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arXiv:2012.06364 · Physical review. B./Physical review. B

Quantum gates for Majoranas zero modes in topological superconductors in one-dimensional geometry

Marek Narożniak, Matthieu Dartiailh, Jonathan P. Dowling, Javad Shabani, Tim Byrnes

Published May 28, 2021• 16 citations
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Abstract

We propose and analyze a physical system capable of performing topological quantum computation with Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in a one-dimensional topological superconductor (1DTS). One of the leading methods to realize quantum gates in a 1DTS is to use T junctions, which allows one to maneuver MZMs in such a manner as to achieve braiding. In this paper, we propose a scheme for implementing quantum logical gates in a purely one-dimensional geometry without T junctions, instead replacing it with an auxiliary qubit. This has the additional benefit of introducing a non-Clifford gate, corresponding to one- and two-logical-qubit $Z$ rotations. We first design a topologically protected logical $Z$ gate based entirely on local interactions within the 1DTS. Using an auxiliary qubit coupled to the topological superconductors, we extend the $Z$ gate to non-Clifford single- and multiqubit arbitrary rotations with partial topological protection. Finally, to perform universal quantum computing, we introduce a scheme for performing arbitrary unitary rotations, albeit without topological protection. We develop a formalism based on unitary braids which creates transitions between different topological phases of the 1DTS system. The unitary formalism can be simply converted to an equivalent adiabatic scheme, which we numerically simulate, and we show that high-fidelity operations should be possible with reasonable parameters.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.103.205429

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Topological qubits composed of unpaired Majorana zero modes are under intense experimental and theoretical scrutiny in efforts to realize practical quantum computation schemes. In this work, we show that the minimum four Majorana zero modes required for a topological qubit according to braiding schemes and control of entanglement for gate operations are inherent to multiplicative topological phases, which realize symmetry-protected tensor products—and maximally entangled Bell states—of unpaired Majorana zero modes. We construct and characterize both one-dimensional and two-dimensional multiplicative topological phases with two parent Kitaev chain Hamiltonians. We furthermore characterize topology in the bulk and on the boundary with established methods while also introducing techniques to overcome challenges in characterizing multiplicative topology. In the process, we explore the potential of these multiplicative topological phases for an alternative to braiding-based topological quantum computation schemes, in which gate operations are performed through topological phase transitions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

