Joseph A. Formaggio

We present the design, fabrication, and characterization of an aluminum-based six-channel microwave SQUID multiplexer ( μ MUX) prototype for transition-edge sensor readout in the Ricochet experiment. The device consists of aluminum coplanar-waveguide resonators and RF superconducting quantum interference devices with Dolan-style Al/AlO x /Al Josephson junctions. By measuring the resonator scattering parameters at a range of probe tone frequencies, powers, and flux bias points, we demonstrate agreement between the device response and existing multiplexer models. We also characterize the noise performance in both open-loop and flux-ramping modes. With a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) amplifier, open-loop measurements yield a flux sensitivity of 1–1.5 μ Φ 0 / Hz . With flux-ramp modulation, low-frequency 1 / f noise is suppressed, and the flux sensitivity is around 3–4 μ Φ 0 / Hz , corresponding to a current sensitivity of 24–33 pA / Hz at the input coil. We further demonstrate a reduction in readout noise by incorporating a Josephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier between the μ MUX and the HEMT. This achieves an open-loop flux sensitivity of 0.3–0.6 μ Φ 0 / Hz and an effective system noise temperature below 1K. These results establish aluminum μ MUX devices as a viable and extensible readout technology for low-noise cryogenic detector arrays.

Superconducting qubits are promising for quantum computing, but their performance is hindered by correlated errors from environmental factors like ionizing radiation and cryocooler vibrations. The authors distinguish these error types in the same device by their distinct features, and use accelerometers to directly link specific errors to pulse tube vibrations. This study also reveals that qubits engineered to resist radiation are protected against these vibration-induced errors as well. Identifying the sources of correlated errors will inform future mitigation strategies for building more robust quantum computers.

Cyclotron Radiation Emission Spectroscopy (CRES) is a novel technique for the precise measurement of relativistic electron energy. This technique is being employed by the Project 8 collaboration for measuring a high-precision tritium beta decay spectrum to perform a frequency-based measurement of the neutrino mass. In this work, we describe the Project 8 Phase II apparatus, used for the detection of the CRES signal from the conversion electrons of ^83m Kr and the first CRES measurement of the beta-decay spectrum of molecular tritium.

The experiment aims to measure the coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering process from antineutrinos emitted by a research nuclear reactor operated by the Institut Laue-Langevin (Grenoble, France). This article presents a description of the experimental installation and the detector performance achieved during its commissioning with a mini-CryoCube module consisting of three 42-g germanium cryogenic calorimeters. The baseline resolutions and background levels are reported both during reactor-on and reactor-off periods and as noise mitigation techniques were improved. A baseline resolution of 40 eV electron equivalent was achieved for the ionization channel after setup improvements, and the phonon channel resolutions ranged from 50 to 80 eV of total phonon energy. In the energy region from 2 to 7 keV, a nuclear recoil rate of 14 ( 3 ) events / ( kg day keV ) is measured during the reactor-off period selecting events in coincidence with muon veto signals. This rate is in agreement with the cosmogenic neutron rate calculated from GEANT4 simulations. After the rejection of events in coincidence with signals in the muon veto detectors, a combined 90% confidence level limit on the nuclear recoil background of < 9 events / ( kg day keV ) is obtained in that energy region during the reactor-on period, which is compatible with our GEANT4 model calculation corresponding to a total rate of 5 events / ( kg day keV ) . The sensitivity of this analysis was however found to be limited by a surface event contamination which is currently being addressed by the Collaboration with upgraded detectors.

Superradiance emerges from collective spontaneous emission in optically pumped gases, and is characterized by photon emission enhancements of up to 1 4 N 2 in an N atom system. The gain mechanism derives from correlations developed within the decay medium rather than from stimulated emission as in lasing, so an analog of this process should be possible for fermionic final states. We introduce here the concept of superradiant neutrino emission from a radioactive Bose Einstein condensate, which can form the basis for a superradiant neutrino laser. A plausible experimental realization based on a condensate of electron-capture isotope Rb 83 could exhibit effective radioactive decay rates accelerated from 86.2 days to minutes in viably sized rubidium condensates of 10 6 atoms.