GHZ extraction yield for multipartite stabilizer states

Let $|\Psi>$ be an arbitrary stabilizer state distributed between three remote parties, such that each party holds several qubits. Let $S$ be a stabilizer group of $|\Psi>$. We show that $|\Psi>$ can be converted by local unitaries into a collection of singlets, GHZ states, and local one-qubit states. The numbers of singlets and GHZs are determined by dimensions of certain subgroups of $S$. For an arbitrary number of parties $m$ we find a formula for the maximal number of $m$-partite GHZ states that can be extracted from $|\Psi>$ by local unitaries. A connection with earlier introduced measures of multipartite correlations is made. An example of an undecomposable four-party stabilizer state with more than one qubit per party is given. These results are derived from a general theoretical framework that allows one to study interconversion of multipartite stabilizer states by local Clifford group operators. As a simple application, we study three-party entanglement in two-dimensional lattice models that can be exactly solved by the stabilizer formalism.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur

Multi-party entanglement in graph states

Graph states are multi-particle entangled states that correspond to mathematical graphs, where the vertices of the graph take the role of quantum spin systems and edges represent Ising interactions. They are many-body spin states of distributed quantum systems that play a significant role in quantum error correction, multi-party quantum communication, and quantum computation within the framework of the one-way quantum computer. We characterize and quantify the genuine multi-particle entanglement of such graph states in terms of the Schmidt measure, to which we provide upper and lower bounds in graph theoretical terms. Several examples and classes of graphs will be discussed, where these bounds coincide. These examples include trees, cluster states of different dimension, graphs that occur in quantum error correction, such as the concatenated [7,1,3]-CSS code, and a graph associated with the quantum Fourier transform in the one-way computer. We also present general transformation rules for graphs when local Pauli measurements are applied, and give criteria for the equivalence of two graphs up to local unitary transformations, employing the stabilizer formalism. For graphs of up to seven vertices we provide complete characterization modulo local unitary transformations and graph isomorphies.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables, typos corrected (e.g. in measurement rules), references added/update

Entanglement measures and approximate quantum error correction

It is shown that, if the loss of entanglement along a quantum channel is sufficiently small, then approximate quantum error correction is possible, thereby generalizing what happens for coherent information. Explicit bounds are obtained for the entanglement of formation and the distillable entanglement, and their validity naturally extends to other bipartite entanglement measures in between. Robustness of derived criteria is analyzed and their tightness compared. Finally, as a byproduct, we prove a bound quantifying how large the gap between entanglement of formation and distillable entanglement can be for any given finite dimensional bipartite system, thus providing a sufficient condition for distillability in terms of entanglement of formation.Comment: 7 pages, two-columned revtex4, no figures. v1: Deeply revised and extended version: different entanglement measures are separately considered, references are added, and some remarks are stressed. v2: Added a sufficient condition for distillability in terms of entanglement of formation; published versio

Quantum error correction : an introductory guide

Quantum error correction protocols will play a central role in the realisation of quantum computing; the choice of error correction code will influence the full quantum computing stack, from the layout of qubits at the physical level to gate compilation strategies at the software level. As such, familiarity with quantum coding is an essential prerequisite for the understanding of current and future quantum computing architectures. In this review, we provide an introductory guide to the theory and implementation of quantum error correction codes. Where possible, fundamental concepts are described using the simplest examples of detection and correction codes, the working of which can be verified by hand. We outline the construction and operation of the surface code, the most widely pursued error correction protocol for experiment. Finally, we discuss issues that arise in the practical implementation of the surface code and other quantum error correction codes

Security of two quantum cryptography protocols using the same four qubit states

The first quantum cryptography protocol, proposed by Bennett and Brassard in 1984 (BB84), has been widely studied in the last years. This protocol uses four states (more precisely, two complementary bases) for the encoding of the classical bit. Recently, it has been noticed that by using the same four states, but a different encoding of information, one can define a new protocol which is more robust in practical implementations, specifically when attenuated laser pulses are used instead of single-photon sources [V. Scarani et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 92}, 057901 (2004); referred to as SARG04]. We present a detailed study of SARG04 in two different regimes. In the first part, we consider an implementation with a single-photon source: we derive bounds on the error rate $Q$ for security against all possible attacks by the eavesdropper. The lower and the upper bound obtained for SARG04 ($Q\lesssim 10.95$ and $Q\gtrsim 14.9$ respectively) are close to those obtained for BB84 ($Q\lesssim 12.4$ and $Q\gtrsim 14.6$ respectively). In the second part, we consider the realistic source consisting of an attenuated laser and improve on previous analysis by allowing Alice to optimize the mean number of photons as a function of the distance. SARG04 is found to perform better than BB84, both in secret key rate and in maximal achievable distance, for a wide class of Eve's attacks.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures, published versio