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We propose and analyze a physical system capable of performing topological quantum computation with Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in a one-dimensional topological superconductor (1DTS). One of the leading methods to realize quantum gates in a 1DTS is to use T junctions, which allows one to maneuver MZMs in such a manner as to achieve braiding. In this paper, we propose a scheme for implementing quantum logical gates in a purely one-dimensional geometry without T junctions, instead replacing it with an auxiliary qubit. This has the additional benefit of introducing a non-Clifford gate, corresponding to one- and two-logical-qubit ZZZ rotations. We first design a topologically protected logical ZZZ gate based entirely on local interactions within the 1DTS. Using an auxiliary qubit coupled to the topological superconductors, we extend the ZZZ gate to non-Clifford single- and multiqubit arbitrary rotations with partial topological protection. Finally, to perform universal quantum computing, we introduce a scheme for performing arbitrary unitary rotations, albeit without topological protection. We develop a formalism based on unitary braids which creates transitions between different topological phases of the 1DTS system. The unitary formalism can be simply converted to an equivalent adiabatic scheme, which we numerically simulate, and we show that high-fidelity operations should be possible with reasonable parameters.
Topological quantum computing seeks to store and manipulate information in a protected manner using topological phases of matter. Information encoded in the degenerate state space of pairs of non-Abelian anyons or defects is robust to local perturbations, reducing its susceptiblity to environmental errors and potentially providing a scalable approach to quantum computing. However, topological quantum computing faces significant challenges, not least of which is identifying an experimentally accessible platform supporting non-Abelian topological physics. In this thesis, we critically analyze topological quantum computing with Majorana zero modes, non-Abelian defects of a topological superconductor. We identify intrinsic error sources for Majorana-based systems and propose quantum computing architectures that minimize their effects. Additionally, we consider a new approach for realizing and detecting non-Abelian topological defects in fractional Chern insulators. Topological quantum computing is predicated on the idea that braiding non-Abelian anyons adiabatically can implement quantum gates fault tolerantly. However, any braiding experiment will necessarily depart from the strict adiabatic limit. We begin by analyzing the nature of diabatic errors for anyon braiding, paying particular attention to how such errors scale with braiding time. We find that diabatic errors are unfavorably large and worryingly sensitive to details of the time evolution. We present a measurement-based correction protocol for such errors, and illustrate its application in a particular Majorana-based qubit design. We next propose designs for Majorana-based qubits operated entirely by a measurement-based protocol, thereby avoiding the diabatic errors discussed above. Our designs can be scaled into large two dimensional arrays amenable to long-term quantum computing goals, whose core components are testable in near-term devices. These qubits are robust to quasiparticle poisoning, anticipated to be one of the dominant error sources coupling to Majorana zero modes. We demonstrate that our designs support topologically protected Clifford operations and can be augmented to a universal gate set without requiring additional control parameters.While topological protection greatly suppresses errors, residual coupling to noise limits the lifetimes of our proposed Majorana-based qubits. We analyze the dephasing times for our quasiparticle-poisoning-protected qubits by calculating their charge distribution using a particle number-conserving formalism. We find that fluctuations in the electromagnetic environment couple to an exponentially suppressed topological dipole moment. We estimate dephasing times due to 1/f1/f1/f noise, thermal quasiparticle excitations, and phonons for different qubit sizes.The residual errors discussed above will necessarily require error correction for a sufficiently long quantum computation. We develop physically motivated noise models for Majorana-based qubits that can be used to analyze the performance of a quantum error correcting code. We apply this noise model to estimate pseudo-thresholds for a small subsystem code, identifying the relative importance of difference error processes from a fault tolerance perspective. Our results emphasize the necessity of suppressing long-lived quasiparticle excitations that can spread across the code.Finally, we turn our attention to a different platform that could host non-Abelian topological defects: fractional Chern insulators in graphene. We study the edge states of fractional Chern insulators using the field theory of fractional quantum Hall edges supplemented with a symmetry action. We find that lattice symmetries impose a quantized momentum difference for edge electrons in a fractional state of a C=2C=2C=2 Chern band. This momentum difference can be used to selectively contact the different edge states, thereby allowing detection of topological defects in the bulk with a standard four terminal measurement. Our proposal could be implemented in graphene subject to an artificially patterned lattice.
