Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:2609.07702

Subsystem self-correction of the GKP qubit

Brian Chung Hang Cheung, Lasse Bjørn Kristensen, Frederik Nathan, Michael Kastoryano

quant-phSubmitted Sep 7, 2026• Announced Sep 8, 2026• 0 citations• Revised Oct 26, 2026 (v2)
v1 · Sep 7, 2026v2 · Oct 26, 2026
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Passive quantum error correction, also known as self-correction, is a holy grail in quantum information science. Recent theoretical advances suggest that the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code can exhibit self-correction properties, positioning it as a candidate for the realization of self-correcting quantum memories. In this article, we provide a self-contained derivation of the self-correcting behavior of the ideal GKP Hamiltonian, manifested in the Arrhenius type scaling of the logical lifetime, from a quantum-information perspective based on the subsystem code decomposition. When coupling through the physical quadrature $q$ and $p$, the detailed-balance jump operators decompose into a dominant part acting only on the gauge subsystem and a boundary term that acts non-trivially on the logical qubit. The boundary term is then exponentially suppressed by the Gibbs weights near the edge of the modular cells. In contrast to spin-based quantum memories such as the two-dimensional surface code, the GKP Hamiltonian realizes an effective string tension in modular phase space, whereby the energy cost increases as an error approaches the boundary of a logical sector.

Related papers

Stabilizer Subsystem Decompositions for Single- and Multimode Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill Codes

Mackenzie H. Shaw, Andrew C. Doherty, Arne L. Grimsmo

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) error-correcting code encodes a finite-dimensional logical space in one or more bosonic modes, and has recently been demonstrated in trapped ions and superconducting microwave cavities. In this work we introduce a new subsystem decomposition for GKP codes that we call the stabilizer subsystem decomposition, analogous to the usual approach to quantum stabilizer codes. The decomposition has the defining property that a partial trace over the nonlogical stabilizer subsystem is equivalent to an ideal decoding of the logical state, distinguishing it from previous GKP subsystem decompositions. We describe how to decompose arbitrary states across the subsystem decomposition using a set of transformations that move between the decompositions of different GKP codes. Besides providing a convenient theoretical view on GKP codes, such a decomposition is also of practical use. We use the stabilizer subsystem decomposition to efficiently simulate noise acting on single-mode GKP codes, and in contrast to more conventional Fock basis simulations, we are able to consider essentially arbitrarily large photon numbers for realistic noise channels, such as loss and dephasing. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

arXiv:2210.14919•PRX Quantum•Feb 23, 2024•24 citations

Probabilistic Error Cancellation for Single-Mode Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill Codes

Victoria Wadewitz, Alessandro Ciani

In order to solve practical problems on a quantum computer, it is necessary to use fault-tolerant quantum error correction schemes to overcome noise: the errors arising from imperfections in physical components. The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code aims at achieving this in a hardware efficient manner by encoding finite-dimensional logical subspaces in the Hilbert space of one or more continuous variable modes. In near term implementations, however, it is not feasible to eliminate errors entirely, so it is natural to also employ alternative error mitigation techniques together with error correction. In this work, we study a quantum error mitigation method known as probabilistic error cancellation in the context of the GKP code. We compare Steane-type and teleportation-based GKP error correction, and calculate the sampling overheads associated with the technique for square and hexagonal GKP codes. We employ the stabilizer subsystem decomposition for GKP codes to obtain an effective logical channel for noisy operations that is used to express the ideal one of a target logical unitary. We consider noise from finite squeezing on the data and the two ancilla modes, needed for error correction, and examine the relationship between the sampling overhead and the noise for different decoding methods. Our results are calculated for single- and two-qubit GKP Clifford gates and one round of error correction, and show the nontrivial combination of error correction and mitigation in continuous variable codes.

quant-pharXiv:2609.17095•Sep 16, 2026•0 citations

Zak transform as a framework for quantum computation with the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill code

