Holonomic quantum computation in subsystems

We introduce a generalized method of holonomic quantum computation (HQC) based on encoding in subsystems. As an application, we propose a scheme for applying holonomic gates to unencoded qubits by the use of a noisy ancillary qubit. This scheme does not require initialization in a subspace since all dynamical effects factor out as a transformation on the ancilla. We use this approach to show how fault-tolerant HQC can be realized via 2-local Hamiltonians with perturbative gadgets.Comment: Improved presentation, references adde

Robustness of operator quantum error correction with respect to initialization errors

In the theory of operator quantum error correction (OQEC), the notion of correctability is defined under the assumption that states are perfectly initialized inside a particular subspace, a factor of which (a subsystem) contains the protected information. If the initial state of the system does not belong entirely to the subspace in question, the restriction of the state to the otherwise correctable subsystem may not remain invariant after the application of noise and error correction. It is known that in the case of decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems (DFSs) the condition for perfect unitary evolution inside the code imposes more restrictive conditions on the noise process if one allows imperfect initialization. It was believed that these conditions are necessary if DFSs are to be able to protect imperfectly encoded states from subsequent errors. By a similar argument, general OQEC codes would also require more restrictive error-correction conditions for the case of imperfect initialization. In this study, we examine this requirement by looking at the errors on the encoded state. In order to quantitatively analyze the errors in an OQEC code, we introduce a measure of the fidelity between the encoded information in two states for the case of subsystem encoding. A major part of the paper concerns the definition of the measure and the derivation of its properties. In contrast to what was previously believed, we obtain that more restrictive conditions are not necessary neither for DFSs nor for general OQEC codes. This is because the effective noise that can arise inside the code as a result of imperfect initialization is such that it can only increase the fidelity of an imperfectly encoded state with a perfectly encoded one.Comment: 8 pages, no figure

Adiabatic Markovian Dynamics

We propose a theory of adiabaticity in quantum Markovian dynamics based on a decomposition of the Hilbert space induced by the asymptotic behavior of the Lindblad semigroup. A central idea of our approach is that the natural generalization of the concept of eigenspace of the Hamiltonian in the case of Markovian dynamics is a noiseless subsystem with a minimal noisy cofactor. Unlike previous attempts to define adiabaticity for open systems, our approach deals exclusively with physical entities and provides a simple, intuitive picture at the underlying Hilbert-space level, linking the notion of adiabaticity to the theory of noiseless subsystems. As an application of our theory, we propose a framework for decoherence-assisted computation in noiseless codes under general Markovian noise. We also formulate a dissipation-driven approach to holonomic computation based on adiabatic dragging of subsystems that is generally not achievable by non-dissipative means.Comment: 4+3 page

General conditions for approximate quantum error correction and near-optimal recovery channels

We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the approximate correctability of a quantum code, generalizing the Knill-Laflamme conditions for exact error correction. Our measure of success of the recovery operation is the worst-case entanglement fidelity of the overall process. We show that the optimal recovery fidelity can be predicted exactly from a dual optimization problem on the environment causing the noise. We use this result to obtain an easy-to-calculate estimate of the optimal recovery fidelity as well as a way of constructing a class of near-optimal recovery channels that work within twice the minimal error. In addition to standard subspace codes, our results hold for subsystem codes and hybrid quantum-classical codes.Comment: minor clarifications, typos edited, references added

The Multi-round Process Matrix

We develop an extension of the process matrix (PM) framework for correlations between quantum operations with no causal order that allows multiple rounds of information exchange for each party compatibly with the assumption of well-defined causal order of events locally. We characterise the higher-order process describing such correlations, which we name the multi-round process matrix (MPM), and formulate a notion of causal nonseparability for it that extends the one for standard PMs. We show that in the multi-round case there are novel manifestations of causal nonseparability that are not captured by a naive application of the standard PM formalism: we exhibit an instance of an operator that is both a valid PM and a valid MPM, but is causally separable in the first case and can violate causal inequalities in the second case due to the possibility of using a side channel.Comment: 24 pages with 6 figures, various improvements and corrections, accepted in Quantu

Comment on "Nongeometric Conditional Phase Shift via Adiabatic Evolution of Dark Eigenstates: A New Approach to Quantum Computation"

In [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 080502 (2005)], Zheng proposed a scheme for implementing a conditional phase shift via adiabatic passages. The author claims that the gate is "neither of dynamical nor geometric origin" on the grounds that the Hamiltonian does not follow a cyclic change. He further argues that "in comparison with the adiabatic geometric gates, the nontrivial cyclic loop is unnecessary, and thus the errors in obtaining the required solid angle are avoided, which makes this new kind of phase gates superior to the geometric gates." In this Comment, we point out that geometric operations, including adiabatic holonomies, can be induced by noncyclic Hamiltonians, and show that Zheng's gate is geometric. We also argue that the nontrivial loop responsible for the phase shift is there, and it requires the same precision as in any adiabatic geometric gate

Operational quantum theory without predefined time

The standard formulation of quantum theory assumes a predefined notion of time. This is a major obstacle in the search for a quantum theory of gravity, where the causal structure of space-time is expected to be dynamical and fundamentally probabilistic in character. Here, we propose a generalized formulation of quantum theory without predefined time or causal structure, building upon a recently introduced operationally time-symmetric approach to quantum theory. The key idea is a novel isomorphism between transformations and states which depends on the symmetry transformation of time reversal. This allows us to express the time-symmetric formulation in a time-neutral form with a clear physical interpretation, and ultimately drop the assumption of time. In the resultant generalized formulation, operations are associated with regions that can be connected in networks with no directionality assumed for the connections, generalizing the standard circuit framework and the process matrix framework for operations without global causal order. The possible events in a given region are described by positive semidefinite operators on a Hilbert space at the boundary, while the connections between regions are described by entangled states that encode a nontrivial symmetry and could be tested in principle. We discuss how the causal structure of space-time could be understood as emergent from properties of the operators on the boundaries of compact space-time regions. The framework is compatible with indefinite causal order, timelike loops, and other acausal structures.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, published version (this version covers the second half of the original submission; the first half has been published separately and is available at arXiv:1507.07745

Operator quantum error correction for continuous dynamics

We study the conditions under which a subsystem code is correctable in the presence of noise that results from continuous dynamics. We consider the case of Markovian dynamics as well as the general case of Hamiltonian dynamics of the system and the environment, and derive necessary and sufficient conditions on the Lindbladian and system-environment Hamiltonian, respectively. For the case when the encoded information is correctable during an entire time interval, the conditions we obtain can be thought of as generalizations of the previously derived conditions for decoherence-free subsystems to the case where the subsystem is time dependent. As a special case, we consider conditions for unitary correctability. In the case of Hamiltonian evolution, the conditions for unitary correctability concern only the effect of the Hamiltonian on the system, whereas the conditions for general correctability concern the entire system-environment Hamiltonian. We also derive conditions on the Hamiltonian which depend on the initial state of the environment, as well as conditions for correctability at only a particular moment of time. We discuss possible implications of our results for approximate quantum error correction.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, essentially the published version, includes a new section on correctability at only a particular moment of tim

Fault tolerance for holonomic quantum computation

We review an approach to fault-tolerant holonomic quantum computation on stabilizer codes. We explain its workings as based on adiabatic dragging of the subsystem containing the logical information around suitable loops along which the information remains protected.Comment: 16 pages, this is a chapter in the book "Quantum Error Correction", edited by Daniel A. Lidar and Todd A. Brun, (Cambridge University Press, 2013), at http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/physics/quantum-physics-quantum-information-and-quantum-computation/quantum-error-correctio