Flux-controlled quantum computation with Majorana fermions

Abstract

Majorana fermions hold promise for quantum computation, because their non-Abelian braiding statistics allows for topologically protected operations on quantum information. Topological qubits can be constructed from pairs of well-separated Majoranas in networks of nanowires. The coupling to a superconducting charge qubit in a transmission line resonator (transmon) permits braiding of Majoranas by external variation of magnetic fluxes. We show that readout operations can also be fully flux controlled, without requiring microscopic control over tunnel couplings. We identify the minimal circuit that can perform the initialization-braiding-measurement steps required to demonstrate non-Abelian statistics. We introduce the Random Access Majorana Memory (RAMM), a scalable circuit that can perform a joint parity measurement on Majoranas belonging to a selection of topological qubits. Such multiqubit measurements allow for the efficient creation of highly entangled states and simplify quantum error correction protocols by avoiding the need for ancilla qubits.