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International Conference on Quantum Information

Operator Quantum Fault Tolerance

Gerald N. Gilbert, Michael Hamrick, Yaakov S. Weinstein, Vaneet Aggarwal, A.R. Calderbank

Published Jan 1, 2008• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We introduce a universal operator theoretic framework for quantum fault tolerance that incorporates a top-down approach based on specification of the full system dynamics. This approach leads to more accurate error thresholds.
DOI
10.1364/icqi.2008.jmb46

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In this paper we introduce a universal operator theoretic framework for quantum fault tolerance. This incorporates a top-down approach that implements a system-level criterion based on specification of the full system dynamics, applied at every level of error correction concatenation. This leads to more accurate determinations of error thresholds than could previously be obtained. This is demonstrated both formally and with an explicit numerical example. The basis for our approach is the Quantum Computer Condition (QCC), an inequality governing the evolution of a quantum computer. We show that all known coding schemes are actually special cases of the QCC. We demonstrate this by introducing a new, operator theoretic form of entanglement assisted quantum error correction, which incorporates as special cases all known error correcting protocols, and is itself a special case of the QCC.
We extend standard fault tolerance theory and Kitaev’s model for quantum computation so as to enable quantitative determination of design parameters for quantum computers that ensure that the overall computation yields a correct final result with some prescribed probability, as opposed to merely ensuring that the desired final quantum state is obtained. Our extension allows us to explicitly calculate the number of levels of error correction concatenation needed to achieve a correct final result with some prescribed success probability and demonstrate a clear connection between error correction and fault tolerance.
Steane code is one of the most widely studied quantum error-correction codes, which is a natural choice for fault-tolerant quantum computation (FTQC). However, the original Steane code is not fault-tolerant because the CNOT gates in an encoded block may cause error propagation. In this paper, we first propose a fault-tolerant encoding and decoding scheme, which analyzes all possible errors caused by each quantum gate in an error-correction period. In this scheme, we combine the results of measuring redundant qubits with those of syndrome measurements to identify specific errors for different types of errors. But due to the error propagation, there may be cases where different errors produce the same measurement results. Therefore, we introduce the "flag qubits" scheme (providing its usage conditions) to reduce error interference as much as possible, and we consider the errors caused by the introduced quantum gates, realizing the truly fault-tolerant Steane code. Afterwards, we provide the fault-tolerant scheme of the universal quantum gate set, including fault-tolerant preparation and verification of ancillary states. This is the first time that fault tolerance has been considered for every process of FTQC. Finally, We propose an algorithm for a more accurate estimation of thresholds and optimal error-correction period selection. Our simulation results based on this entire scheme demonstrate the effectiveness of this algorithm, satisfying the threshold theorem and the currently widely recognized threshold. We analyze the relationship among the maximum threshold, concatenated levels, and quantum logical depth, showing that quantum operations play a crucial role in increasing the threshold. Furthermore, we analyze the computational theoretical limits of quantum computers from the perspectives of attack and active defense based on our FTQC scheme, thereby assessing the security of a system.
In this paper we present a new unified theoretical framework that describes the full dynamics of quantum computation. Our formulation allows any questions pertaining to the physical behavior of a quantum computer to be framed, and in principle, answered. We refer to the central organizing principle developed in this paper, on which our theoretical structure is based, as the *Quantum Computer Condition* (QCC), a rigorous mathematical statement that connects the irreversible dynamics of the quantum computing machine, with the reversible operations that comprise the quantum computation intended to be carried out by the quantum computing machine. Armed with the QCC, we derive a powerful result that we call the *Encoding No-Go Theorem*. This theorem gives a precise mathematical statement of the conditions under which fault-tolerant quantum computation becomes impossible in the presence of dissipation and/or decoherence. In connection with this theorem, we explicitly calculate a universal critical damping value for fault-tolerant quantum computation. In addition we show that the recently-discovered approach to quantum error correction known as "operator quantum error-correction" (OQEC) is a special case of our more general formulation. Our approach furnishes what we will refer to as "operator quantum fault-tolerance" (OQFT). In particular, we show how the QCC allows one to derive error thresholds for fault tolerance in a completely general context. We prove the existence of solutions to a class of time-dependent generalizations of the Lindblad equation. Using the QCC, we also show that the seemingly different circuit, graph- (including cluster-) state, and adiabatic paradigms for quantum computing are in fact all manifestations of a single, universal paradigm for all physical quantum computation.