19 research outputs found
Minimal-memory, noncatastrophic, polynomial-depth quantum convolutional encoders
Quantum convolutional coding is a technique for encoding a stream of quantum information before transmitting it over a noisy quantum channel. Two important goals in the design of quantum convolutional encoders are to minimize the memory required by them and to avoid the catastrophic propagation of errors. In a previous paper, we determined minimal-memory, noncatastrophic, polynomial-depth encoders for a few exemplary quantum convolutional codes. In this paper, we elucidate a general technique for finding an encoder of an arbitrary quantum convolutional code such that the encoder possesses these desirable properties. We also provide an elementary proof that these encoders are nonrecursive. Finally, we apply our technique to many quantum convolutional codes from the literature. © 1963-2012 IEEE
Examples of minimal-memory, non-catastrophic quantum convolutional encoders
One of the most important open questions in the theory of quantum
convolutional coding is to determine a minimal-memory, non-catastrophic,
polynomial-depth convolutional encoder for an arbitrary quantum convolutional
code. Here, we present a technique that finds quantum convolutional encoders
with such desirable properties for several example quantum convolutional codes
(an exposition of our technique in full generality will appear elsewhere). We
first show how to encode the well-studied Forney-Grassl-Guha (FGG) code with an
encoder that exploits just one memory qubit (the former Grassl-Roetteler
encoder requires 15 memory qubits). We then show how our technique can find an
online decoder corresponding to this encoder, and we also detail the operation
of our technique on a different example of a quantum convolutional code.
Finally, the reduction in memory for the FGG encoder makes it feasible to
simulate the performance of a quantum turbo code employing it, and we present
the results of such simulations.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for the International Symposium on
Information Theory 2011 (ISIT 2011), St. Petersburg, Russia; v2 has minor
change
Minimal-memory realization of pearl-necklace encoders of general quantum convolutional codes
Quantum convolutional codes, like their classical counterparts, promise to
offer higher error correction performance than block codes of equivalent
encoding complexity, and are expected to find important applications in
reliable quantum communication where a continuous stream of qubits is
transmitted. Grassl and Roetteler devised an algorithm to encode a quantum
convolutional code with a "pearl-necklace encoder." Despite their theoretical
significance as a neat way of representing quantum convolutional codes, they
are not well-suited to practical realization. In fact, there is no
straightforward way to implement any given pearl-necklace structure. This paper
closes the gap between theoretical representation and practical implementation.
In our previous work, we presented an efficient algorithm for finding a
minimal-memory realization of a pearl-necklace encoder for
Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) convolutional codes. This work extends our
previous work and presents an algorithm for turning a pearl-necklace encoder
for a general (non-CSS) quantum convolutional code into a realizable quantum
convolutional encoder. We show that a minimal-memory realization depends on the
commutativity relations between the gate strings in the pearl-necklace encoder.
We find a realization by means of a weighted graph which details the
non-commutative paths through the pearl-necklace. The weight of the longest
path in this graph is equal to the minimal amount of memory needed to implement
the encoder. The algorithm has a polynomial-time complexity in the number of
gate strings in the pearl-necklace encoder.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures; extends paper arXiv:1004.5179v
Entanglement-assisted quantum turbo codes
An unexpected breakdown in the existing theory of quantum serial turbo coding
is that a quantum convolutional encoder cannot simultaneously be recursive and
non-catastrophic. These properties are essential for quantum turbo code
families to have a minimum distance growing with blocklength and for their
iterative decoding algorithm to converge, respectively. Here, we show that the
entanglement-assisted paradigm simplifies the theory of quantum turbo codes, in
the sense that an entanglement-assisted quantum (EAQ) convolutional encoder can
possess both of the aforementioned desirable properties. We give several
examples of EAQ convolutional encoders that are both recursive and
non-catastrophic and detail their relevant parameters. We then modify the
quantum turbo decoding algorithm of Poulin et al., in order to have the
constituent decoders pass along only "extrinsic information" to each other
rather than a posteriori probabilities as in the decoder of Poulin et al., and
this leads to a significant improvement in the performance of unassisted
quantum turbo codes. Other simulation results indicate that
entanglement-assisted turbo codes can operate reliably in a noise regime 4.73
dB beyond that of standard quantum turbo codes, when used on a memoryless
depolarizing channel. Furthermore, several of our quantum turbo codes are
within 1 dB or less of their hashing limits, so that the performance of quantum
turbo codes is now on par with that of classical turbo codes. Finally, we prove
that entanglement is the resource that enables a convolutional encoder to be
both non-catastrophic and recursive because an encoder acting on only
information qubits, classical bits, gauge qubits, and ancilla qubits cannot
simultaneously satisfy them.Comment: 31 pages, software for simulating EA turbo codes is available at
http://code.google.com/p/ea-turbo/ and a presentation is available at
http://markwilde.com/publications/10-10-EA-Turbo.ppt ; v2, revisions based on
feedback from journal; v3, modification of the quantum turbo decoding
algorithm that leads to improved performance over results in v2 and the
results of Poulin et al. in arXiv:0712.288
Quantum Coding with Entanglement
Quantum error-correcting codes will be the ultimate enabler of a future
quantum computing or quantum communication device. This theory forms the
cornerstone of practical quantum information theory. We provide several
contributions to the theory of quantum error correction--mainly to the theory
of "entanglement-assisted" quantum error correction where the sender and
receiver share entanglement in the form of entangled bits (ebits) before
quantum communication begins. Our first contribution is an algorithm for
encoding and decoding an entanglement-assisted quantum block code. We then give
several formulas that determine the optimal number of ebits for an
entanglement-assisted code. The major contribution of this thesis is the
development of the theory of entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional
coding. A convolutional code is one that has memory and acts on an incoming
stream of qubits. We explicitly show how to encode and decode a stream of
information qubits with the help of ancilla qubits and ebits. Our
entanglement-assisted convolutional codes include those with a
Calderbank-Shor-Steane structure and those with a more general structure. We
then formulate convolutional protocols that correct errors in noisy
entanglement. Our final contribution is a unification of the theory of quantum
error correction--these unified convolutional codes exploit all of the known
resources for quantum redundancy.Comment: Ph.D. Thesis, University of Southern California, 2008, 193 pages, 2
tables, 12 figures, 9 limericks; Available at
http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/search/controller/view/usctheses-m1491.htm
Quantum-shift-register circuits
A quantum-shift-register circuit acts on a set of input qubits and memory qubits, outputs a set of output qubits and updated memory qubits, and feeds the memory back into the device for the next cycle (similar to the operation of a classical shift register). Such a device finds application as an encoding and decoding circuit for a particular type of quantum error-correcting code called a quantum convolutional code. Building on the Ollivier-Tillich and Grassl-Rötteler encoding algorithms for quantum convolutional codes, I present a method to determine a quantum-shift-register encoding circuit for a quantum convolutional code. I also determine a formula for the amount of memory that a Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) quantum convolutional code requires. I then detail primitive quantum-shift-register circuits that realize all of the finite- and infinite-depth transformations in the shift-invariant Clifford group (the class of transformations important for encoding and decoding quantum convolutional codes). The memory formula for a CSS quantum convolutional code then immediately leads to a formula for the memory required by a CSS entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional code. © 2009 The American Physical Society