Quantum Gates Between Distant Qubits via Spin-Independent Scattering

We show how the spin independent scattering of two initially distant qubits, say, in distinct traps or in remote sites of a lattice, can be used to implement an entangling quantum gate between them. The scattering takes place under 1D confinement for which we consider two different scenarios: a 1D wave-guide and a tight-binding lattice. We consider models with contact-like interaction between two fermionic or two bosonic particles. A qubit is encoded in two distinct spins (or other internal) states of each particle. Our scheme enables the implementation of a gate between two qubits which are initially too far to interact directly, and provides an alternative to photonic mediators for the scaling of quantum computers. Fundamentally, an interesting feature is that "identical particles" (e.g., two atoms of the same species) and the 1D confinement, are both necessary for the action of the gate. Finally, we discuss the feasibility of our scheme, the degree of control required to initialize the wave-packets momenta, and show how the quality of the gate is affected by momentum distributions and initial distance. In a lattice, the control of quasi-momenta is naturally provided by few local edge impurities in the lattice potential