Approximate Quantum Error Research Articles

Towards Holography via Quantum Source-Channel Codes.

While originally motivated by quantum computation, quantum error correction (QEC) is currently providing valuable insights into many-body quantum physics, such as topological phases of matter. Furthermore, mounting evidence originating from holography research (AdS/CFT) indicates that QEC should also be pertinent for conformal field theories. With this motivation in mind, we introduce quantum source-channel codes, which combine features of lossy compression and approximate quantum error correction, both of which are predicted in holography. Through a recent construction for approximate recovery maps, we derive guarantees on its erasure decoding performance from calculations of an entropic quantity called conditional mutual information. As an example, we consider Gibbs states of the transverse field Ising model at criticality and provide evidence that they exhibit nontrivial protection from local erasure. This gives rise to the first concrete interpretation of a bona fide conformal field theory as a quantum error correcting code. We argue that quantum source-channel codes are of independent interest beyond holography.

Limits on the storage of quantum information in a volume of space

We study the fundamental limits on the reliable storage of quantum information in lattices of qubits by deriving tradeoff bounds for approximate quantum error correcting codes. We introduce a notion of local approximate correctability and code distance, and give a number of equivalent formulations thereof, generalizing various exact error-correction criteria. Our tradeoff bounds relate the number of physical qubits n, the number of encoded qubits k, the code distance d, the accuracy parameter δ that quantifies how well the erasure channel can be reversed, and the locality parameter ℓ that specifies the length scale at which the recovery operation can be done. In a regime where the recovery is successful to accuracy δ that is exponentially small in ℓ, which is the case for perturbations of local commuting projector codes, our bound reads kd2D−1≤O(n(log⁡n)2DD−1) for codes on D-dimensional lattices of Euclidean metric. We also find that the code distance of any local approximate code cannot exceed O(ℓn(D−1)/D) if δ≤O(ℓn−1/D). As a corollary of our formulation of correctability in terms of logical operator avoidance, we show that the code distance d and the size d~ of a minimal region that can support all approximate logical operators satisfies d~d1D−1≤O(nℓDD−1), where the logical operators are accurate up to O((nδ/d)1/2) in operator norm. Finally, we prove that for two-dimensional systems if logical operators can be approximated by operators supported on constant-width flexible strings, then the dimension of the code space must be bounded. This supports one of the assumptions of algebraic anyon theories, that there exist only finitely many anyon types.

Entanglement renormalization, quantum error correction, and bulk causality

Entanglement renormalization can be viewed as an encoding circuit for a family of approximate quantum error correcting codes. The logical information becomes progres-sively more well-protected against erasure errors at larger length scales. In particular, an approximate variant of holographic quantum error correcting code emerges at low energy for critical systems. This implies that two operators that are largely separated in scales behave as if they are spatially separated operators, in the sense that they obey a Lieb-Robinson type locality bound under a time evolution generated by a local Hamiltonian.

Uncertainty relations and approximate quantum error correction

The uncertainty principle can be understood as constraining the probability of winning a game in which Alice measures one of two conjugate observables, such as position or momentum, on a system provided by Bob, and he is to guess the outcome. Two variants are possible: either Alice tells Bob which observable she measured, or he has to furnish guesses for both cases. Here I derive new uncertainty relations for both, formulated directly in terms of Bob's guessing probabilities. For the former these relate to the entanglement that can be recovered by action on Bob's system alone. This gives a condition for approximate quantum error correction in terms of the recoverability of "amplitude" and "phase" information, implicitly used in the recent construction of efficient quantum polar codes. I also find a tight relation on the guessing probabilities for the latter game, which has application to wave-particle duality relations.

New Class of Quantum Error-Correcting Codes for a Bosonic Mode

We construct a new class of quantum error-correcting codes for a bosonic mode which are advantageous for applications in quantum memories, communication, and scalable computation. These 'binomial quantum codes' are formed from a finite superposition of Fock states weighted with binomial coefficients. The binomial codes can exactly correct errors that are polynomial up to a specific degree in bosonic creation and annihilation operators, including amplitude damping and displacement noise as well as boson addition and dephasing errors. For realistic continuous-time dissipative evolution, the codes can perform approximate quantum error correction to any given order in the timestep between error detection measurements. We present an explicit approximate quantum error recovery operation based on projective measurements and unitary operations. The binomial codes are tailored for detecting boson loss and gain errors by means of measurements of the generalized number parity. We discuss optimization of the binomial codes and demonstrate that by relaxing the parity structure, codes with even lower unrecoverable error rates can be achieved. The binomial codes are related to existing two-mode bosonic codes but offer the advantage of requiring only a single bosonic mode to correct amplitude damping as well as the ability to correct other errors. Our codes are similar in spirit to 'cat codes' based on superpositions of the coherent states, but offer several advantages such as smaller mean number, exact rather than approximate orthonormality of the code words, and an explicit unitary operation for repumping energy into the bosonic mode. The binomial quantum codes are realizable with current superconducting circuit technology and they should prove useful in other quantum technologies, including bosonic quantum memories, photonic quantum communication, and optical-to-microwave up- and down-conversion.

