Fast high-fidelity information transmission through spin-chain quantum wires

Spin chains have been proposed as quantum wires for information transfer in solid-state quantum architectures. We show that huge gains in both transfer speed and fidelity are possible using a minimalist control approach that relies only on a single local on-off switch actuator. Effective switching time sequences can be determined using optimization techniques for both ideal and disordered chains. Simulations suggest that effective optimization is possible even in the absence of knowledge of the Hamiltonian or accurate models.