Abstract Vibration responses from nonlinear mechanical systems exhibit rich dynamical structure that can be utilized for information encoding and processing. We demonstrate that such structures can be used to encode and manipulate information in a manner analogous to multi-qubit systems. Using a coupled mass and conical spring oscillator, we reveal that distinct harmonic segments of the nonlinear response can be projected onto modal eigenstates to form two-level elastic bit subsystems, which are analogous to qubits. These bits arise from measurable amplitudes and phase relationships across the Fourier spectrum and evolve deterministically under steady-state excitation. By combining multiple spectral segments within a single oscillator, we achieve two-bit and three-bit states that occupy four- and eight-dimensional Hilbert spaces, respectively. The time dependence of the complex modal coefficients yields intrinsic transformations that act as phase and rotation type gates. The temporal evolution of the complex modal coefficients results in phase accumulation and a rotation-like evolution within this state space. To characterize how the system moves between experimentally observed logical states at different times, we derive a Householder reflection that yields the exact Hermitian and unitary operator connecting these states. This unitary transformation is subsequently decomposed into sequences of analogous quantum gates, providing a representation of the observed modal evolution in terms of familiar multi-qubit logic primitives. This spectral encoding approach enables scalable state construction within a single mechanical platform, establishing a pathway toward room-temperature mechanical computation based on deterministic nonlinear dynamics.
Mahmood et al. (2026) studied this question.