Quantum Error-Correction-Enhanced Magnetometer Overcoming the Limit Imposed by Relaxation.

When incorporated in quantum sensing protocols, quantum error correction can be used to correct for high frequency noise, as the correction procedure does not depend on the actual shape of the noise spectrum. As such, it provides a powerful way to complement usual refocusing techniques. Relaxation imposes a fundamental limit on the sensitivity of state of the art quantum sensors which cannot be overcome by dynamical decoupling. The only way to overcome this is to utilize quantum error correcting codes. We present a superconducting magnetometry design that incorporates approximate quantum error correction, in which the signal is generated by a two qubit Hamiltonian term. This two-qubit term is provided by the dynamics of a tunable coupler between two transmon qubits. For fast enough correction, it is possible to lengthen the coherence time of the device beyond the relaxation limit.

A Simple Comparative Analysis of Exact and Approximate Quantum Error Correction

We present a comparative analysis of exact and approximate quantum error correction by means of simple unabridged analytical computations. For the sake of clarity, using primitive quantum codes, we study the exact and approximate error correction of the two simplest unital (Pauli errors) and nonunital (non-Pauli errors) noise models, respectively. The similarities and differences between the two scenarios are stressed. In addition, the performances of quantum codes quantified by means of the entanglement fidelity for different recovery schemes are taken into consideration in the approximate case. Finally, the role of self-complementarity in approximate quantum error correction is briefly addressed.

An entropic analysis of approximate quantum error correction

The concept of entropy and the correct application of the Second Law of thermodynamics are essential in order to understand the reason why quantum error correction is thermodynamically possible and no violation of the Second Law occurs during its execution.We report in this work our first steps towards an entropic analysis extended to approximate quantum error correction (QEC). Special emphasis is devoted to the link among quantum state discrimination (QSD), quantum information gain, and quantum error correction in both the exact and approximate QEC scenarios.

Approximate quantum error correction for generalized amplitude-damping errors

We present analytic estimates of the performances of various approximate quantum error correction schemes for the generalized amplitude damping (GAD) qubit channel. Specifically, we consider both stabilizer and nonadditive quantum codes. The performance of such error-correcting schemes is quantified by means of the entanglement fidelity as a function of the damping probability and the non-zero environmental temperature. The recovery scheme employed throughout our work applies, in principle, to arbitrary quantum codes and is the analogue of the perfect Knill-Laflamme recovery scheme adapted to the approximate quantum error correction framework for the GAD error model. We also analytically recover and/or clarify some previously known numerical results in the limiting case of vanishing temperature of the environment, the well-known traditional amplitude damping channel. In addition, our study suggests that degenerate stabilizer codes and self-complementary nonadditive codes are especially suitable for the error correction of the GAD noise model. Finally, comparing the properly normalized entanglement fidelities of the best performant stabilizer and nonadditive codes characterized by the same length, we show that nonadditive codes outperform stabilizer codes not only in terms of encoded dimension but also in terms of entanglement fidelity.

Towards a unified framework for approximate quantum error correction

Recent work on approximate quantum error correction (QEC) has opened up the possibility of constructing subspace codes that protect information with high fidelity in scenarios where perfect error correction is impossible. Motivated by this, we investigate the problem of approximate subsystem codes. Subsystem codes extend the standard formalism of subspace QEC to codes in which only a subsystem within a subspace of states is used to store information in a noise-resilient fashion. Here, we demonstrate easily checkable sufficient conditions for the existence of approximate subsystem codes. Furthermore, for certain classes of subsystem codes and noise processes, we prove the efficacy of the transpose channel as a simple-to-construct recovery map that works nearly as well as the optimal recovery channel. This work generalizes our earlier approach [H.K. Ng and P. Mandayam, Phys. Rev. A 81 062342 (2010)] of using the transpose channel for approximate correction of subspace codes to the case of subsystem codes, and brings us closer to a unifying framework for approximate QEC.

Approximate Quantum Error Correction for Correlated Noise

Most of the research on quantum error-correcting codes studies an error model in which each noise operator acts on a bounded number of qubits. In this paper we study a different noise model where the noise operators act on all qubits together, but are otherwise restricted in their action. One example to such an operator is a controlled bit-flip operator, where the control depends on all qubits, i.e., we allow restricted, highly correlated noise. We show both positive and negative results. On the positive side, we show that even though controlled bit-flip errors cannot be perfectly corrected, they can be approximately corrected with a subconstant approximation error. On the negative side, we show that no nontrivial quantum error-correcting code can approximately correct controlled phase error with a subconstant approximation error.