Giacomo Pantaleoni, Ben Q. Baragiola, Nicolas C. Menicucci

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code encodes a qubit into a bosonic mode using periodic wave functions. This periodicity makes the GKP code a natural setting for the Zak transform, which is tailor-made to provide a simple description for periodic functions. We review the Zak transform and its connection to a Zak basis of states in Hilbert space, decompose the shift operators that underpin the stabilizers and the correctable errors, and find that Zak transforms of the position wave function appear naturally in GKP error correction. We construct a bosonic subsystem decomposition (SSD)---the modular variable SSD---by dividing a mode's Hilbert space, expressed in the Zak basis, into that of a virtual qubit and a virtual gauge mode. Tracing over the gauge mode gives a logical-qubit state, and preceding the trace with a particular logical-gauge interaction gives a different logical state---that associated to GKP error correction.

arXiv:2210.09494•Physical Review A•Jun 28, 2023•11 citations

Low-Overhead Fault-Tolerant Quantum Error Correction with the Surface-GKP Code

Kyungjoo Noh, Christopher Chamberland, Fernando G. S. L. Brandão

Fault-tolerant quantum error correction is essential for implementing quantum algorithms of significant practical importance.In this work, we propose a highly effective use of the surface Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code, i.e., the surface code consisting of bosonic GKP qubits instead of bare two-level qubits.In our proposal, we use error-corrected two-qubit gates between GKP qubits and introduce a maximum-likelihood decoding strategy for correcting shift errors in the two-GKP-qubit gates.Our proposed decoding reduces the total CNOT failure rate of the GKP qubits, e.g., from 0.87% to 0.36% at a GKP squeezing of 12 dB, compared to the case where the simple closest-integer decoding is used.Then, by concatenating the GKP code with the surface code, we find that the threshold GKP squeezing is given by 9.9 dB under the the assumption that finite squeezing of the GKP states is the dominant noise source.More importantly, we show that a low logical failure rate p L < 10 -7 can be achieved with moderate hardware requirements, e.g., 291 modes and 97 qubits at a GKP squeezing of 12 dB as opposed to 1457 bare qubits for the standard rotated surface code at an equivalent noise level (i.e., p = 0.36%).Such a low failure rate of our surface-GKP code is possible through the use of space-time correlated edges in the matching graphs of the surface-code decoder.Further, all edge weights in the matching graphs are computed dynamically based on analog information from the GKP error correction using the full history of all syndrome measurement rounds.We also show that a highly squeezed GKP state of GKP squeezing 12 dB can be experimentally realized by using a dissipative stabilization method, namely, the big-small-big method, with fairly conservative experimental parameters.Lastly, we introduce a three-level ancilla scheme to mitigate ancilla decay errors during a GKP state preparation.

arXiv:2103.06994•PRX Quantum•Jan 28, 2022•79 citations

Quantum error correction with the color-Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill code

Jiaxuan Zhang, Jian Zhao, Yu-Chun Wu +1 more

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code is an important type of bosonic quantum error-correcting code. Since the GKP code only protects against small shift errors in $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{p}$ and $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{q}$ quadratures, it is necessary to concatenate the GKP code with a stabilizer code for the larger error correction. In this paper, we consider the concatenation of the single-mode GKP code with the two-dimensional (2D) color code (color-GKP code) on the square-octagon lattice. We use the Steane-type scheme with a maximum-likelihood estimation for GKP error correction and show its advantage for the concatenation. In our main paper, the minimum-weight perfect matching algorithm is applied to decode the color-GKP code. Complemented with the continuous-variable information from the GKP code, the threshold of the 2D color code is improved. If only data GKP qubits are noisy, the threshold reaches $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\approx}0.59(\overline{p}\ensuremath{\approx}13.3%)$ compared with $\overline{p}=10.2%$ of the normal 2D color code. If measurements are also noisy, we introduce the generalized restriction decoder on the three-dimensional space-time graph for decoding. The threshold reaches $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\approx}0.46$ when measurements in the GKP error correction are noiseless, and $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\approx}0.24$ when all measurements are noisy. Lastly, the good performance of the generalized restriction decoder is also shown on the normal 2D color code giving the threshold at $3.1%$ under the phenomenological error model.

arXiv:2112.14447•Physical Review A•Dec 20, 2021•15 citations

Autonomous Quantum Error Correction of Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill States

Dany Lachance-Quirion, Marc-Antoine Lemonde, Jean Olivier Simoneau +12 more

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code encodes a logical qubit into a bosonic system with resilience against single-photon loss, the predominant error in most bosonic systems. Here we present experimental results demonstrating quantum error correction of GKP states based on reservoir engineering of a superconducting device. Error correction is made fully autonomous through an unconditional reset of an auxiliary transmon qubit. We show that the lifetime of the logical qubit is increased from quantum error correction, therefore reaching the point at which more errors are corrected than generated.

arXiv:2310.11400•Physical Review Letters•Apr 12, 2024•42 citations
Passive quantum error correction, also known as self-correction, is a holy grail in quantum information science. Recent theoretical advances suggest that the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code can exhibit self-correction properties, positioning it as a candidate for the realization of self-correcting quantum memories. In this article, we provide a self-contained derivation of the self-correcting behavior of the ideal GKP Hamiltonian, manifested in the Arrhenius type scaling of the logical lifetime, from a quantum-information perspective based on the subsystem code decomposition. When coupling through the physical quadrature qqq and ppp, the detailed-balance jump operators decompose into a dominant part acting only on the gauge subsystem and a boundary term that acts non-trivially on the logical qubit. The boundary term is then exponentially suppressed by the Gibbs weights near the edge of the modular cells. In contrast to spin-based quantum memories such as the two-dimensional surface code, the GKP Hamiltonian realizes an effective string tension in modular phase space, whereby the energy cost increases as an error approaches the boundary of a logical sector.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) error-correcting code encodes a finite-dimensional logical space in one or more bosonic modes, and has recently been demonstrated in trapped ions and superconducting microwave cavities. In this work we introduce a new subsystem decomposition for GKP codes that we call the stabilizer subsystem decomposition, analogous to the usual approach to quantum stabilizer codes. The decomposition has the defining property that a partial trace over the nonlogical stabilizer subsystem is equivalent to an ideal decoding of the logical state, distinguishing it from previous GKP subsystem decompositions. We describe how to decompose arbitrary states across the subsystem decomposition using a set of transformations that move between the decompositions of different GKP codes. Besides providing a convenient theoretical view on GKP codes, such a decomposition is also of practical use. We use the stabilizer subsystem decomposition to efficiently simulate noise acting on single-mode GKP codes, and in contrast to more conventional Fock basis simulations, we are able to consider essentially arbitrarily large photon numbers for realistic noise channels, such as loss and dephasing. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
In order to solve practical problems on a quantum computer, it is necessary to use fault-tolerant quantum error correction schemes to overcome noise: the errors arising from imperfections in physical components. The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code aims at achieving this in a hardware efficient manner by encoding finite-dimensional logical subspaces in the Hilbert space of one or more continuous variable modes. In near term implementations, however, it is not feasible to eliminate errors entirely, so it is natural to also employ alternative error mitigation techniques together with error correction. In this work, we study a quantum error mitigation method known as probabilistic error cancellation in the context of the GKP code. We compare Steane-type and teleportation-based GKP error correction, and calculate the sampling overheads associated with the technique for square and hexagonal GKP codes. We employ the stabilizer subsystem decomposition for GKP codes to obtain an effective logical channel for noisy operations that is used to express the ideal one of a target logical unitary. We consider noise from finite squeezing on the data and the two ancilla modes, needed for error correction, and examine the relationship between the sampling overhead and the noise for different decoding methods. Our results are calculated for single- and two-qubit GKP Clifford gates and one round of error correction, and show the nontrivial combination of error correction and mitigation in continuous variable codes.