Direct characterization of quantum dynamics with single-photon two-qubit states

Direct characterization of quantum dynamics (DCQD) introduced by Mohseni and Lidar [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 170501 (2006)] offers an effective way for estimation of quantum dynamical systems. Employing single-photon two-qubit states, we experimentally implement DCQD of one-qubit dynamics. The requirement of two-body interactions is thus eliminated such that the algorithm can be realized more conveniently. Both DCQD and standard quantum process tomography (SQPT) measurements are performed for several processes. The data from both methods show good agreement. Although the average process fidelities of the data obtained via DCQD are a little lower than that of SQPT, the number of experimental configurations is quadratically reduced evidencing the quadratic advantage of DCQD scheme. Partial information of the quantum dynamics can also be directly extracted via DCQD with fewer measurements.