provides a compact and passive route toward on-chip quantum networks, highlighting dispersion as a powerful resource in waveguide quantum electrodynamics.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 103605– Published 4 September, 2026
  • Received 23 December 2025
  • Revised 27 April 2026
  • Accepted 30 July 2026
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