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code encodes a qubit into a bosonic mode using periodic wave functions. This periodicity makes the GKP code a natural setting for the Zak transform, which is tailor-made to provide a simple description for periodic functions. We review the Zak transform and its connection to a Zak basis of states in Hilbert space, decompose the shift operators that underpin the stabilizers and the correctable errors, and find that Zak transforms of the position wave function appear naturally in GKP error correction. We construct a bosonic subsystem decomposition (SSD)---the modular variable SSD---by dividing a mode's Hilbert space, expressed in the Zak basis, into that of a virtual qubit and a virtual gauge mode. Tracing over the gauge mode gives a logical-qubit state, and preceding the trace with a particular logical-gauge interaction gives a different logical state---that associated to GKP error correction.
Fault-tolerant quantum error correction is essential for implementing quantum algorithms of significant practical importance.In this work, we propose a highly effective use of the surface Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code, i.e., the surface code consisting of bosonic GKP qubits instead of bare two-level qubits.In our proposal, we use error-corrected two-qubit gates between GKP qubits and introduce a maximum-likelihood decoding strategy for correcting shift errors in the two-GKP-qubit gates.Our proposed decoding reduces the total CNOT failure rate of the GKP qubits, e.g., from 0.87% to 0.36% at a GKP squeezing of 12 dB, compared to the case where the simple closest-integer decoding is used.Then, by concatenating the GKP code with the surface code, we find that the threshold GKP squeezing is given by 9.9 dB under the the assumption that finite squeezing of the GKP states is the dominant noise source.More importantly, we show that a low logical failure rate p L < 10 -7 can be achieved with moderate hardware requirements, e.g., 291 modes and 97 qubits at a GKP squeezing of 12 dB as opposed to 1457 bare qubits for the standard rotated surface code at an equivalent noise level (i.e., p = 0.36%).Such a low failure rate of our surface-GKP code is possible through the use of space-time correlated edges in the matching graphs of the surface-code decoder.Further, all edge weights in the matching graphs are computed dynamically based on analog information from the GKP error correction using the full history of all syndrome measurement rounds.We also show that a highly squeezed GKP state of GKP squeezing 12 dB can be experimentally realized by using a dissipative stabilization method, namely, the big-small-big method, with fairly conservative experimental parameters.Lastly, we introduce a three-level ancilla scheme to mitigate ancilla decay errors during a GKP state preparation.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code is an important type of bosonic quantum error-correcting code. Since the GKP code only protects against small shift errors in $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{p}$ and $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{q}$ quadratures, it is necessary to concatenate the GKP code with a stabilizer code for the larger error correction. In this paper, we consider the concatenation of the single-mode GKP code with the two-dimensional (2D) color code (color-GKP code) on the square-octagon lattice. We use the Steane-type scheme with a maximum-likelihood estimation for GKP error correction and show its advantage for the concatenation. In our main paper, the minimum-weight perfect matching algorithm is applied to decode the color-GKP code. Complemented with the continuous-variable information from the GKP code, the threshold of the 2D color code is improved. If only data GKP qubits are noisy, the threshold reaches $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\approx}0.59(\overline{p}\ensuremath{\approx}13.3%)$ compared with p‾=10.2\overline{p}=10.2%p​=10.2 of the normal 2D color code. If measurements are also noisy, we introduce the generalized restriction decoder on the three-dimensional space-time graph for decoding. The threshold reaches $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\approx}0.46$ when measurements in the GKP error correction are noiseless, and $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\approx}0.24$ when all measurements are noisy. Lastly, the good performance of the generalized restriction decoder is also shown on the normal 2D color code giving the threshold at 3.13.1%3.1 under the phenomenological error model.
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code encodes a logical qubit into a bosonic system with resilience against single-photon loss, the predominant error in most bosonic systems. Here we present experimental results demonstrating quantum error correction of GKP states based on reservoir engineering of a superconducting device. Error correction is made fully autonomous through an unconditional reset of an auxiliary transmon qubit. We show that the lifetime of the logical qubit is increased from quantum error correction, therefore reaching the point at which more errors are corrected than generated.