Sequential circuits provide an optimal linear-depth route to unitarily preparing long-range ordered quantum states, but circuit-level noise can be far more damaging than noise applied after preparation: local errors may be propagated by subsequent gates into nonlocal defects that destroy the target order. In this work, we present classes of unitary sequential circuits that prepare certain non-trivial orders in the presence of Pauli noise. Our constructions exploit the spatial structure of the syndromes of the target state, which in certain cases allows us to systematically suppress the propagation of errors using strictly local gates. The strategy can be applied both to symmetry-breaking order, for which we present a 3D example, and to topological order, which we showcase on a 4D version of the toric code. We also highlight how this stability against errors necessitates non-Clifford gates, and how measurement-feedback loops can be used to stabilize lower-dimensional states as well.
Sequential circuits provide an optimal linear-depth route to unitarily preparing long-range ordered quantum states, but circuit-level noise can be far more damaging than noise applied after preparation: local errors may be propagated by subsequent gates into nonlocal defects that destroy the target order. In this work, we present classes of unitary sequential circuits that prepare certain non-trivial orders in the presence of Pauli noise. Our constructions exploit the spatial structure of the syndromes of the target state, which in certain cases allows us to systematically suppress the propagation of errors using strictly local gates. The strategy can be applied both to symmetry-breaking order, for which we present a 3D example, and to topological order, which we showcase on a 4D version of the toric code. We also highlight how this stability against errors necessitates non-Clifford gates, and how measurement-feedback loops can be used to stabilize lower-dimensional states as well.
Long-range entangled states are vital for quantum information processing and quantum metrology. Preparing such states by combining measurements with unitary gates opened new possibilities for efficient protocols with finite-depth quantum circuits. The complexity of these algorithms is crucial for the resource requirements on a large-scale noisy quantum device, while their stability to perturbations decides the fate of their implementation. In this work, we consider stochastic quantum circuits in one and two dimensions comprising randomly applied unitary gates and local measurements. These operations preserve a class of discrete local symmetries, which are broken due to the stochasticity arising from timing and gate imperfections. In the absence of randomness, the protocol generates a symmetry-protected long-range entangled state in a finite-depth circuit. In the general case, by studying the time evolution under this hybrid circuit, we analyze the time to reach the target entangled state. We find two important time scales that we associate with the emergence of certain symmetry generators. The quantum trajectories embody the local symmetry with a time scaling logarithmically with system size, while global symmetries require exponentially long times. We devise error-mitigation protocols that significantly lower both time scales and investigate the stability of the algorithm to perturbations that naturally arise in experiments. We also generalize the protocol to realize toric code and Xu-Moore states in two dimensions, opening avenues for future studies of anyonic excitations. Our results unveil a fundamental relationship between symmetries and dynamics across a range of lattice geometries, which contributes to a broad understanding of the stability of preparation algorithms in terms of phase transitions. Our work paves the way for efficient error correction for quantum state preparation.
Given the wide applicability of topological states for fault-tolerant quantum computation, an important outstanding question is how to generate these states within the quantum circuit model, and if it is possible to do so efficiently. In this work, toric code states on the torus are mapped to an equivalent graph state under local Clifford operations. The graph is composed of only two subgraphs, both of which can be generated in log depth, assuming geometrically non-local gates. Including ancillae and measurements, the circuit depth can be reduced to a constant at the cost of increasing the circuit width. Among many insights, the toric code graph structure reveals a close connection between repetition and topological codes. Due to their local equivalence to the toric code, all two-dimensional translationally invariant topological stabilizer codes are therefore efficiently preparable on a quantum circuit. The results provide a new graph-theoretic framework for the development of novel topological error correction codes, beyond geometrical considerations.
Non-invertible symmetries in quantum many-body systems generally give rise to sequential unitary circuits that move symmetry defects. In this paper, we investigate invariants defined by sequences of such circuits, which move non-invertible defects and generate a Berry phase evaluated on quantum states with defects. We show that this Berry phase generally defines an invariant under local deformations, provided that the sequential circuits preserve the locality of those deformations. This invariant also rules out a short-range-entangled state that preserves the non-invertible symmetry, thereby signaling the 't Hooft anomaly of a non-invertible symmetry purely in terms of unitary operators acting on a state. We then apply this framework to loop excitations in three spatial dimensions and identify a new loop excitation in the (3+1)D D4 topological order, which we dub a non-Abelian fermionic loop. Using the invariant of sequential circuits, we characterize the statistics of non-Abelian fermionic loops. In addition, we find a new (3+1)D mixed topological order with a single non-Abelian fermionic loop, whose long-range entanglement is protected by an invariant of sequential circuits.
