Non-Abelian Anyons and Topological Quantum Computation

Topological quantum computation has recently emerged as one of the most exciting approaches to constructing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. The proposal relies on the existence of topological states of matter whose quasiparticle excitations are neither bosons nor fermions, but are particles known as {\it Non-Abelian anyons}, meaning that they obey {\it non-Abelian braiding statistics}. Quantum information is stored in states with multiple quasiparticles, which have a topological degeneracy. The unitary gate operations which are necessary for quantum computation are carried out by braiding quasiparticles, and then measuring the multi-quasiparticle states. The fault-tolerance of a topological quantum computer arises from the non-local encoding of the states of the quasiparticles, which makes them immune to errors caused by local perturbations. To date, the only such topological states thought to have been found in nature are fractional quantum Hall states, most prominently the \nu=5/2 state, although several other prospective candidates have been proposed in systems as disparate as ultra-cold atoms in optical lattices and thin film superconductors. In this review article, we describe current research in this field, focusing on the general theoretical concepts of non-Abelian statistics as it relates to topological quantum computation, on understanding non-Abelian quantum Hall states, on proposed experiments to detect non-Abelian anyons, and on proposed architectures for a topological quantum computer. We address both the mathematical underpinnings of topological quantum computation and the physics of the subject using the \nu=5/2 fractional quantum Hall state as the archetype of a non-Abelian topological state enabling fault-tolerant quantum computation.Comment: Final Accepted form for RM

Braid Matrices and Quantum Gates for Ising Anyons Topological Quantum Computation

We study various aspects of the topological quantum computation scheme based on the non-Abelian anyons corresponding to fractional quantum hall effect states at filling fraction 5/2 using the Temperley-Lieb recoupling theory. Unitary braiding matrices are obtained by a normalization of the degenerate ground states of a system of anyons, which is equivalent to a modification of the definition of the 3-vertices in the Temperley-Lieb recoupling theory as proposed by Kauffman and Lomonaco. With the braid matrices available, we discuss the problems of encoding of qubit states and construction of quantum gates from the elementary braiding operation matrices for the Ising anyons model. In the encoding scheme where 2 qubits are represented by 8 Ising anyons, we give an alternative proof of the no-entanglement theorem given by Bravyi and compare it to the case of Fibonacci anyons model. In the encoding scheme where 2 qubits are represented by 6 Ising anyons, we construct a set of quantum gates which is equivalent to the construction of Georgiev.Comment: 25 pages, 13 figure

A magnetic model with a possible Chern-Simons phase

An elementary family of local Hamiltonians $H_{\c ,\ell}, \ell = 1,2,3, ldots$, is described for a $2-$dimensional quantum mechanical system of spin $={1/2}$ particles. On the torus, the ground state space $G_{\circ,\ell}$ is $(\log)$ extensively degenerate but should collapse under \lperturbation" to an anyonic system with a complete mathematical description: the quantum double of the $SO(3)-$Chern-Simons modular functor at $q= e^{2 \pi i/\ell +2}$ which we call $DE \ell$. The Hamiltonian $H_{\circ,\ell}$ defines a \underline{quantum} \underline{loop}\underline{gas}. We argue that for $\ell = 1$ and 2, $G_{\circ,\ell}$ is unstable and the collapse to $G_{\epsilon, \ell} \cong DE\ell$ can occur truly by perturbation. For $\ell \geq 3$, $G_{\circ,\ell}$ is stable and in this case finding $G_{\epsilon,\ell} \cong DE \ell$ must require either $\epsilon > \epsilon_\ell > 0$, help from finite system size, surface roughening (see section 3), or some other trick, hence the initial use of quotes {\l}\quad". A hypothetical phase diagram is included in the introduction.Comment: Appendix by F. Goodman and H. Wenz

Anyonic statistics and large horizon diffeomorphisms for Loop Quantum Gravity Black Holes

We investigate the role played by large diffeomorphisms of quantum Isolated Horizons for the statistics of LQG Black Holes by means of their relation to the braid group. To this aim the symmetries of Chern-Simons theory are recapitulated with particular regard to the aforementioned type of diffeomorphisms. For the punctured spherical horizon, these are elements of the mapping class group of $S^2$, which is almost isomorphic to a corresponding braid group on this particular manifold. The mutual exchange of quantum entities in two dimensions is achieved by the braid group, rendering the statistics anyonic. With this we argue that the quantum Isolated Horizon model of LQG based on $SU(2)_k$-Chern-Simons theory explicitly exhibits non-abelian anyonic statistics. In this way a connection to the theory behind the fractional quantum Hall effect and that of topological quantum computation is established, where non-abelian anyons play a significant role.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, closest to published versio

Towards topological quantum computer

One of the principal obstacles on the way to quantum computers is the lack of distinguished basis in the space of unitary evolutions and thus the lack of the commonly accepted set of basic operations (universal gates). A natural choice, however, is at hand: it is provided by the quantum R-matrices, the entangling deformations of non-entangling (classical) permutations, distinguished from the points of view of group theory, integrable systems and modern theory of non-perturbative calculations in quantum field and string theory. Observables in this case are (square modules of) the knot polynomials, and their pronounced integrality properties could provide a key to error correction. We suggest to use R-matrices acting in the space of irreducible representations, which are unitary for the real-valued couplings in Chern-Simons theory, to build a topological version of quantum computing.Comment: 14 page

A Class of P,TP,T-Invariant Topological Phases of Interacting Electrons

We describe a class of parity- and time-reversal-invariant topological states of matter which can arise in correlated electron systems in 2+1-dimensions. These states are characterized by particle-like excitations exhibiting exotic braiding statistics. $P$ and $T$ invariance are maintained by a `doubling' of the low-energy degrees of freedom which occurs naturally without doubling the underlying microscopic degrees of freedom. The simplest examples have been the subject of considerable interest as proposed mechanisms for high-$T_c$ superconductivity. One is the `doubled' version (i.e. two opposite-chirality copies) of the U(1) chiral spin liquid. The second example corresponds to $Z_2$ gauge theory, which describes a scenario for spin-charge separation. Our main concern, with an eye towards applications to quantum computation, are richer models which support non-Abelian statistics. All of these models, richer or poorer, lie in a tightly-organized discrete family. The physical inference is that a material manifesting the $Z_2$ gauge theory or a doubled chiral spin liquid might be easily altered to one capable of universal quantum computation. These phases of matter have a field-theoretic description in terms of gauge theories which, in their infrared limits, are topological field theories. We motivate these gauge theories using a parton model or slave-fermion construction and show how they can be solved exactly. The structure of the resulting Hilbert spaces can be understood in purely combinatorial terms. The highly-constrained nature of this combinatorial construction, phrased in the language of the topology of curves on surfaces, lays the groundwork for a strategy for constructing microscopic lattice models which give rise to these phases.Comment: Typos fixed, references adde