Magic State Research Articles

Knots, links, and long-range magic

We study the extent to which knot and link states (that is, states in 3d Chern-Simons theory prepared by path integration on knot and link complements) can or cannot be described by stabilizer states. States which are not classical mixtures of stabilizer states are known as “magic states” and play a key role in quantum resource theory. By implementing a particular magic monotone known as the “mana” we quantify the magic of knot and link states. In particular, for SU(2)k Chern-Simons theory we show that knot and link states are generically magical. For link states, we further investigate the mana associated to correlations between separate boundaries which characterizes the state’s long-range magic. Our numerical results suggest that the magic of a majority of link states is entirely long-range. We make these statements sharper for torus links.

Quantifying Quantum Speedups: Improved Classical Simulation From Tighter Magic Monotones

Consumption of magic states promotes the stabilizer model of computation to universal quantum computation. Here, we propose three different classical algorithms for simulating such universal quantum circuits, and characterize them by establishing precise connections with a family of magic monotones. Our first simulator introduces a new class of quasiprobability distributions and connects its runtime to a generalized notion of negativity. We prove that this algorithm has significantly improved exponential scaling compared to all prior quasiprobability simulators for qubits. Our second simulator is a new variant of the stabilizer-rank simulation algorithm, extended to work with mixed states and with significantly improved runtime bounds. Our third simulator trades precision for speed by discarding negative quasiprobabilities. We connect each algorithm's performance to a corresponding magic monotone and, by comprehensively characterizing the monotones, we obtain a precise understanding of the simulation runtime and error bounds. Our analysis reveals a deep connection between all three seemingly unrelated simulation techniques and their associated monotones. For tensor products of single-qubit states, we prove that our monotones are all equal to each other, multiplicative and efficiently computable, allowing us to make clear-cut comparisons of the simulators' performance scaling. Furthermore, our monotones establish several asymptotic and non-asymptotic bounds on state interconversion and distillation rates. Beyond the theory of magic states, our classical simulators can be adapted to other resource theories under certain axioms, which we demonstrate through an explicit application to the theory of quantum coherence.

Cost-optimal single-qubit gate synthesis in the Clifford hierarchy

For universal quantum computation, a major challenge to overcome for practical implementation is the large amount of resources required for fault-tolerant quantum information processing. An important aspect is implementing arbitrary unitary operators built from logical gates within the quantum error correction code. A synthesis algorithm can be used to approximate any unitary gate up to arbitrary precision by assembling sequences of logical gates chosen from a small set of universal gates that are fault-tolerantly performable while encoded in a quantum error-correction code. However, current procedures do not yet support individual assignment of base gate costs and many do not support extended sets of universal base gates. We analysed cost-optimal sequences using an exhaustive search based on Dijkstra’s pathfinding algorithm for the canonical Clifford+Tset of base gates and compared them to when additionally includingZ-rotations from higher orders of the Clifford hierarchy. Two approaches of assigning base gate costs were used. First, costs were reduced toT-counts by recursively applying aZ-rotation catalyst circuit. Second, costs were assigned as the average numbers of raw (i.e. physical level) magic states required to directly distil and implement the gates fault-tolerantly. We found that the average sequence cost decreases by up to54±3%when using theZ-rotation catalyst circuit approach and by up to33±2%when using the magic state distillation approach. In addition, we investigated observed limitations of certain assignments of base gate costs by developing an analytic model to estimate the proportion of sets ofZ-rotation gates from higher orders of the Clifford hierarchy that are found within sequences approximating random target gates.

Classical simulation of quantum circuits using fewer Gaussian eliminations

A compelling way to quantify the separation between classical and quantum computing is to determine how many $T$-gate magic states, $t$, a classical computer must simulate to calculate the probability of a universal quantum circuit's output. Unfortunately, efforts to determine the minimum number of stabilizer state inner products necessary to decompose $T$-gate magic states (${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{t}$) have proven intractable past $t=7$. By using a phase space formalism based on Wootters' discrete Weyl operator basis over a finite field, we develop an algebraic approach to determining ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{t}$ for single-Pauli measurements. This allows us to extend the bounds on ${\ensuremath{\chi}}_{t}$ to $t=14$ for qutrits, effectively increasing the space searched by $>{10}^{{10}^{4}}$. Our results show that by using such phase space methods it is possible to validate noisy intermediate-scale quantum circuits of larger size than previously thought possible.

Experimental exploration of five-qubit quantum error-correcting code with superconducting qubits.

