{"id":"doi:10.5281/zenodo.18067974","kind":"article","title":"Engineering Non-Linear Decay Dynamics: Pulse-Level Control and Software-Defined Qubit Rescue on Superconducting Processors","authors":["K S, Unnikuttan"],"author_count":1,"year":2025,"published":"2025-12-27","venue":"Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)","cited_by":736,"doi":"10.5281/zenodo.18067974","arxiv_id":null,"nct_id":null,"source_url":"https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18067974","archive_url":"https://space-kitty.com/papers/doi:10.5281/zenodo.18067974","updated":null,"pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"W4225259930","pdf_url":null,"abstract":"The scalability of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices is currently constrained by material defects, specifically Two-Level Systems (TLS) that induce resonant decoherence in superconducting qubits. This study presents a comprehensive experimental analysis using the IBM Quantum ibm_fez processor to demonstrate \"Software-Defined Hardware\" optimization. By employing a novel \"Instruction-Level Calibration Injection\" technique, we bypass standard compiler constraints to inject continuous off-resonant AC Stark drives ($N_{shots} = 4096$). Methodology The experiment utilizes a Floquet engineering approach to perform pulse-level Hamiltonian engineering. We implement custom instruction-level calibrations to apply continuous off-resonant AC Stark drives, effectively modifying the qubit frequency to avoid resonant interactions with defect states. Key Findings The application of this protocol yielded three primary results: Spectral Decoupling: Successfully restored Ramsey fringes in a defect-limited qubit (Q150), achieving a coherence time of $T_2^* \\approx 6.36 \\: \\mu\\text{s}$. Protocol Benchmarking: The \"Stark Rescue\" protocol demonstrated a statistical advantage over standard CPMG dynamical decoupling. It extended coherence time by 11.3% ($T_2^{Stark} = 8.17 \\: \\mu\\text{s}$ vs. $T_2^{CPMG} = 7.34 \\: \\mu\\text{s}$; $p = 0.042$, Bootstrap t-test). Topological Simulation: Digital simulation of a topological domain wall under engineered correlated noise revealed a sigmoidal stability threshold ($SSE \\approx 0.0008$), significantly outperforming standard exponential models ($SSE \\approx 0.0085$). Conclusion These results confirm that pulse-level Hamiltonian engineering can effectively reclaim compromised hardware resources on current NISQ platforms. Keywords NISQ, Superconducting Qubits, Two-Level Systems (TLS), Floquet Engineering, AC Stark Effect, IBM Quantum, Dynamical Decoupling, Quantum Control.","abstract_license":"CC-BY (publisher license, via OpenAlex)","license":"cc-by","is_open_access":true,"retracted":false,"peer_reviewed":null,"categories":["Quantum Information and Cryptography"],"details":null,"provenance":"openalex","attribution":"Abstract of \"Engineering Non-Linear Decay Dynamics: Pulse-Level Control and Software-Defined Qubit Rescue on Superconducting Processors\" by K S, Unnikuttan, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18067974, used under its Creative Commons Attribution license (CC-BY); markup removed, otherwise unmodified.","topics":[{"slug":"superconducting-qubits","name":"Superconducting Quantum Processors","domain_slug":"quantum-computing"}],"cited_in_dossiers":[]}