The Fibonacci scheme for fault-tolerant quantum computation

We rigorously analyze Knill's Fibonacci scheme for fault-tolerant quantum computation, which is based on the recursive preparation of Bell states protected by a concatenated error-detecting code. We prove lower bounds on the threshold fault rate of .67\times 10^{-3} for adversarial local stochastic noise, and 1.25\times 10^{-3} for independent depolarizing noise. In contrast to other schemes with comparable proved accuracy thresholds, the Fibonacci scheme has a significantly reduced overhead cost because it uses postselection far more sparingly.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figures; supersedes arXiv:0709.3603. (v2): Additional discussion about the overhead cos

Fault-tolerant quantum computation versus Gaussian noise

We study the robustness of a fault-tolerant quantum computer subject to Gaussian non-Markovian quantum noise, and we show that scalable quantum computation is possible if the noise power spectrum satisfies an appropriate "threshold condition." Our condition is less sensitive to very-high-frequency noise than previously derived threshold conditions for non-Markovian noise.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure

The Non-Equilibrium Reliability of Quantum Memories

The ability to store quantum information without recourse to constant feedback processes would yield a significant advantage for future implementations of quantum information processing. In this paper, limitations of the prototypical model, the Toric code in two dimensions, are elucidated along with a sufficient condition for overcoming these limitations. Specifically, the interplay between Hamiltonian perturbations and dynamically occurring noise is considered as a system in its ground state is brought into contact with a thermal reservoir. This proves that when utilizing the Toric code on N^2 qubits in a 2D lattice as a quantum memory, the information cannot be stored for a time O(N). In contrast, the 2D Ising model protects classical information against the described noise model for exponentially long times. The results also have implications for the robustness of braiding operations in topological quantum computation.Comment: 4 pages. v3: published versio

Simple proof of fault tolerance in the graph-state model

We consider the problem of fault tolerance in the graph-state model of quantum computation. Using the notion of composable simulations, we provide a simple proof for the existence of an accuracy threshold for graph-state computation by invoking the threshold theorem derived for quantum circuit computation. Lower bounds for the threshold in the graph-state model are then obtained from known bounds in the circuit model under the same noise process.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, REVTeX4. (v4): Minor revisions and new title; published versio

Effective fault-tolerant quantum computation with slow measurements

How important is fast measurement for fault-tolerant quantum computation? Using a combination of existing and new ideas, we argue that measurement times as long as even 1,000 gate times or more have a very minimal effect on the quantum accuracy threshold. This shows that slow measurement, which appears to be unavoidable in many implementations of quantum computing, poses no essential obstacle to scalability.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures. v2: small changes and reference addition

Stabilizer Quantum Error Correction with Qubus Computation

In this paper we investigate stabilizer quantum error correction codes using controlled phase rotations of strong coherent probe states. We explicitly describe two methods to measure the Pauli operators which generate the stabilizer group of a quantum code. First, we show how to measure a Pauli operator acting on physical qubits using a single coherent state with large average photon number, displacement operations, and photon detection. Second, we show how to measure the stabilizer operators fault-tolerantly by the deterministic preparation of coherent cat states along with one-bit teleportations between a qubit-like encoding of coherent states and physical qubits.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

The Implications of Ignorance for Quantum Error Correction Thresholds

Quantum error correcting codes have a distance parameter, conveying the minimum number of single spin errors that could cause error correction to fail. However, the success thresholds of finite per-qubit error rate that have been proven for the likes of the Toric code require them to work well beyond this limit. We argue that without the assumption of being below the distance limit, the success of error correction is not only contingent on the noise model, but what the noise model is believed to be. Any discrepancy must adversely affect the threshold rate, and risks invalidating existing threshold theorems. We prove that for the 2D Toric code, suitable thresholds still exist by utilising a mapping to the 2D random bond Ising model.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures. Title change enforced by journa

Quantum gates between capacitively coupled double quantum dot two-spin qubits

We study the two-qubit controlled-not gate operating on qubits encoded in the spin state of a pair of electrons in a double quantum dot. We assume that the electrons can tunnel between the two quantum dots encoding a single qubit, while tunneling between the quantum dots that belong to different qubits is forbidden. Therefore, the two qubits interact exclusively through the direct Coulomb repulsion of the electrons. We find that entangling two-qubit gates can be performed by the electrical biasing of quantum dots and/or tuning of the tunneling matrix elements between the quantum dots within the qubits. The entangling interaction can be controlled by tuning the bias through the resonance between the singly-occupied and doubly-occupied singlet ground states of a double quantum dot.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Proof of finite surface code threshold for matching

The field of quantum computation currently lacks a formal proof of experimental feasibility. Qubits are fragile and sophisticated quantum error correction is required to achieve reliable quantum computation. The surface code is a promising quantum error correction code, requiring only a physically reasonable 2-D lattice of qubits with nearest neighbor interactions. However, existing proofs that reliable quantum computation is possible using this code assume the ability to measure four-body operators and, despite making this difficult to realize assumption, require that the error rate of these operator measurements is less than 10^-9, an unphysically low target. High error rates have been proved tolerable only when assuming tunable interactions of strength and error rate independent of distance, which is also unphysical. In this work, given a 2-D lattice of qubits with only nearest neighbor two-qubit gates, and single-qubit measurement, initialization, and unitary gates, all of which have error rate p, we prove that arbitrarily reliable quantum computation is possible provided p<7.4x10^-4, a target that many experiments have already achieved. This closes a long-standing open problem, formally proving the experimental feasibility of quantum computation under physically reasonable assumptions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, published versio

Classification of topologically protected gates for local stabilizer codes

Given a quantum error correcting code, an important task is to find encoded operations that can be implemented efficiently and fault-tolerantly. In this Letter we focus on topological stabilizer codes and encoded unitary gates that can be implemented by a constant-depth quantum circuit. Such gates have a certain degree of protection since propagation of errors in a constant-depth circuit is limited by a constant size light cone. For the 2D geometry we show that constant-depth circuits can only implement a finite group of encoded gates known as the Clifford group. This implies that topological protection must be "turned off" for at least some steps in the computation in order to achieve universality. For the 3D geometry we show that an encoded gate U is implementable by a constant-depth circuit only if the image of any Pauli operator under conjugation by U belongs to the Clifford group. This class of gates includes some non-Clifford gates such as the \pi/8 rotation. Our classification applies to any stabilizer code with geometrically local stabilizers and sufficiently large code distance.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure