Quantum Error Correction via Convex Optimization

We show that the problem of designing a quantum information error correcting procedure can be cast as a bi-convex optimization problem, iterating between encoding and recovery, each being a semidefinite program. For a given encoding operator the problem is convex in the recovery operator. For a given method of recovery, the problem is convex in the encoding scheme. This allows us to derive new codes that are locally optimal. We present examples of such codes that can handle errors which are too strong for codes derived by analogy to classical error correction techniques.Comment: 16 page

Aligning text and phonemes for speech technology applications using an EM-like algorithm

NRC publication: Ye

Robust photometric stereo via low-rank matrix completion and recovery

Abstract. We present a new approach to robustly solve photometric stereo problems. We cast the problem of recovering surface normals from multiple lighting conditions as a problem of recovering a low-rank matrix with both missing entries and corrupted entries, which model all types of non-Lambertian effects such as shadows and specularities. Unlike previous approaches that use Least-Squares or heuristic robust techniques, our method uses advanced convex optimization techniques that are guaranteed to find the correct low-rank matrix by simultaneously fixing its missing and erroneous entries. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves unprecedentedly accurate estimates of surface normals in the presence of significant amount of shadows and specularities. The new technique can be used to improve virtually any photometric stereo method including uncalibrated photometric stereo.