Duality of privacy amplification against quantum adversaries and data compression with quantum side information

Information processing protocols are typically built out of simpler parts, called primitives, and two of the most important such primitives are privacy amplification (PA) and data compression. The former extracts the truly secret part of some classical data, while the latter squeezes it into the smallest possible form. We show these tasks are dual in the setting of quantum information processing. Specifically, the tasks of PA of classical information against quantum adversaries and classical data compression with quantum side information are dual in the sense that the ability to perform one implies the ability to perform the other. The duality arises because the two protocols are connected by complementarity and the uncertainty principle in the quantum setting. Applications include a new uncertainty principle formulated in terms of smooth min- and max-entropies, which are useful in the study of one-shot protocols, as well as new conditions for approximate quantum error correction.

Simple approach to approximate quantum error correction based on the transpose channel

We demonstrate that there exists a universal, near-optimal recovery map---the transpose channel---for approximate quantum error-correcting codes, where optimality is defined using the worst-case fidelity. Using the transpose channel, we provide an alternative interpretation of the standard quantum error correction (QEC) conditions, and generalize them to a set of conditions for approximate QEC (AQEC) codes. This forms the basis of a simple algorithm for finding AQEC codes. Our analytical approach is a departure from earlier work relying on exhaustive numerical search for the optimal recovery map, with optimality defined based on entanglement fidelity. For the practically useful case of codes encoding a single qubit of information, our algorithm is particularly easy to implement.

General Conditions for Approximate Quantum Error Correction and Near-Optimal Recovery Channels

We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the approximate correctability of a quantum code, generalizing the Knill-Laflamme conditions for exact error correction. Our measure of success of the recovery operation is the worst-case entanglement fidelity. We show that the optimal recovery fidelity can be predicted exactly from a dual optimization problem on the environment causing the noise. We use this result to obtain an estimate of the optimal recovery fidelity as well as a way of constructing a class of near-optimal recovery channels that work within twice the minimal error. In addition to standard subspace codes, our results hold for subsystem codes and hybrid quantum-classical codes.

Operator quantum error correction for continuous dynamics

We study the conditions under which a subsystem code is correctable in the presence of noise that results from continuous dynamics. We consider the case of Markovian dynamics as well as the general case of Hamiltonian dynamics of the system and the environment, and derive necessary and sufficient conditions on the Lindbladian and system-environment Hamiltonian, respectively. For the case when the encoded information is correctable during an entire time interval, the conditions we obtain can be thought of as generalizations of the previously derived conditions for decoherencefree subsystems to the case where the subsystem is time dependent. As a special case, we consider conditions for unitary correctability. In the case of Hamiltonian evolution, the conditions for unitary correctability concern only the effect of the Hamiltonian on the system, whereas the conditions for general correctability concern the entire system-environment Hamiltonian. We also derive conditions on the Hamiltonian which depend on the initial state of the environment, as well as conditions for correctability at only a particular moment of time. We discuss possible implications of our results for approximate quantum error correction.

Entanglement measures and approximate quantum error correction

It is shown that if the loss of entanglement along a quantum channel is sufficiently small, then approximate quantum error correction is possible, thereby generalizing what happens for coherent information. Explicit bounds are obtained for the entanglement of formation and the distillable entanglement, and their validity naturally extends to other bipartite entanglement measures in between. Robustness of derived criteria is analyzed and their tightness compared. Finally, as a by-product, we prove a bound quantifying how large the gap between the entanglement of formation and distillable entanglement can be for any given finite dimensional bipartite system, thus providing a sufficient condition for distillability in term of the entanglement of formation.

Approximate quantum error correction, random codes, and quantum channel capacity

We work out a theory of approximate quantum error correction that allows us to derive a general lower bound for the entanglement fidelity of a quantum code. The lower bound is given in terms of Kraus operators of the quantum noise. This result is then used to analyze the average error correcting performance of codes that are randomly drawn from unitarily invariant code ensembles. Our results confirm that random codes of sufficiently large block size are highly suitable for quantum error correction. Moreover, employing a lemma of Bennett, Shor, Smolin, and Thapliyal, we prove that random coding attains information rates of the regularized coherent information.

Approximate Quantum Error Correction

The errors that arise in a quantum channel can be corrected perfectly if and only if the channel does not decrease the coherent information of the input state. We show that, if the loss of coherent information is small, then approximate quantum error correction is possible. PACS: 03.67.H, 03.65.U

Approximate quantum error correction can lead to better codes

We present relaxed criteria for quantum error correction that are useful when the specific dominant quantum noise process is known. As an example, we provide a four-bit code that corrects for a single amplitude damping error. This code violates the usual Hamming bound calculated for a Pauli description of the error process and has no simple explanation in terms of the usual Pauli basis GF(4) codes.