Quantum error correction is an essential ingredient for universal quantum computing. Despite tremendous experimental efforts in the study of quantum error correction, to date, there has been no demonstration in the realisation of universal quantum error-correcting code, with the subsequent verification of all key features including the identification of an arbitrary physical error, the capability for transversal manipulation of the logical state and state decoding. To address this challenge, we experimentally realise the [5, 1, 3] code, the so-called smallest perfect code that permits corrections of generic single-qubit errors. In the experiment, having optimised the encoding circuit, we employ an array of superconducting qubits to realise the [5, 1, 3] code for several typical logical states including the magic state, an indispensable resource for realising non-Clifford gates. The encoded states are prepared with an average fidelity of n}{}57.1(3)% while with a high fidelity of n}{}98.6(1)% in the code space. Then, the arbitrary single-qubit errors introduced manually are identified by measuring the stabilisers. We further implement logical Pauli operations with a fidelity of n}{}97.2(2)% within the code space. Finally, we realise the decoding circuit and recover the input state with an overall fidelity of n}{}74.5(6)%, in total with 92 gates. Our work demonstrates each key aspect of the [5, 1, 3] code and verifies the viability of experimental realisation of quantum error-correcting codes with superconducting qubits.

Measurement sequences for magic state distillation

Magic state distillation uses special codes to suppress errors in input states, which are often tailored to a Clifford-twirled error model. We present detailed measurement sequences for magic state distillation protocols which can suppress arbitrary errors on any part of a protocol, assuming the independence of errors across qubits. Provided with input magic states, our protocol operates on a two-dimensional square grid by measurements of ZZ on horizontal pairs of qubits, XX on vertical pairs, and Z,X on single qubits.

Hidden Variable Model for Universal Quantum Computation with Magic States on Qubits.

We show that every quantum computation can be described by a probabilistic update of a probability distribution on a finite phase space. Negativity in a quasiprobability function is not required in states or operations. Our result is consistent with Gleason's theorem and the Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph theorem.

Un-Weyl-ing the Clifford Hierarchy

The teleportation model of quantum computation introduced by Gottesman and Chuang (1999) motivated the development of the Clifford hierarchy. Despite its intrinsic value for quantum computing, the widespread use of magic state distillation, which is closely related to this model, emphasizes the importance of comprehending the hierarchy. There is currently a limited understanding of the structure of this hierarchy, apart from the case of diagonal unitaries (Cui et al., 2017; Rengaswamy et al. 2019). We explore the structure of the second and third levels of the hierarchy, the first level being the ubiquitous Pauli group, via the Weyl (i.e., Pauli) expansion of unitaries at these levels. In particular, we characterize the support of the standard Clifford operations on the Pauli group. Since conjugation of a Pauli by a third level unitary produces traceless Hermitian Cliffords, we characterize their Pauli support as well. Semi-Clifford unitaries are known to have ancilla savings in the teleportation model, and we explore their Pauli support via symplectic transvections. Finally, we show that, up to multiplication by a Clifford, every third level unitary commutes with at least one Pauli matrix. This can be used inductively to show that, up to a multiplication by a Clifford, every third level unitary is supported on a maximal commutative subgroup of the Pauli group. Additionally, it can be easily seen that the latter implies the generalized semi-Clifford conjecture, proven by Beigi and Shor (2010). We discuss potential applications in quantum error correction and the design of flag gadgets.

Novel magic angle-step state and mechanism for restraining the path ripple of magnetorheological finishing

Computer-controlled sub-aperture polishing technology is limited by its propensity to introduce mid-spatial-frequency (MSF) error (ripple error), which significantly inhibits the performance improvement of the optical system. Here, we propose a novel processing form of the magnetorheological finishing (MRF) tool and its generation mechanism. There are specific path angles and steps, with only tens of microns bandwidth (‘magic’ angle step), under which a surface without significant path ripple can be stably realized without affecting the convergence of other frequency errors. The magic angle step is precisely obtained via the scale-variant filtered spectrum analysis. Using the two-dimensional (2-D) Taylor approximation of the tool influence function (TIF), we verify that in the magic angle step state, owing to the shape asymmetry and the edge discontinuity of the TIF, the convolution of TIFs presents a complementary effect. It is first observed in experiments that the MSF error can be abnormally increased by decreasing the path step around the magic angle step state. Therefore, the magic angle step and corresponding analysis model have the potential of being extended to other polishing tools. Furthermore, they can significantly benefit the manufacturing efficiency of high-power laser systems, huge telescopes, and lithography systems, as well as improve existing polishing technologies.

