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arXiv:2102.04531 · Quantum Information and Computation

Dissipative encoding of quantum information

Giacomo Baggio, Francesco Ticozzi, Peter D. Johnson, Lorenza Viola

Published Jul 14, 2021• 7 citations
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Abstract

We formalize the problem of dissipative quantum encoding, and explore the advantages of using Markovian evolution to prepare a quantum code in the desired logical space, with emphasis on discrete-time dynamics and the possibility of exact finite-time convergence. In particular, we investigate robustness of the encoding dynamics and their ability to tolerate initialization errors, thanks to the existence of non-trivial basins of attraction. As a key application, we show that for stabilizer quantum codes on qubits, a finite-time dissipative encoder may always be constructed, by using at most a number of quantum maps determined by the number of stabilizer generators. We find that even in situations where the target code lacks gauge degrees of freedom in its subsystem form, dissipative encoders afford nontrivial robustness against initialization errors, thus overcoming a limitation of purely unitary encoding procedures. Our general results are illustrated in a number of relevant examples, including Kitaev's toric code.

DOI
10.26421/qic21.9-10-2

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We formalize the problem of dissipative quantum encoding, and explore the advantages of using Markovian evolution to prepare a quantum code in the desired logical space, with emphasis on discrete-time dynamics and the possibility of exact finite-time convergence. In particular, we investigate robustness of the encoding dynamics and their ability to tolerate initialization errors, thanks to the existence of non-trivial basins of attraction. As a key application, we show that for stabilizer quantum codes on qubits, a finite-time dissipative encoder may always be constructed, by using at most a number of quantum maps determined by the number of stabilizer generators. We find that even in situations where the target code lacks gauge degrees of freedom in its subsystem form, dissipative encoders afford nontrivial robustness against initialization errors, thus overcoming a limitation of purely unitary encoding procedures. Our general results are illustrated in a number of relevant examples, including Kitaev's toric code.
In order to ensure reliable quantum information processing in realistic noisy devices, it is necessary to resort to suitable error correction and avoidance strategies. A key aspect of these techniques is how the relevant information is logically mapped (encoded) in the noise-protected codewords. Here, we study how to engineer Markov dynamics that transfers the desired information from an "upload" subsystem to the target error-correcting or noiseless quantum code, effectively acting as a dissipative quantum encoder. Dissipative encoders offer advantages with respect to standard unitary encoding protocols based on quantum circuits, as they can associate the target states to non-trivial basins of attraction, and thus tolerate more general initializations in the upload qubits. In particular, we show that devising continuous-time dissipative encoders requires the target code to be invariant, making this task more delicate as compared to its discrete-time counterpart. Nonetheless, we show how this is always possible for stabilizer quantum error-correcting codes.
Open quantum systems evolving according to discrete-time dynamics are capable, unlike continuous-time counterparts, to converge to a stable equilibrium in finite time with zero error. We consider dissipative quantum circuits consisting of sequences of quantum channels subject to specified quasi-locality constraints, and determine conditions under which stabilization of a pure multipartite entangled state of interest may be exactly achieved in finite time. Special emphasis is devoted to characterizing scenarios where finite-time stabilization may be achieved robustly with respect to the order of the applied quantum maps, as suitable for unsupervised control architectures. We show that if a decomposition of the physical Hilbert space into virtual subsystems is found, which is compatible with the locality constraint and relative to which the target state factorizes, then robust stabilization may be achieved by independently cooling each component. We further show that if the same condition holds for a scalable class of pure states, a continuous-time quasi-local Markov semigroup ensuring rapid mixing can be obtained. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that the commutativity of the canonical parent Hamiltonian one may associate to the target state does not directly relate to its finite-time stabilizability properties, although in all cases where we can guarantee robust stabilization, a (possibly noncanonical) commuting parent Hamiltonian may be found. Aside from graph states, quantum states amenable to finite-time robust stabilization include a class of universal resource states displaying two-dimensional symmetry-protected topological order, along with tensor network states obtained by generalizing a construction due to Bravyi and Vyalyi [Quantum Inf. Comput. 5, 187 (2005)]. Extensions to representative classes of mixed graph-product and thermal states are also discussed.
