We examine how best to design qubits for use in topological quantum computation. These qubits are topological Hilbert spaces associated with small groups of anyons. Operations are performed on these by exchanging the anyons. One might argue that in order to have as many simple single-qubit operations as possible, the number of anyons per group should be maximized. However, we show that there is a maximal number of particles per qubit, namely 4, and more generally a maximal number of particles for qudits of dimension d . We also look at the possibility of having topological qubits for which one can perform two-qubit gates without leakage into non-computational states. It turns out that the requirement that all two-qubit gates are leakage free is very restrictive and this property can only be realized for two-qubit systems related to Ising-like anyon models, which do not allow for universal quantum computation by braiding. Our results follow directly from the representation theory of braid groups, which implies that they are valid for all anyon models. We also make some remarks about generalizations to other exchange groups.
We examine how best to design qubits for use in topological quantum computation. These qubits are topological Hilbert spaces associated with small groups of anyons. Operations are performed on these by exchanging the anyons. One might argue that in order to have as many simple single-qubit operations as possible, the number of anyons per group should be maximized. However, we show that there is a maximal number of particles per qubit, namely 4, and more generally a maximal number of particles for qudits of dimension d . We also look at the possibility of having topological qubits for which one can perform two-qubit gates without leakage into non-computational states. It turns out that the requirement that all two-qubit gates are leakage free is very restrictive and this property can only be realized for two-qubit systems related to Ising-like anyon models, which do not allow for universal quantum computation by braiding. Our results follow directly from the representation theory of braid groups, which implies that they are valid for all anyon models. We also make some remarks about generalizations to other exchange groups.
The goal of this thesis is to examine some of the ways in which we might optimise the design of topological qubits. The topological operations which are imposed on qubits, in order to perform logic gates for topological quantum computations, are governed by the exchange group of the constituent particles. We examine representations of these exchange groups and investigate what restrictions their structure places on the effciency, reliability and universality of qubits (and multi-qubit systems) as a function of the number of particles composing them. Specific results are given for the limits placed on d-dimensional qudits where logic gates are imposed by braiding anyons in 2+1 dimensions. We also study qudits designed from ring-shaped, anyon-like excitations in 3+1 dimensions, where logic gates are implemented by elements of the loop braid group. We introduce the concept of local representations, where the generators of the loop braid group are defined to act non-trivially only on the local vector spaces associated with the rings which undergo the motion. We present a method for obtaining local representations of qudits and show how any such representation can be decomposed into representations which come from the quantum doubles of groups. Due to the dimension of the local representation being related to the number of generators, any non-Abelian properties of the representation are not compromised with an addition of extra operations, we conclude that universal representations may be easier to find than in previously discussed cases (though not for topological operations alone). We model a ring of Ising anyons in a fractional quantum Hall uid to study how interactions in a real environment may impact any qubits we have created. Fractional quantum Hall liquids are currently one of the most promising possibilities for the physical realisation of TQC and so present a natural choice of system in which to study these effects. We show how interactions between the anyons compromise the practicality of qubits defined by the fusion channels of anyon pairs and explore the use of the fermion number parity sectors as qubit states. Interactions between the anyon ring and the edge of the liquid are modelled to study the effect they will have on the state of the qubit. We perform numerical simulations, for a small system, to give some indication of how the edge interaction will in uence the reliability of the qubit.
Abstract Topological quantum computation is an implementation of a quantum computer in a way that radically reduces decoherence. Topological qubits are encoded in the topological evolution of two-dimensional quasi-particles called anyons and universal set of quantum gates can be constructed by braiding these anyons yielding to a topologically protected circuit model. In the present study we remind the basics of this emerging quantum computation scheme and illustrate how a topological qubit built with three Fibonacci anyons might be adopted to achieve leakage free braiding gate by exchanging the anyons composing it. A single-qubit braiding gate that approximates the Hadamard quantum gate to a certain accuracy is numerically implemented using a brute force search method. The algorithms utilized for that purpose are explained and the numerical programs are publicly shared for reproduction and further use.
Abstract A quantum computer can perform exponentially faster than its classical counterpart. It works on the principle of superposition. But due to the decoherence effect, the superposition of a quantum state gets destroyed by the interaction with the environment. It is a real challenge to completely isolate a quantum system to make it free of decoherence. This problem can be circumvented by the use of topological quantum phases of matter. These phases have quasiparticles excitations called anyons. The anyons are charge-flux composites and show exotic fractional statistics. When the order of exchange matters, then the anyons are called non-abelian anyons. Majorana fermions in topological superconductors and quasiparticles in some quantum Hall states are non-abelian anyons. Such topological phases of matter have a ground state degeneracy. The fusion of two or more non-abelian anyons can result in a superposition of several anyons. The topological quantum gates are implemented by braiding and fusion of the non-abelian anyons. The fault-tolerance is achieved through the topological degrees of freedom of anyons. Such degrees of freedom are non-local, hence inaccessible to the local perturbations. In this paper, the Hilbert space for a topological qubit is discussed. The Ising and Fibonacci anyonic models for binary gates are briefly given. Ternary logic gates are more compact than their binary counterparts and naturally arise in a type of anyonic model called the metaplectic anyons. The mathematical model, for the fusion and braiding matrices of metaplectic anyons, is the quantum deformation of the recoupling theory. We proposed that the existing quantum ternary arithmetic gates can be realized by braiding and topological charge measurement of the metaplectic anyons.