Very low overhead fault-tolerant magic state preparation using redundant ancilla encoding and flag qubits

Fault-tolerant quantum computing promises significant computational speedup over classical computing for a variety of important problems. One of the biggest challenges for realizing fault-tolerant quantum computing is preparing magic states with sufficiently low error rates. Magic state distillation is one of the most efficient schemes for preparing high-quality magic states. However, since magic state distillation circuits are not fault-tolerant, all the operations in the distillation circuits must be encoded in a large distance error-correcting code, resulting in a significant resource overhead. Here, we propose a fault-tolerant scheme for directly preparing high-quality magic states, which makes magic state distillation unnecessary. In particular, we introduce a concept that we call redundant ancilla encoding. The latter combined with flag qubits allows for circuits to both measure stabilizer generators of some code, while also being able to measure global operators to fault-tolerantly prepare magic states, all using nearest neighbor interactions. We apply such schemes to a planar architecture of the triangular color code family and demonstrate that our scheme requires at least an order of magnitude fewer qubits and space–time overhead compared to the most competitive magic state distillation schemes. Since our scheme requires only nearest-neighbor interactions in a planar architecture, it is suitable for various quantum computing platforms currently under development.

Qutrit and ququint magic states

Non-stabilizer eigenstates of Clifford operators are natural candidates for endpoints of magic state distillation routines. We provide an explicit bestiary of all inequivalent non-stabilizer Clifford eigenstates for qutrits and ququints. For qutrits, there are four non-degenerate eigenstates, and two families of degenerate eigenstates. For ququints, there are eight non-degenerate eigenstates, and three families of degenerate eigenstates. Of these states, a simultaneous eigenvector of all Clifford symplectic rotations known as the qutrit strange state is distinguished as both the most magic qutrit state and the most symmetric qutrit state. We show that no analogue of the qutrit strange state (i.e., no simultaneous eigenvector of all symplectic rotations) exists for qudits of any odd prime dimension $d>3$.

Fault-tolerant quantum speedup from constant depth quantum circuits

A defining feature in the field of quantum computing is the potential of a quantum device to outperform its classical counterpart for a specific computational task. By now, several proposals exist showing that certain sampling problems can be done efficiently quantumly, but are not possible efficiently classically, assuming strongly held conjectures in complexity theory. A feature dubbed quantum speedup. However, the effect of noise on these proposals is not well understood in general, and in certain cases it is known that simple noise can destroy the quantum speedup. Here we develop a fault-tolerant version of one family of these sampling problems, which we show can be implemented using quantum circuits of constant depth. We present two constructions, each taking $poly(n)$ physical qubits, some of which are prepared in noisy magic states. The first of our constructions is a constant depth quantum circuit composed of single and two-qubit nearest neighbour Clifford gates in four dimensions. This circuit has one layer of interaction with a classical computer before final measurements. Our second construction is a constant depth quantum circuit with single and two-qubit nearest neighbour Clifford gates in three dimensions, but with two layers of interaction with a classical computer before the final measurements. For each of these constructions, we show that there is no classical algorithm which can sample according to its output distribution in $poly(n)$ time, assuming two standard complexity theoretic conjectures hold. The noise model we assume is the so-called local stochastic quantum noise. Along the way, we introduce various new concepts such as constant depth magic state distillation (MSD), and constant depth output routing, which arise naturally in measurement based quantum computation (MBQC), but have no constant-depth analogue in the circuit model.

Fault-tolerance thresholds for code conversion schemes with quantum Reed–Muller codes

Code concatenation and conversion are two prominent methods to realize universal fault-tolerant quantum computation without the need for magic state distillation. In this paper, we analyze three quantum Reed–Muller (QRM) codes of different code lengths under code conversion schemes, and compare them with the 105-qubit concatenated code on optimized encoding circuits. The depolarizing error thresholds for the 7-, 15-, and 31-qubit QRM codes turn out to be 1.19 × 10−3, 5.40 × 10−4 and 2.41 × 10−6 respectively, all of three compared unfavorably with the improved result of 1.52 × 10−3 for the 105-qubit code, which indicates a relatively small error-suppression capability and strict precision requirements for hardware equipment when using the code conversion scheme. While for resource requirements, code conversion schemes show obvious advantages. For the seven-qubit QRM code, the required qubit and gate overheads for level-3 gates to achieve the target logical error rate of 10−15 are roughly 4 orders of magnitude smaller than those for the 105-qubit code.

Magic state distillation with the ternary Golay code.

The ternary Golay code-one of the first and most beautiful classical error-correcting codes discovered-naturally gives rise to an 11-qutrit quantum error correcting code. We apply this code to magic state distillation, a leading approach to fault-tolerant quantum computing. We find that the 11-qutrit Golay code can distil the 'most magic' qutrit state-an eigenstate of the qutrit Fourier transform known as the strange state-with cubic error suppression and a remarkably high threshold. It also distils the 'second-most magic' qutrit state, the Norell state, with quadratic error suppression and an equally high threshold to depolarizing noise.