We analyze the topological protection of a Clifford gate set generated by braiding four Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in a two-dimensional class-D topological superconductor. Encoding a single logical qubit in four MZMs bound to π\piπ-flux vortices, we show that elementary exchanges generate the single-qubit Clifford group up to a global phase. The residual gate error arises from finite-size Majorana hybridization and quasiparticle poisoning, scaling as ϵ∼exp⁡(−L/ξ)\epsilon \sim \exp(-L/\xi)ϵ∼exp(−L/ξ), where LLL is the inter-vortex separation and ξ\xiξ is the superconducting coherence length. We propose an interferometric measurement scheme to falsify this topological protection. By threading an Aharonov-Bohm loop around two MZMs, the conductance exhibits 4π4\pi4π-periodic oscillations with phase jumps of π/2\pi/2π/2 per braid. Any deviation from this quantized phase beyond the exp⁡(−L/ξ)\exp(-L/\xi)exp(−L/ξ) envelope at large L/ξL/\xiL/ξ falsifies the topological protection mechanism, indicating gap closing or quasiparticle poisoning. ## 1. Introduction Topological quantum computation seeks to process information non-locally to achieve intrinsic fault tolerance. In two-dimensional topological superconductors belonging to symmetry class D (such as a px+ipyp_x + i p_ypx​+ipy​ paired state or a proximitized semiconductor heterostructure), Majorana zero modes (MZMs) bind to π\piπ-flux vortices. Exchanging these vortices implements non-Abelian unitaries on the degenerate ground-state manifold. The central question addressed here is whether braiding four MZMs generates a topologically protected Clifford gate set with a residual error rate scaling as exp⁡(−L/ξ)\exp(-L/\xi)exp(−L/ξ), and whether this claim is falsifiable via interferometric measurement of the braiding phase. ## 2. Background The non-Abelian statistics of MZMs in class-D superconductors were established by Ivanov (2001), demonstrating that exchanging vortices realizes a braid group representation with π/2\pi/2π/2 rotations in Majorana Hilbert space [arXiv:cond-mat/0105040]. The topologi
Majorana zero modes are a promising platform for topologically protected quantum information processing. Their non-Abelian nature, which is key for performing quantum gates, is most prominently exhibited through braiding. While originally formulated for two-dimensional systems, it has been shown that braiding can also be realized using one-dimensional wires by forming an essentially two-dimensional network. Here, we show that in driven systems far from equilibrium, one can do away with the second spatial dimension altogether by instead using quasienergy as the second dimension. To realize this, we use a Floquet topological superconductor which can exhibit Majorana modes at two special eigenvalues of the evolution operator, 0 and $\ensuremath{\pi}$, and thus can realize four Majorana modes in a single, driven quantum wire. We describe and numerically evaluate a protocol that realizes a topologically protected exchange of two Majorana zero modes in a single wire by adiabatically modulating the Floquet drive and using the $\ensuremath{\pi}$ modes as auxiliary degrees of freedom.
Majorana zero modes are a promising platform for topologically protected quantum information processing. Their non-Abelian nature, which is key for performing quantum gates, is most prominently exhibited through braiding. While originally formulated for two-dimensional systems, it has been shown that braiding can also be realized using one-dimensional wires by forming an essentially two-dimensional network. Here, we show that in driven systems far from equilibrium, one can do away with the second spatial dimension altogether by instead using quasienergy as the second dimension. To realize this, we use a Floquet topological superconductor which can exhibit Majorana modes at two special eigenvalues of the evolution operator, 0 and π, and thus can realize four Majorana modes in a single, driven quantum wire. We describe and numerically evaluate a protocol that realizes a topologically protected exchange of two Majorana zero modes in a single wire by adiabatically modulating the Floquet drive and using the π modes as auxiliary degrees of freedom.
We numerically investigate non-Abelian braiding dynamics of vortices in two-dimensional topological superconductors, such as sss-wave superconductors with Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Majorana zero modes (MZMs) hosted by the vortices constitute a topological qubit, which offers a fundamental building block of topological quantum computation. As the MZMs are protected by Z2{\mathbb{Z}}_{2}Z2​ invariant, however, the Majorana qubit and quantum gate operations may be sensitive to intrinsic decoherence caused by MZM hybridization. Numerically simulating the time-dependent Bogoliubov--de Gennes equation without assuming a priori existence of MZMs, we examine quantum noises on the unitary operators of non-Abelian braiding dynamics due to interactions with neighboring MZMs and other quasiparticle states. We demonstrate that after the interchange of two vortices, the lowest vortex-bound states accumulate the geometric phase $\ensuremath{\pi}/2$, and errors stemming from dynamical phases are negligibly small, irrespective of interactions of MZMs. Furthermore, we numerically simulate the braiding dynamics of four vortices in two-dimensional topological superconductors, and discuss an optimal braiding condition for realizing the high performance of non-Abelian statistics and quantum gate operations of Majorana-based qubits.
Topological qubits composed of unpaired Majorana zero modes are under intense experimental and theoretical scrutiny in efforts to realize practical quantum computation schemes. In this work, we show that the minimum four Majorana zero modes required for a topological qubit according to braiding schemes and control of entanglement for gate operations are inherent to multiplicative topological phases, which realize symmetry-protected tensor products—and maximally entangled Bell states—of unpaired Majorana zero modes. We construct and characterize both one-dimensional and two-dimensional multiplicative topological phases with two parent Kitaev chain Hamiltonians. We furthermore characterize topology in the bulk and on the boundary with established methods while also introducing techniques to overcome challenges in characterizing multiplicative topology. In the process, we explore the potential of these multiplicative topological phases for an alternative to braiding-based topological quantum computation schemes, in which gate operations are performed through topological phase transitions. Published by the American Physical Society 2024