We construct a universal set of high fidelity quantum gates to be used on a sparse bipartite lattice with always-on Ising couplings. The gates are based on dynamical decoupling sequences using shaped pulses, they protect against low-frequency phase noise, and can be run in parallel on non-neighboring qubits. This makes them suitable for implementing quantum error correction with low-density parity check codes like the surface codes and their finite-rate generalizations. We illustrate the construction by simulating the quantum Zeno effect with the [[4, 2, 2]] toric code on a spin chain.
We describe how a universal set of dynamically corrected quantum gates can be implemented using sequences of shaped decoupling pulses on any qubit network forming a sparse bipartite graph with always-on Ising interactions. These interactions are constantly decoupled except when they are needed for two-qubit gates. We analytically study the error operators associated with the constructed gates up to third order in the Magnus expansion, analyze these errors numerically in the unitary time evolution of small qubit clusters, and give a bound on high-order errors for qubits on a large square lattice. We prove that with a large enough toric code the present gate set can be used to implement fault-tolerant quantum memory.
Quantum error correction/detection (QEC/QED) and dynamical decoupling (DD) are tools for protecting quantum information. A natural goal is to combine them to outperform either approach alone. Such a benefit is not automatic: physical DD can conflict with encoded subspace, and QEC performance is governed by the errors that survive decoding, not just those DD suppresses. We analyze a hybrid memory cycle where DD is implemented logically (LDD) using normalizer elements of an
[[n,k,d]] stabilizer code, followed by a round of syndrome measurement and recovery (or, in the detection setting, postselection on a trivial syndrome). In an effective Pauli model with physical error probability
p, LDD suppression factor
pDD, and recovery imperfection rate
pQEC (or
pQED), we derive closed-form entanglement-fidelity expressions for QEC-only, QED-only, LDD-only, physical DD, and the hybrid LDD+QEC protocol. The formulas are expressed via a small set of code-dependent weight enumerator polynomials, making the role of the decoder and the LDD group explicit. For ideal recovery LDD+QEC outperforms QEC-only iff the conditional fraction of uncorrectable Pauli errors is larger in the LDD-suppressed sector than in the unsuppressed sector. In the low-noise regime, a sufficient design rule guaranteeing hybrid advantage is that LDD suppresses at least one minimum-weight uncorrectable Pauli error for the chosen recovery map. We show how stabilizer-equivalent choices of LDD generators can enforce this condition. We supplement our analysis with numerical results for the
[[7,1,3]] Steane code and a
[[13,1,3]] code, mapping regions of hybrid-protocol advantage in parameter space beyond the small-
p regime. Our work illustrates the need for co-design of the code, decoder, and logical decoupling group, and clarifies the conditions under which the hybrid LDD+QEC protocol is advantageous.
Quantum computers now show the promise of surpassing any possible classical machine. However, errors limit this ability and current machines do not have the ability to implement error correcting codes due to the limited number of qubits and limited control. Therefore, dynamical decoupling (DD) and encodings that limit noise with fewer qubits are more promising. For these reasons, we put forth a model of universal quantum computation that has many advantages over strategies that require a large overhead such as the standard quantum-error correcting codes. First, we separate collective noise from individual noises on physical qubits and use a decoherence-free subspace that uses just two qubits for its encoding to eliminate collective noise. Second, our bath model is very general as it uses a spin-boson-type bath but without any Markovian assumption. Third, we are able to either use a steady global magnetic field or to devise a set of DD pulses that remove much of the remaining noise and commute with the logical operations on the encoded qubit. This allows removal of noise while implementing gate operations. Numerical support is given for this hybrid protection strategy which provides an efficient approach to deal with the decoherence problems in quantum computation and is experimentally viable for several current quantum computing systems. This is emphasized by a recent experiment on superconducting qubits which shows promise for increasing the number of gates that can be implemented reliably with some realistic parameter assumptions.
We consider the effect of broadband decoherence on the performance of refocusing sequences, having in mind applications of dynamical decoupling in concatenation with quantum error correcting codes as the first stage of coherence protection. Specifically, we construct cumulant expansions of effective decoherence operators for a qubit driven by a pulse of a generic symmetric shape and for several sequences of $\ensuremath{\pi}$ and $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$ pulses. While, in general, the performance of soft pulses in decoupling sequences in the presence of Markovian decoherence is worse than that of the ideal $\ensuremath{\delta}$ pulses, it can be substantially improved by shaping.
Quantum computers must be able to function in the presence of decoherence. The simplest strategy for decoherence reduction is dynamical decoupling (DD), which requires no encoding overhead and works by converting quantum gates into decoupling pulses. Here, using the IBM and Rigetti platforms, we demonstrate that the DD method is suitable for implementation in today's relatively noisy and small-scale cloud-based quantum computers. Using DD, we achieve substantial fidelity gains relative to unprotected, free evolution of individual superconducting transmon qubits. To a lesser degree, DD is also capable of protecting entangled two-qubit states. We show that dephasing and spontaneous emission errors are dominant in these systems, and that different DD sequences are capable of mitigating both effects. Unlike previous work demonstrating the use of quantum error correcting codes on the same platforms, we make no use of postselection and hence report unconditional fidelity improvements against natural decoherence.