Secure multiparty quantum computation with few qubits

We consider the task of secure multi-party distributed quantum computation on a quantum network. We propose a protocol based on quantum error correction which reduces the number of necessary qubits. That is, each of the $n$ nodes in our protocol requires an operational workspace of $n^2+\Theta(s) n$ qubits, as opposed to previously shown $\Omega\big((n^3+n^2s^2)\log n\big)$ qubits, where $s$ is a security parameter. To achieve universal computation, we develop a distributed procedure for verifying magic states based on magic state distillation and statistical testing of randomly selected states. This allows us to apply distributed $T$ gate and which may be of independent interest. We showcase our protocol on a small example for a 7-node network.

No-Go Theorems for Quantum Resource Purification.

The manipulation of quantum "resources" such as entanglement, coherence, and magic states lies at the heart of quantum science and technology, empowering potential advantages over classical methods. In practice, a particularly important kind of manipulation is to "purify" the quantum resources since they are inevitably contaminated by noise and thus often lose their power or become unreliable for direct usage. Here we prove fundamental limitations on how effectively generic noisy resources can be purified enforced by the laws of quantum mechanics, which universally apply to any reasonable kind of quantum resource. More explicitly, we derive nontrivial lower bounds on the error of converting any full-rank noisy state to any target pure resource state by any free protocol (including probabilistic ones)-it is impossible to achieve perfect resource purification, even probabilistically. Our theorems indicate strong limits on the efficiency of distillation, a widely used type of resource purification routine that underpins many key applications of quantum information science. In particular, this general result induces the first explicit lower bounds on the resource cost of magic state distillation, a leading scheme for realizing scalable fault-tolerant quantum computation. Implications for the standard error-correction-based methods are specifically discussed.

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.

Characterization of an operational quantum resource in a critical many-body system

Quantum many-body systems have been extensively studied from the perspective of quantum technology, and conversely, critical phenomena in such systems have been characterized by operationally relevant resources like entanglement. In this paper, we investigate robustness of magic (RoM), the resource in magic state injection based quantum computation schemes, in the context of the transverse field anisotropic XY model. We show that the the factorizable ground state in the symmetry broken configuration is composed of an enormous number of highly magical H states. We find the existence of a point very near the quantum critical point where magic contained explicitly in the correlation between two distant qubits attains a sharp maxima. Unlike bipartite entanglement, this persists over very long distances, capturing the presence of long range correlation near the phase transition. We derive scaling laws and extract corresponding exponents around criticality. Finally, we study the effect of temperature on two-qubit RoM and show that it reveals a crossover between dominance of quantum and thermal fluctuations.

Cost-reduced all-Gaussian universality with the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill code: Resource-theoretic approach to cost analysis

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) quantum error-correcting code has emerged as a key technique in achieving fault-tolerant quantum computation using photonic systems. Whereas [Baragiola et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 200502 (2019)] showed that experimentally tractable Gaussian operations combined with preparing a GKP codeword $\lvert 0\rangle$ suffice to implement universal quantum computation, this implementation scheme involves a distillation of a logical magic state $\lvert H\rangle$ of the GKP code, which inevitably imposes a trade-off between implementation cost and fidelity. In contrast, we propose a scheme of preparing $\lvert H\rangle$ directly and combining Gaussian operations only with $\lvert H\rangle$ to achieve the universality without this magic state distillation. In addition, we develop an analytical method to obtain bounds of fundamental limit on transformation between $\lvert H\rangle$ and $\lvert 0\rangle$, finding an application of quantum resource theories to cost analysis of quantum computation with the GKP code. Our results lead to an essential reduction of required non-Gaussian resources for photonic fault-tolerant quantum computation compared to the previous scheme.

Lower bounds on the non-Clifford resources for quantum computations

Treating stabilizer operations as free, we establish lower bounds on the number of resource states, also known as magic states, needed to perform various quantum computing tasks. Our bounds apply to adaptive computations using measurements with an arbitrary number of stabilizer ancillas. We consider (1) resource state conversion, (2) single-qubit unitary synthesis, and (3) computational subroutines including the quantum adder and the multiply-controlled Z gate. To prove our resource conversion bounds we introduce two new monotones, the stabilizer nullity and the dyadic monotone, and make use of the already-known stabilizer extent. We consider conversions that borrow resource states, known as catalyst states, and return them at the end of the algorithm. We show that catalysis is necessary for many conversions and introduce new catalytic conversions, some of which are optimal. By finding a canonical form for post-selected stabilizer computations, we show that approximating a single-qubit unitary to within diamond-norm precision ɛ requires at least 1/7 ⋅ log2(1/ɛ) − 4/3T-states on average. This is the first lower bound that applies to synthesis protocols using fall-back, mixing techniques, and where the number of ancillas used can depend on ɛ. Up to multiplicative factors, we optimally lower bound the number of T or CCZ states needed to implement the ubiquitous modular adder and multiply-controlled-Z operations. When the probability of Pauli measurement outcomes is 1/2, some of our bounds become tight to within a small additive constant.