Continuous-variable (CV) systems have shown remarkable potential for quantum computation, particularly excelling in scalability and holding great promise for error correction through bosonic encoding. Within this framework, the foundational notion of computational universality was introduced by Lloyd and Braunstein [], and has proven especially successful since it allows for the identification of finite sets of universal CV gates independent of the encoding scheme. However, realizing the full power of this computational model requires achieving fault tolerance, which in turn demands discretization via some form of encoding—and, to date, no proof exists that universal CV gates can give rise to encoded fault tolerance. We present compelling evidence in this direction by utilizing the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding. Specifically, we numerically optimize the generation of GKP states from vacua using circuits comprised solely of universal CV gates, and demonstrate that the resulting states are of sufficient quality to exhibit error probabilities below the threshold required for fault-tolerant memory via concatenated GKP-stabilizer codes.
Continuous-variable (CV) systems have shown remarkable potential for quantum computation, particularly excelling in scalability and holding great promise for error correction through bosonic encoding. Within this framework, the foundational notion of computational universality was introduced by Lloyd and Braunstein [], and has proven especially successful since it allows for the identification of finite sets of universal CV gates independent of the encoding scheme. However, realizing the full power of this computational model requires achieving fault tolerance, which in turn demands discretization via some form of encoding—and, to date, no proof exists that universal CV gates can give rise to encoded fault tolerance. We present compelling evidence in this direction by utilizing the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding. Specifically, we numerically optimize the generation of GKP states from vacua using circuits comprised solely of universal CV gates, and demonstrate that the resulting states are of sufficient quality to exhibit error probabilities below the threshold required for fault-tolerant memory via concatenated GKP-stabilizer codes.
Quantum technologies commonly operate on finite-dimensional systems, such as qubits, also known as discrete-variable (DV) systems. Continuous-variable (CV) bosonic systems, which occupy an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space, present a promising alternative. That is the focus of this thesis, which has two main goals. Firstly, we look at probing bosonic systems, to gain information about their dynamics and interaction with their environment. We employ linear response theory, which was recently extended to encompass physical situations where an open quantum system evolves toward a non-equilibrium steady-state. We use the framework put forward by Konopik and Lutz to go beyond unitary perturbations of the dynamics. Considering an open system comprised of two coupled quantum harmonic oscillators, we study the system's response to unitary perturbations, as well as non-unitary perturbations, affecting the properties of the environment, e.g., its temperature and squeezing. We show that linear response, combined with a quantum probing approach, can provide valuable quantitative information about the perturbation and characteristics of the environment. Secondly, we investigate bosonic quantum computation, which involves encoding discrete quantum information into continuous-variable quantum systems. CV quantum computation was introduced by Braunstein and Lloyd, who put forward a notion of universality that is independent of the encoding of the CV system. However, a proof that the Braunstein-Lloyd (BL) model allows for fault-tolerant computation is still missing. Here, we provide evidence towards this objective, using the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding. We show how to generate GKP states from vacua by optimising a circuit comprised of a set of CV gates, deemed universal according to the BL notion. We compute the threshold value of the Glancy-Knill error probability for a fault-tolerant quantum memory from the known squeezing threshold for the concatenated GKP-surface code. We demonstrate that our generated GKP states have error probabilities below this threshold, further corroborating our claim.
Abstract Conventional approaches towards creating a large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer require an error correction scheme that uses multiple physical qubits to encode one logical qubit of protected quantum information. A key limiting factor in realizing error-corrected quantum information processing is the large ratio of physical-to-logical qubits required by many error correction codes, outstripping the size of near-term devices. The Gottesman–Kitaev–Preskill (GKP) code offers hardware efficiency at the cost of increased encoding complexity by encoding a logical qubit into a single quantum harmonic oscillator. Building on earlier demonstrations of GKP-encoded operations, we realize an entangling gate on GKP logical qubits. Our experiments use an optimal control strategy that deterministically implements a universal set of energy-preserving logical gates on finite-energy GKP states encoded in the mechanical motions of a trapped ion. We also directly generate a GKP Bell state starting from vacuum. Our approach is compatible with existing hardware architectures, demonstrating the potential for optimal control techniques with advanced encoding schemes to accelerate the path towards large-scale fault-tolerant quantum information processing.
Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) codes encode a qubit in displaced phase-space combs of a continuous-variable (CV) quantum system and are useful for correcting a variety of high-weight photonic errors. Here we propose atomic ensemble analogs of the single-mode CV GKP code by using the quantum central limit theorem to pull back the phase-space structure of a CV system to the compact phase space of a quantum spin system. We study the optimal recovery performance of these codes under error channels described by stochastic relaxation and isotropic ballistic dephasing processes using the diversity combining approach for calculating channel fidelity. We find that the spin GKP codes outperform other spin system codes such as cat codes or binomial codes. Our spin GKP codes based on the two-axis countertwisting interaction and superpositions of SU(2) coherent states are direct spin analogs of the finite-energy CV GKP codes, whereas our codes based on one-axis twisting do not yet have well-studied CV analogs. A state preparation scheme for the spin GKP codes is proposed which uses the linear-combination-of-unitaries method, applicable to both the CV and spin GKP settings. Finally, we discuss a fault-tolerant approximate gate set for quantum computing with spin-GKP-encoded qubits, obtained by translating gates from the CV GKP setting using the quantum central limit theorem.
Continuous-variable measurement-based quantum computation on cluster states has in recent years shown great potential for scalable, universal, and fault-tolerant quantum computation when combined with the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code and quantum error correction.However, no complete fault-tolerant architecture exists that includes everything from cluster-state generation with finite squeezing to gate implementations with realistic noise and error correction.In this work, we propose a simple architecture for the preparation of a cluster state in three dimensions in which gates can be efficiently implemented by gate teleportation.To accommodate scalability, we propose architectures that allow both spatial and temporal multiplexing, with the temporally encoded version requiring as little as two squeezed light sources.Because of its three-dimensional structure, the architecture supports topological qubit error correction, while GKP error correction is efficiently realized within the architecture by teleportation.To validate fault tolerance, the architecture is simulated using surface-GKP codes, including noise from GKP states as well as gate noise caused by finite squeezing in the cluster state.We find a fault-tolerant squeezing threshold of 12.7 dB, with room for further improvement.
Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding holds promise for continuous-variable fault-tolerant quantum computing. While an ideal GKP encoding is abstract and impractical due to its nonphysical nature, approximate versions provide viable alternatives. Conventional approximate GKP codewords are superpositions of multiple large-amplitude squeezed coherent states. This feature ensures correctability against single-photon loss and dephasing at short times, but also increases the difficulty of preparing the codewords. To minimize this tradeoff, we utilize a neural network to generate optimal approximate GKP states, allowing effective error correction with just a few squeezed coherent states. We find that such optimized GKP codes outperform the best conventional ones, requiring fewer squeezed coherent states, while maintaining simple and generalized stabilizer operators. Specifically, the former outperform the latter with just one-third of the number of squeezed coherent states at a squeezing level of 9.55 dB. This optimization drastically decreases the complexity of codewords while improving error correctability.
The continuous-variable (CV) Gaussian no-go theorem fundamentally limits the suppression of Gaussian displacement errors using only Gaussian gates and states. Prior studies have employed Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states as ancillary qumodes to suppress small Gaussian displacement errors, but when the displacement magnitude becomes large, lattice-crossing events arise beyond the correctable range of the GKP state. To address this issue, we concatenate a Gaussian-noise-suppression circuit with an outer analog Steane code that corrects such occasional lattice-crossing events as well as other abrupt displacement errors. Unlike conventional concatenation, which primarily aims to reduce logical error rates, the Steane-GKP duality in encoding provides complementary protection against both large and small displacement errors, enabling CV error correction within the continuous encoding space and contrasting with earlier approaches that concatenate GKP states with repetition codes for discrete qubit or qudit encodings. Analytical results show that, under infinite squeezing, the concatenated code suppresses the variance of Gaussian displacement errors across all qumodes by up to 50 percent while enabling unbiased correction of lattice-crossing events, with a success probability determined by the ratio between the residual Gaussian error standard deviation and the lattice-crossing magnitude. Even with finite squeezing, the proposed architecture continues to provide Gaussian-error suppression together with lattice-crossing correction, and the presence of the outer analog Steane code relaxes the squeezing requirement of the inner GKP states, indicating near-term experimental feasibility. This work establishes a viable route toward fault-tolerant continuous-variable quantum computation and provides new insight into the design of concatenated CV error-correcting architectures.