Quantum Key Distribution using Multilevel Encoding: Security Analysis

We present security proofs for a protocol for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) based on encoding in finite high-dimensional Hilbert spaces. This protocol is an extension of Bennett's and Brassard's basic protocol from two bases, two state encoding to a multi bases, multi state encoding. We analyze the mutual information between the legitimate parties and the eavesdropper, and the error rate, as function of the dimension of the Hilbert space, while considering optimal incoherent and coherent eavesdropping attacks. We obtain the upper limit for the legitimate party error rate to ensure unconditional security when the eavesdropper uses incoherent and coherent eavesdropping strategies. We have also consider realistic noise caused by detector's noise.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, REVTe

New Probable Dwarf Galaxies in Northern Groups of the Local Supercluster

We have searched for nearby dwarf galaxies in 27 northern groups with characteristic distances 8-15 Mpc based on the Second Palomar Sky Survey prints. In a total area of about 2000 square degrees, we have found 90 low-surface-brightness objects, more than 60% of which are absent from known catalogs and lists. We have classified most of these objects (~80%) as irregular dwarf systems. The first 21-cm line observations of the new objects with the 100-m Effelsberg radio telescope showed that the typical linear diameters (1-2 kpc), internal motions (30 km/s), and hydrogen masses (~2*10^7M_sun) galaxies correspond to those expected for the dwarf population of nearby groups.Comment: 8 pages, 1 fugur

Entanglement on mixed stabilizer states: normal forms and reduction procedures

Published versio

Randomized Benchmarking of Multi-Qubit Gates

As experimental platforms for quantum information processing continue to mature, characterization of the quality of unitary gates that can be applied to their quantum bits (qubits) becomes essential. Eventually, the quality must be sufficiently high to support arbitrarily long quantum computations. Randomized benchmarking already provides a platform-independent method for assessing the quality of one-qubit rotations. Here we describe an extension of this method to multi-qubit gates. We provide a platform-independent protocol for evaluating the performance of experimental Clifford unitaries, which form the basis of fault-tolerant quantum computing. We implemented the benchmarking protocol with trapped-ion two-qubit phase gates and one-qubit gates and found an error per random two-qubit Clifford unitary of $0.162 \pm 0.008$, thus setting the first benchmark for such unitaries. By implementing a second set of sequences with an extra two-qubit phase gate at each step, we extracted an error per phase gate of $0.069 \pm 0.017$. We conducted these experiments with movable, sympathetically cooled ions in a multi-zone Paul trap - a system that can in principle be scaled to larger numbers of ions.Comment: Corrected description of parallel single-qubit benchmark experiment. Results unchange

Measurement-based quantum computation beyond the one-way model

We introduce novel schemes for quantum computing based on local measurements on entangled resource states. This work elaborates on the framework established in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 220503 (2007), quant-ph/0609149]. Our method makes use of tools from many-body physics - matrix product states, finitely correlated states or projected entangled pairs states - to show how measurements on entangled states can be viewed as processing quantum information. This work hence constitutes an instance where a quantum information problem - how to realize quantum computation - was approached using tools from many-body theory and not vice versa. We give a more detailed description of the setting, and present a large number of new examples. We find novel computational schemes, which differ from the original one-way computer for example in the way the randomness of measurement outcomes is handled. Also, schemes are presented where the logical qubits are no longer strictly localized on the resource state. Notably, we find a great flexibility in the properties of the universal resource states: They may for example exhibit non-vanishing long-range correlation functions or be locally arbitrarily close to a pure state. We discuss variants of Kitaev's toric code states as universal resources, and contrast this with situations where they can be efficiently classically simulated. This framework opens up a way of thinking of tailoring resource states to specific physical systems, such as cold atoms in optical lattices or linear optical systems.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure