Clifford Group Research Articles

Quantum computation with generalized dislocation codes

In this paper, we study quantum computing with twists. Twists are yet another form of defects in a lattice. They arise from dislocations in the lattice and can be used to encode and process quantum information. Surface codes with twists are also called dislocation codes. Hastings and Geller showed that dislocation codes could provide gains in space-time complexity of quantum computation. In this paper, we undertake a detailed study of generalized dislocation codes. We develop the theory of qubit dislocation codes over arbitrary four-valent and bicolorable lattices. We give a construction to introduce twists in such lattices and also study the structure of logical operators. We then study dislocation codes over odd prime dimensions in square lattices. Using the theory developed, we present protocols for implementing a universal gate set in qubit dislocation codes. We also show how to implement the generalized Clifford group in qudit dislocation codes in odd prime dimensions.

Kerdock Codes Determine Unitary 2-Designs

The non-linear binary Kerdock codes are known to be Gray images of certain extended cyclic codes of length $N = 2^m$ over $\mathbb{Z}_4$. We show that exponentiating these $\mathbb{Z}_4$-valued codewords by $\imath \triangleq \sqrt{-1}$ produces stabilizer states, that are quantum states obtained using only Clifford unitaries. These states are also the common eigenvectors of commuting Hermitian matrices forming maximal commutative subgroups (MCS) of the Pauli group. We use this quantum description to simplify the derivation of the classical weight distribution of Kerdock codes. Next, we organize the stabilizer states to form $N+1$ mutually unbiased bases and prove that automorphisms of the Kerdock code permute their corresponding MCS, thereby forming a subgroup of the Clifford group. When represented as symplectic matrices, this subgroup is isomorphic to the projective special linear group PSL($2,N$). We show that this automorphism group acts transitively on the Pauli matrices, which implies that the ensemble is Pauli mixing and hence forms a unitary $2$-design. The Kerdock design described here was originally discovered by Cleve et al. (arXiv:1501.04592), but the connection to classical codes is new which simplifies its description and translation to circuits significantly. Sampling from the design is straightforward, the translation to circuits uses only Clifford gates, and the process does not require ancillary qubits. Finally, we also develop algorithms for optimizing the synthesis of unitary $2$-designs on encoded qubits, i.e., to construct logical unitary $2$-designs. Software implementations are available at https://github.com/nrenga/symplectic-arxiv18a, which we use to provide empirical gate complexities for up to $16$ qubits.

Automorphism groups of simply reducible groups

Simply reducible groups are closely related to the eigenvalue problems in quantum theory and molecular symmetry in chemistry. Classification of simply reducible groups is still an open problem which is interesting to physicists. Since there are not many examples of simply reducible groups in literature at the moment, we try to find some examples of simply reducible groups as candidates for the classification. By studying the automorphism and inner automorphism groups of symmetric groups, dihedral groups, Clifford groups and Coxeter groups, we find some new examples of candidates. We use the computer algebra system GAP to get most of these automorphism and inner automorphism groups.

Fault-tolerant quantum gates with defects in topological stabilizer codes

Braiding defects in topological stabiliser codes has been widely studied as a promising approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing. Here, we explore the potential and limitations of such schemes in codes of all spatial dimensions. We prove that a universal gate set for quantum computing cannot be realised by supplementing locality-preserving logical operators with defect braiding, even in more than two dimensions. However, notwithstanding this no-go theorem, we demonstrate that higher dimensional defect-braiding schemes have the potential to play an important role in realising fault-tolerant quantum computing. Specifically, we present an approach to implement the full Clifford group via braiding in any code possessing twist defects on which a fermion can condense. We explore three such examples in higher dimensional codes, specifically: in self-dual surface codes; the three dimensional Levin-Wen fermion mode; and the checkerboard model. Finally, we show how our no-go theorems can be circumvented to provide a universal scheme in three-dimensional surface codes without magic state distillation. Specifically, our scheme employs adaptive implementation of logical operators conditional on logical measurement outcomes to lift a combination of locality-preserving and braiding logical operators to universality.

Clifford-group-restricted eavesdroppers in quantum key distribution

Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises provably secure cryptography, even to attacks from an all-powerful adversary. However, with quantum computing development lagging behind QKD, the assumption that there exists an adversary equipped with a universal fault-tolerant quantum computer is unrealistic for at least the near future. Here, we explore the effect of restricting the eavesdropper's computational capabilities on the security of QKD, and find that improved secret key rates are possible. Specifically, we show that for a large class of discrete variable protocols higher key rates are possible if the eavesdropper is restricted to a unitary operation from the Clifford group. Further, we consider Clifford-random channels consisting of mixtures of Clifford gates. We numerically calculate a secret key rate lower bound for BB84 with this restriction, and show that in contrast to the case of a single restricted unitary attack, the mixture of Clifford based unitary attacks does not result in an improved key rate.

Brauer–Clifford group of -Azumaya comodule algebras

In this paper, we extend the notion of the Brauer–Clifford group to the case of an -comodule algebra, where H is a commutative Hopf algebra, is a Lie algebra in the symmetric monoidal category of right H-comodules, and S is a commutative algebra which is an H-comodule algebra, a -module algebra and the H-coaction is compatible with the -action. This Brauer–Clifford group turns out to be an example of the Brauer group of a symmetric monoidal category.

Techniques to Reduce π/4-Parity-Phase Circuits, Motivated by the ZX Calculus

To approximate arbitrary unitary transformations on one or more qubits, one must perform transformations which are outside of the Clifford group. The gate most commonly considered for this purpose is the T = diag(1, exp(i \pi/4)) gate. As T gates are computationally expensive to perform fault-tolerantly in the most promising error-correction technologies, minimising the "T-count" (the number of T gates) required to realise a given unitary in a Clifford+T circuit is of great interest. We describe techniques to find circuits with reduced T-count in unitary circuits, which develop on the ideas of Heyfron and Campbell [arXiv:1712.01557] with the help of the ZX calculus. Following [arXiv:1712.01557], we reduce the problem to that of minimising the T count of a CNOT+T circuit. The ZX calculus motivates a further reduction to simplifying a product of commuting "\pi/4-parity-phase" operations: diagonal unitary transformations which induce a relative phase of exp(i \pi/4) depending on the outcome of a parity computation on the standard basis (which motivated Kissinger and van de Wetering [1903.10477] to introduce "phase gadgets"). For a number of standard benchmark circuits, we show that these techniques -- in some cases supplemented by the TODD subroutine of Heyfron and Campbell [arXiv:1712.01557] -- yield T-counts comparable to or better than the best previously known results.

Brauer–Clifford Group of ($$\varvec{S,{{\mathcal {G}}},H}$$)-Azumaya Algebras

In this paper we extend the notion of the Brauer–Clifford group to the case of an $$(S,{{\mathcal {G}}},H)$$ -algebra, when H is a cocommutative Hopf algebra, $${{\mathcal {G}}}$$ is a Lie algebra in the symmetric monoidal category of left H-modules, and S is a commutative algebra which is an H-module algebra, a $${\mathcal G}$$ -module algebra and the H-action is compatible with the $${\mathcal {G}}$$ -action. This Brauer–Clifford group turns out to be an example of the Brauer group of a symmetric monoidal category.

Clifford 3-qubit states

Let us denote by [Formula: see text] the Clifford group (the circuit or operations generated by Hadamard, [Formula: see text] phase and the controlled-NOT gates) and by [Formula: see text] the set of qubit states that can be prepared by circuits from the Clifford group. In other words, a state [Formula: see text] if [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text]. We will refer to states in [Formula: see text] as Clifford states. This paper studies the set of all three-qubit Clifford states. We prove that [Formula: see text] has 8640 states and if we define two states [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in [Formula: see text] to be equivalent if [Formula: see text], with [Formula: see text] a local transformation in [Formula: see text], then the resulting quotient space has five orbits. More exactly, [Formula: see text] where the orbit [Formula: see text] is made up of states with entanglement entropy [Formula: see text]. For example, the first orbit [Formula: see text] contains the state [Formula: see text] and corresponds to the unentangled Clifford states. We say that [Formula: see text] is a real state if all its amplitudes [Formula: see text] are real numbers. We also say that an operator is real if all the entries of its matrix representation with respect to the computational basis are real numbers. In this paper, we also study the set of real Clifford 3 qubits and the way this set splits when we identify two real Clifford states [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] to be equivalent if [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is a local real Clifford operator. An interesting aspect that follows from this study of Clifford states is the existence of two real Clifford states [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] that can be connected with a Clifford local transformation but they cannot be connected with a real Clifford local transformation. This is, the equation [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text], does have a solution in the set of local transformations from [Formula: see text] but it does not have a solution among the local transformations from [Formula: see text] that are real. We go a little deeper and show that the equation [Formula: see text] does not have a solution for any local operation (not necessarily Clifford) whose entries are real numbers. Finally, we show how the CNOT gates act on the set of Clifford states and also in the set of real Clifford states.