We characterize the dynamical behavior of continuous-time, Markovian quantum systems with respect to a subsystem of interest. Markovian dynamics describes a wide class of open quantum systems of relevance to quantum information processing, subsystem encodings offering a general pathway to faithfully represent quantum information. We provide explicit linear-algebraic characterizations of the notion of invariant and noiseless subsystem for Markovian master equations, under different robustness assumptions for model-parameter and initial-state variations. The stronger concept of an attractive quantum subsystem is introduced, and sufficient existence conditions are identified based on Lyapunov's stability techniques. As a main control application, we address the potential of output-feedback Markovian control strategies for quantum pure state-stabilization and noiseless-subspace generation. In particular, explicit results for the synthesis of stabilizing semigroups and noiseless subspaces in finite-dimensional Markovian systems are obtained.
Logical qubits encoded in quantum error correcting codes can exhibit non-Markovian dynamical evolution, even when the underlying physical noise is Markovian. To understand this emergent non-Markovianity, we define a Markovianity condition appropriate to logical gate operations, and study it by relating logical operations to their physical implementation (operations on the data qubits into which the logical qubit is encoded). We apply our analysis to small quantum codes, and show that they exhibit non-Markovian dynamics even for very simple physical noise models. We show that non-Markovianity can emerge from Markovian physical operations if (and only if) the physical qubits are not necessarily returned to the code subspace after every round of QEC. In this situation, the syndrome qubits can act as a memory, mediating time correlations and enabling violation of the Markov condition. We quantify the emergent non-Markovianity in simple examples, and propose sufficient conditions for reliable use of gate-based characterization techniques like gate set tomography in early fault-tolerant quantum devices.
We characterize the dynamical behavior of continuous-time, Markovian quantum systems with respect to a subsystem of interest. Markovian dynamics describes a wide class of open quantum systems of relevance to quantum information processing, subsystem encodings offering a general pathway to faithfully represent quantum information. We provide explicit linear-algebraic characterizations of the notion of invariant and noiseless subsystem for Markovian master equations, under different robustness assumptions for model-parameter and initial-state variations. The stronger concept of an attractive quantum subsystem is introduced, and sufficient existence conditions are identified based on Lyapunov's stability techniques. As a main control application, we address the potential of output-feedback Markovian control strategies for quantum pure state-stabilization and noiseless-subspace generation. In particular, explicit results for the synthesis of stabilizing semigroups and noiseless subspaces in finite-dimensional Markovian systems are obtained.
Dissipative dynamics can stabilize a quantum target without providing a reliable sequence of finite control operations. We derive checkable conditions for implementing such stabilization with imperfect controls, with bounds on convergence, errors during operations, and physical cost. The analysis includes pulses, idle intervals, and all simultaneously acting background dynamics. Using a common Lyapunov measure of deviation from the target, we require a contraction bound that remains uniformly below one over the prescribed uncertainty set after accounting for implementation errors. If all allowed paths preserve the target subspace throughout each operation, repeated cycles converge to that subspace from every initial state, even when errors vary between cycles. Comparison with these certified target-preserving paths gives an explicit long-time error bound under bounded leakage. Two single-qubit counterexamples show why a stabilizing average or a stabilizing generator obtained by unitary conjugation does not ensure these path conditions. The certification approach also supports a finite-library search. For a specified four-level cascade model with finite pulses, calibration and timing errors, dephasing, and bounded pumping, this search yields a sequence with an explicit preparation-time bound. For every initial state, it guarantees trace distance at most 0.10.10.1 from the target at the end of preparation and throughout subsequent cycles.