Epsilon-near-zero plasmonic waveguides to achieve multi-qubit quantum entanglement

Multi-qubit entanglement is of paramount importance to perform truly secure quantum optical communication operations. In this work, we present efficient long-range entanglement mediated by plasmonic waveguides operating at their cut-off frequency, where they exhibit an effective epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) response. Only the excited ENZ mode at plasmonic waveguides has a strong and homogeneous electric field distribution compared to different modes excited at groove and rod waveguides, resulting in an efficient two- and multi-qubit entanglement that can persist over extended time periods and long distances. Efficient multipartite entanglement from three equidistantly arranged two-level quantum emitters (qubits) inside the ENZ waveguide is also demonstrated by using three different multi-qubit entanglement criterions, i.e., pairwise concurrence, negativity, and genuine multipartite entanglement. The findings of this work stress the importance of ENZ plasmonic waveguides as an ideal nanophotonic platform to support efficient quantum optical effects.