Construction of Polygonal Color Codes from Hyperbolic Tesselations

This current work propose a technique to generate polygonal color codes in the hyperbolic geometry environment. The color codes were introduced by Bombin and Martin-Delgado in 2007, and the called triangular color codes have a higher degree of interest because they allow the implementation of the Clifford group, but they encode only one qubit. In 2018 Soares e Silva extended the triangular codes to the polygonal codes, which encode more qubits. Using an approach through hyperbolic tessellations we show that it is possible to generate Hyperbolic Polygonal codes, which encode more than one qubit with the capacity to implement the entire Clifford group and also having a better coding rate than the previously mentioned codes, for the color codes on surfaces with boundary with minimum distance d = 3.

Faster quantum computation with permutations and resonant couplings

Recently, there has been increasing interest in designing schemes for quantum computations that are robust against errors. Although considerable research has been devoted to quantum error correction schemes, much less attention has been paid to optimizing the speed it takes to perform a quantum computation and developing computation models that act on decoherence-free subspaces. Speeding up a quantum computation is important, because fewer errors are likely to result. Encoding quantum information in a decoherence-free subspace is also important, because errors would be inherently suppressed. In this paper, we consider quantum computation in a decoherence-free subspace and also optimize its speed. To achieve this, we perform certain single-qubit quantum computations by simply permuting the underlying qubits. In this paper, we make progress in understanding the extent in which quantum computation can be performed by permuting qubits. Namely, we provide two different subgroups of the single qubit Clifford group that can be computed solely by permutations. To make the quantum computation universal for one of the schemes, we rely on resonant couplings motivated from physics. Our first scheme potentially improves the speed in which a quantum computation can be done. We also reduce the problem of finding the existence of permutational Clifford gates to that finding an upper bound for the rank of certain matrices.

Brauer–Clifford group of Azumaya–Poisson (S, H)-algebras

In this paper we extend the notion of the Brauer–Clifford group to the case of an Azumaya–Poisson (S, H)-algebra, when H is a cocommutative Hopf algebra and S is an H-module Poisson algebra. This is the situation that arises in applications with connections to differential geometry, algebraic geometry and quantum groups. These Brauer–Clifford groups turn out to be an example of the Brauer group of a symmetric monoidal category.

Aligned SICs and embedded tight frames in even dimensions

Alignment is a geometric relation between pairs of Weyl–Heisenberg SICs, one in dimension d and another in dimension , manifesting a well-founded conjecture about a number-theoretical connection between the SICs. In this paper, we prove that if d is even, the SIC in dimension of an aligned pair can be partitioned into (d − 2)2 tight d2-frames of rank and, alternatively, into d2 tight (d − 2)2-frames of rank . The corresponding result for odd d is already known, but the proof for odd d relies on results which are not available for even d. We develop methods that allow us to overcome this issue. In addition, we provide a relatively detailed study of parity operators in the Clifford group, emphasizing differences in the theory of parity operators in even and odd dimensions and discussing consequences due to such differences. In a final section, we study implications of alignment for the symmetry of the SIC.

A new class of efficient randomized benchmarking protocols

Randomized benchmarking is a technique for estimating the average fidelity of a set of quantum gates. However, if this gateset is not the multi-qubit Clifford group, robustly extracting the average fidelity is difficult. Here, we propose a new method based on representation theory that has little experimental overhead and robustly extracts the average fidelity for a broad class of gatesets. We apply our method to a multi-qubit gateset that includes the T-gate, and propose a new interleaved benchmarking protocol that extracts the average fidelity of a two-qubit Clifford gate using only single-qubit Clifford gates as reference.

Randomized Benchmarking for Individual Quantum Gates.

Any technology requires precise benchmarking of its components, and the quantum technologies are no exception. Randomized benchmarking allows for the relatively resource economical estimation of the average gate fidelity of quantum gates from the Clifford group, assuming identical noise levels for all gates, making use of suitable sequences of randomly chosen gates. In this work, we report significant progress on randomized benchmarking, by showing that it can be applied individually on a broad class of quantum gates outside the Clifford group, even for varying noise levels per quantum gate. This is possible at little overhead of quantum resources, but at the expense of a significant classical computational cost. At the heart of our analysis is a representation-theoretic framework which we bring into contact with classical estimation techniques based on bootstrapping and matrix pencils. We demonstrate the functioning of the scheme at hand of benchmarking tensor powers of T gates. Apart from its practical relevance, we expect this insight to be relevant as it highlights the role of assumptions made on unknown noise processes when characterizing quantum gates at high precision.

T-Count Optimization and Reed–Muller Codes

In this paper, we study the close relationship between Reed-Muller codes and single-qubit phase gates from the perspective of $T$-count optimization. We prove that minimizing the number of $T$ gates in an $n$-qubit quantum circuit over CNOT and $T$, together with the Clifford group powers of $T$, corresponds to finding a minimum distance decoding of a length $2^n-1$ binary vector in the order $n-4$ punctured Reed-Muller code. Moreover, we show that the problems are polynomially equivalent in the length of the code. As a consequence, we derive an algorithm for the optimization of $T$-count in quantum circuits based on Reed-Muller decoders, along with a new upper bound of $O(n^2)$ on the number of $T$ gates required to implement an $n$-qubit unitary over CNOT and $T$ gates. We further generalize this result to show that minimizing small angle rotations corresponds to decoding lower order binary Reed-Muller codes. In particular, we show that minimizing the number of $R_Z(2\pi/d)$ gates for any integer $d$ is equivalent to minimum distance decoding in $\mathcal{RM}(n - k - 1, n)^*$, where $k$ is the highest power of $2$ dividing $d$.

Local equivalence of qudit color codes and toric codes

In this paper, we study nonbinary toric codes and color codes. While the relationships between the qubit color codes and toric codes have been studied extensively from various perspectives, similar studies for qudit toric codes and color codes are missing. We show that just as in the binary case, qudit color codes can be mapped to qudit toric codes. Qudit color codes are known to have the capability for implementing the generalized Clifford group transversally. The proposed mapping of qudit color codes to toric codes would allow us to port the computational capabilities of the qudit color codes to qudit toric codes. Another application would be to decode qudit color codes via qudit toric codes. Along the way, we show an important structural result for higher-dimensional qudit toric codes. Specifically, we show that the toric codes over prime power dimension can be viewed as a direct sum of copies of codes over the prime dimension. This result simplifies the study of codes over prime power dimension by reducing them to the study of codes over the prime dimension. Furthermore, we provide explicit circuits for the transformation between qudit color codes and toric codes.

Matrix Modified Kadomtsev-Petviashvili Hierarchy

Using the bilinear formalism, we consider multicomponent and matrix Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchies. The main tool is the bilinear identity for the tau function realized as the vacuum expectation value of a Clifford group element composed of multicomponent fermionic operators. We also construct the Baker-Akhiezer functions and obtain auxiliary linear equations that they satisfy.

Robustness of Magic and Symmetries of the Stabiliser Polytope

We give a new algorithm for computing therobustness of magic- a measure of the utility of quantum states as a computational resource. Our work is motivated by themagic state modelof fault-tolerant quantum computation. In this model, all unitaries belong to the Clifford group. Non-Clifford operations are effected by injecting non-stabiliser states, which are referred to asmagic statesin this context. Therobustness of magicmeasures the complexity of simulating such a circuit using a classical Monte Carlo algorithm. It is closely related to the degree negativity that slows down Monte Carlo simulations through the infamoussign problem. Surprisingly, the robustness of magic issub- multiplicative. This implies that the classical simulation overhead scales subexponentially with the number of injected magic states - better than a naive analysis would suggest. However, determining the robustness ofncopies of a magic state is difficult, as its definition involves a convex optimisation problem in a 4n-dimensional space. In this paper, we make use of inherent symmetries to reduce the problem tondimensions. The total run-time of our algorithm, while still exponential inn, is super-polynomially faster than previously published methods. We provide a computer implementation and give the robustness of up to 10 copies of the most commonly used magic states. Guided by the exact results, we find a finite hierarchy of approximate solutions where each level can be evaluated in polynomial time and yields rigorous upper bounds to the robustness. Technically, we use symmetries of the stabiliser polytope to connect the robustness of magic to the geometry of a low-dimensional convex polytope generated by certainsigned quantum weight enumerators. As a by-product, we characterised the automorphism group of the stabiliser polytope, and, more generally, of projections onto complex projective 3-designs.

On the computational complexity of curing non-stoquastic Hamiltonians

Quantum many-body systems whose Hamiltonians are non-stoquastic, i.e., have positive off-diagonal matrix elements in a given basis, are known to pose severe limitations on the efficiency of Quantum Monte Carlo algorithms designed to simulate them, due to the infamous sign problem. We study the computational complexity associated with ‘curing’ non-stoquastic Hamiltonians, i.e., transforming them into sign-problem-free ones. We prove that if such transformations are limited to single-qubit Clifford group elements or general single-qubit orthogonal matrices, finding the curing transformation is NP-complete. We discuss the implications of this result.