A quantum computer must be capable of manipulating quantum information while at the same time protecting it from error and loss of quantum coherence due to interactions with the environment. Topological quantum computation (TQC) offers a particularly elegant way to achieve this. In TQC, quantum information is stored in exotic states of matter which are intrinsically protected from decoherence, and quantum computation is carried out by dragging particle-like excitations (quasiparticles) around one another in two space dimensions. The resulting quasiparticle trajectories define world-lines in three-dimensional space-time, and the corresponding computation depends only on the topology of the braids formed by the world-lines. Quasiparticles that can be used for TQC are expected to exist in a variety of fractional quantum Hall states, among them the so-called Fibonacci anyons. These quasiparticles are conjectured to exist in the = 12/5 fractional quantum Hall state which has been observed in experiments. It has been shown that qubits can be encoded using three or four Fibonacci anyons and single-qubit gates can be carried out by braiding quasiparticles within each qubit. Braids that approximate single-qubit gates can be found through brute force searching and the result can be systematically improved, to any desired accuracy, by applying the Solovay- Kitaev algorithm in SU(2). Two-qubit gates are significantly harder to implement, mostly due to the following two reasons. First, the Hilbert space of the quasiparticles forming two qubits is considerably larger than the Hilbert space of the quasiparticles of a single qubit. Therefore, performing a brute force search to find braids that approximate two-qubit gates, as well as the implementation of the Solovay-Kitaev algorithm for subsequent improvements are prohibitively more difficult. Second, to construct any entangling two-qubit gate, one needs to braid some xvii of the quasiparticles from one qubit around quasiparticles of the other qubit. This process will inevitably lead to leakage errors, i.e. transitions from the qubit space to other available states in the Hilbert space. In this thesis, I will present several efficient methods to construct two-qubit gates using a specific class of quasiparticles. In particular, I show that the problem of finding braids that correspond to two-qubit gates can be reduced to a series of smaller problems which involve braiding only three objects at a time. The required computational power for finding these braids is equivalent to that needed to find single-qubit gates, therefore, these braids can be found with the same high degree of accuracy and efficiency. The end result of this work is an efficient procedure for translating (or "compiling") arbitrary quantum algorithms into specific braiding patterns for Fibonacci anyons, as well as quasiparticles of certain other fractional quantum Hall states that can be used for TQC.
Topological quantum computation encodes quantum information in the internal fusion space of non-Abelian anyonic quasiparticles, whose braiding implements logical gates. This goes beyond Abelian topological order (TO) such as the toric code, as its anyons lack internal structure. However, the simplest non-Abelian generalizations of the toric code do not support universality via braiding alone. Here we demonstrate that such minimally non-Abelian TOs can be made universal by treating anyon fusion as a computational primitive. We prepare a 54-qubit TO wavefunction associated with the smallest non-Abelian group, S3, on Quantinuum's H2 quantum processor. This phase of matter exhibits cyclic anyon fusion rules, known to underpin universality, which we evidence by trapping a single non-Abelian anyon on the torus. We encode logical qutrits in the nonlocal fusion space of non-Abelian fluxes and, by combining an entangling braiding operation with anyon charge measurements, realize a universal topological gate set and read-out, which we further demonstrate by topologically preparing a magic state. This work establishes S3 TO as simple enough to be prepared efficiently, yet rich enough to enable universal topological quantum computation.
A paradigm to build a quantum computer, based on topological invariants is highlighted. The identities in the ensemble of knots, links and braids originally discovered in relation to topological quantum field theory are shown: how they define Artin braid group -- the mathematical basis of topological quantum computation (TQC). Vector spaces of TQC correspond to associated strings of particle interactions, and TQC operates its calculations on braided strings of special physical quasiparticles -- anyons -- with non-Abelian statistics. The physical platform of TQC is to use the topological quantum numbers of such small groups of anyons as qubits and to perform operations on these qubits by exchanging the anyons, both within the groups that form the qubits and, for multi-qubit gates, between groups. By braiding two or more anyons, they acquire up a topological phase or Berry phase similar to that found in the Aharonov-Bohm effect. Topological matter such as fractional quantum Hall systems and novel discovered topological insulators open the way to form system of anyons -- Majorana fermions -- with the unique property of encoding and processing quantum information in a naturally fault-tolerant way. In the topological insulators, due to its fundamental attribute of topological surface state occurrence of the bound, Majorana fermions are generated at its heterocontact with superconductors. One of the key operations of TQC -- braiding of non-Abelian anyons: it is illustrated how it can be implemented in one-dimensional topological isolator wire networks.