Five conceptually distinct notions of symmetry in quantum theory are studied in the algebraic setting where a quantum system is characterized by a von Neumann algebra of observables and the set of normal states on the algebra. It is shown that all five symmetry notions are closely related and that the glue binding them together is the concept of a Jordan ∗-automorphism. For factor algebras a Jordan ∗-automorphism reduces either to an ∗-automorphism or a ∗-anti-automorphism. If the algebra is put in standard form then a ∗-automorphism is always unitarily implementable, whereas a ∗-anti-automorphism is always anti-unitarily implementable. However, there is no guarantee that a general von Neumann algebra admits ∗-anti-automorphisms or, if it does, that it admits order two (or involutory) ∗-anti-automorphisms). For non-factor algebras there can be genuine Jordan ∗-automorphisms that are neither ∗-automorphisms nor ∗-anti-automorphisms, and implementation is possible only through partial isometries. These developments enable generalized versions of Wigner's theorem on the implementation of transition probability preserving symmetries for von Neumann algebras. This review is largely an exercise in connecting the dots in existing mathematics and physics literature. But in the service of the philosophy of physics it is an exercise worth doing since the practitioners in this field seem largely unaware of or unappreciative of this literature and how it fits together to yield a multifaceted but unified picture of quantum symmetries. Along the way various interpretations issues worthy of further discussion are flagged.
Automorphisms of quantum codes, when they exist, offer a pathway toward fault-tolerant gate implementation via qubit relabeling. Although useful, the conditions under which automorphisms appear in a given code remain poorly understood. In this paper, we develop an algebraic framework for systematically analyzing and engineering automorphisms in Generalized Bicycle (GB) codes. Central to our approach is the derivation of a three-space dependency between the polynomial ring space, the parity check matrix space, and the
F22ℓ qubit space, similar to the structure found in the study of classical cyclic codes. By expressing GB codes as a pair of cyclic submodules of
Rℓ2, where
Rℓ≅F2[x]/⟨xℓ−1⟩, we reduce the search for code automorphisms to a deterministic algebraic problem, deriving necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of block-separable automorphisms built from cyclic shifts, ring automorphisms and block-swaps. We connect these conditions to the fold-transversal gate framework, providing explicit criteria for the existence of
H-,
S-, and
CX-type fold-transversal gates. We further discuss structured bases for logical operators in order to determine the logical action of a given automorphism. Finally, we introduce the Maximal Cube Root (MCR) code family, a family of GB codes constructed around the principle of maximizing automorphism flexibility and fold-CX gates. We demonstrate a collection of
k=2 MCR codes up to
d=13 generating the 2-qubit Clifford group via automorphism and fold-transversal gates, with stabilizer weight ranging from 8 to 16, and
k>2 MCR codes with a minimum of 20 distinct logical gates achievable from automorphisms. This serves as a first demonstration of inverse design: using these methods to build codes around a rich automorphism structure from the ground up.