Measurements and feedforward enhance the power of shallow quantum circuits, enabling the deterministic implementation of global unitary operations and the preparation of long-range entangled states. We establish a general correspondence between all such protocols and quantum error-correcting codes: the circuit preceding the measurements acts as an encoder, and unitary feedforward can eliminate post-selection if and only if the measurement projectors are detectable errors on the codespace. This correspondence provides a common framework for state preparation and implementation of global unitaries with measurements and feedforward, turning both into a code-design problem. For stabilizer codes with Pauli measurements, although the resulting operation can be non-Clifford, we show that its nonstabilizerness originates entirely from the encoder. We overcome this restriction using non-Pauli measurements or non-additive codes, constructing protocols that generate long-range nonstabilizerness while requiring only single-qubit unitary corrections.
Demonstrating how long-range entangled states are born from product states has gained much attention, which is not only important for quantum technology but also provides an unconventional tool in characterizing and classifying exotic phases of matter. In this paper, we introduce a unified and efficient framework of quantum circuits (i.e., a series of local unitary transformations), termed the seed-entangler-enriched sequential quantum circuit (SEESQC) to construct long-range entangled states (i.e., code states) in the code space of topological error-correcting codes. Specifically, we apply SEESQC to construct code states of tetradigit models---a broad class of long-range entangled stabilizer codes indexed by a four-digit parameter. These models are not rare but encompass toric codes across arbitrary dimensions and subsume the X-cube fracton code as special cases. Featuring a hierarchical structure of generalized entanglement renormalization group, many tetradigit models host spatially extended excitations (e.g., loops, membranes, and exotic nonmanifold objects) with constrained mobility and deformability, and exhibit system-size-dependent ground-state degeneracies that scale exponentially with a polynomial in linear sizes. In this work, we begin with graphical and algebraic demonstration of quantum circuits for the computational basis states, before generalizing to broader cases. Central to this framework is a key ingredient termed the seed-entangler acting on a small number of qubits termed seeds, enabling a systematic scheme to achieve arbitrary code states. Remarkably, the number of available seeds equals the number of logical qubits for the constructed examples, which leaves plenty of room for future investigation in theoretical physics, mathematics and quantum information science. Beyond the critical limitation of prior state-engineering methodologies, which required entirely distinct, model-specific circuit designs for each class of topological order, this framework transcends spatial dimensions, bridges liquid and nonliquid states, and unifies gapped phases governed by distinct entanglement renormalization group schemes. With experimental feasibility via synthetic dimensions in modern quantum simulators, the SEESQC framework offers a pathway toward engineering topological phases, and manipulating logical qubits.
We study fault-tolerant quantum computation using a fixed, local error-correction rule and a geometrically simple code: the cubical (d,d′)-Toric code with d′,d−d′≥2, including the 4D Toric code. Under sufficiently weak local-stochastic Pauli noise, our construction uses noiseless, bounded-depth classical processing per physical time step. Its correction cycle acts only on the current syndrome, has constant depth, and is repeated unchanged during idle logical computation; it requires neither multiscale decoder states nor scale-dependent communication delays.
Our proof treats errors and syndromes as chains in a cubical complex, combining geometric shrinking under the sweep rule with a space--time explanation-tree argument inspired by Toom's theorem. It does not rely on expansion. We establish three results:
1.Explicit higher-dimensional sweep rule. We give a local algorithm for choosing sweep corrections on cubical (d,d′)-Toric complexes, resolving the local-existence question of Kubica and Preskill.
2. Fault-tolerant computation. We prove a circuit-level threshold theorem for noisy sweep cycles interleaved with logical gates. In particular, the 4D Toric code admits a fixed, constant-depth syndrome-based correction cycle without a multiscale decoder or expansion-based encoding. We do not claim constant total-depth overhead.
3. Ideal decoding under local-stochastic noise. For an initial local-stochastic Pauli error of rate p below threshold, nd+1 noiseless sweep cycles recover the encoded state on a side-length-n(d,d′)-Toric code with probability at least 1−O(poly(n))pΩ(n), extending earlier guarantees for independent errors.