Topological Order with a Twist: Ising Anyons from an Abelian Model

Anyon models can be symmetric under some permutations of their topological charges. One can then conceive topological defects that, under monodromy, transform anyons according to a symmetry. We study the realization of such defects in the toric code model, showing that a process where defects are braided and fused has the same outcome as if they were Ising anyons. These ideas can also be applied in the context of topological codes.Comment: As accepted in journa

Single-shot fault-tolerant quantum error correction

Conventional quantum error correcting codes require multiple rounds of measurements to detect errors with enough confidence in fault-tolerant scenarios. Here I show that for suitable topological codes a single round of local measurements is enough. This feature is generic and is related to self-correction and confinement phenomena in the corresponding quantum Hamiltonian model. 3D gauge color codes exhibit this single-shot feature, which applies also to initialization and gauge-fixing. Assuming the time for efficient classical computations negligible, this yields a topological fault-tolerant quantum computing scheme where all elementary logical operations can be performed in constant time.Comment: Typos corrected after publication in journal, 26 pages, 4 figure

Dimensional Jump in Quantum Error Correction

Topological stabilizer codes with different spatial dimensions have complementary properties. Here I show that the spatial dimension can be switched using gauge fixing. Combining 2D and 3D gauge color codes in a 3D qubit lattice, fault-tolerant quantum computation can be achieved with constant time overhead on the number of logical gates, up to efficient global classical computation, using only local quantum operations. Single-shot error correction plays a crucial role.Comment: As accepted in journal: 10 pages, 3 figure

Quantum 2-Body Hamiltonian for Topological Color Codes

We introduce a two-body quantum Hamiltonian model with spins-\half located on the vertices of a 2D spatial lattice. The model exhibits an exact topological degeneracy in all coupling regimes. This is a remarkable non-perturbative effect. The model has a $\Z_2\times \Z_2$ gauge group symmetry and string-net integrals of motion. There exists a gapped phase in which the low-energy sector reproduces an effective topological color code model. High energy excitations fall into three families of anyonic fermions that turn out to be strongly interacting. All these, and more, are new features not present in honeycomb lattice models like Kitaev model.Comment: Cotribution to the Proceedings of the Scala Conference 2009 (Cortina, Italy). Special Issue dedicated to Prof. Prof. Tombesi, on occasion of his seventieth birthday. Editors: D. Vitali, I Marzoli, S. Mancini, G. Di Giuseppe. "Fortschritte der Physik

Resilience to time-correlated noise in quantum computation

Fault-tolerant quantum computation techniques rely on weakly correlated noise. Here I show that it is enough to assume weak spatial correlations: time correlations can take any form. In particular, single-shot error correction techniques exhibit a noise threshold for quantum memories under spatially local stochastic noise.Comment: 16 pages, v3: as accepted in journa

Gauge Color Codes: Optimal Transversal Gates and Gauge Fixing in Topological Stabilizer Codes

Color codes are topological stabilizer codes with unusual transversality properties. Here I show that their group of transversal gates is optimal and only depends on the spatial dimension, not the local geometry. I also introduce a generalized, subsystem version of color codes. In 3D they allow the transversal implementation of a universal set of gates by gauge fixing, while error-detecting measurements involve only 4 or 6 qubits.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, as accepted in journa