Quantum Goethals-Preparata Codes

We present a family of non-additive quantum codes based on Goethals and Preparata codes with parameters ((2^m,2^{2^m-5m+1},8)). The dimension of these codes is eight times higher than the dimension of the best known additive quantum codes of equal length and minimum distance.Comment: Submitted to the 2008 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theor

Generalized Concatenation for Quantum Codes

We show how good quantum error-correcting codes can be constructed using generalized concatenation. The inner codes are quantum codes, the outer codes can be linear or nonlinear classical codes. Many new good codes are found, including both stabilizer codes as well as so-called nonadditive codes.Comment: 5 pages, to be presented at ISIT 200

Quantum phase uncertainty in mutually unbiased measurements and Gauss sums

Mutually unbiased bases (MUBs), which are such that the inner product between two vectors in different orthogonal bases is constant equal to the inverse $1/\sqrt{d}$, with $d$ the dimension of the finite Hilbert space, are becoming more and more studied for applications such as quantum tomography and cryptography, and in relation to entangled states and to the Heisenberg-Weil group of quantum optics. Complete sets of MUBs of cardinality $d+1$ have been derived for prime power dimensions $d=p^m$ using the tools of abstract algebra (Wootters in 1989, Klappenecker in 2003). Presumably, for non prime dimensions the cardinality is much less. The bases can be reinterpreted as quantum phase states, i.e. as eigenvectors of Hermitean phase operators generalizing those introduced by Pegg & Barnett in 1989. The MUB states are related to additive characters of Galois fields (in odd characteristic p) and of Galois rings (in characteristic 2). Quantum Fourier transforms of the components in vectors of the bases define a more general class of MUBs with multiplicative characters and additive ones altogether. We investigate the complementary properties of the above phase operator with respect to the number operator. We also study the phase probability distribution and variance for physical states and find them related to the Gauss sums, which are sums over all elements of the field (or of the ring) of the product of multiplicative and additive characters. Finally we relate the concepts of mutual unbiasedness and maximal entanglement. This allows to use well studied algebraic concepts as efficient tools in our quest of minimal uncertainty in quantum information primitives.Comment: 11 page

Equiangular lines, mutually unbiased bases, and spin models

We use difference sets to construct interesting sets of lines in complex space. Using (v,k,1)-difference sets, we obtain k^2-k+1 equiangular lines in C^k when k-1 is a prime power. Using semiregular relative difference sets with parameters (k,n,k,l) we construct sets of n+1 mutually unbiased bases in C^k. We show how to construct these difference sets from commutative semifields and that several known maximal sets of mutually unbiased bases can be obtained in this way, resolving a conjecture about the monomiality of maximal sets. We also relate mutually unbiased bases to spin models.Comment: 23 pages; no figures. Minor correction as pointed out in arxiv.org:1104.337