Quantum memories based on engineered dissipation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel approach to quantum memory stabilization by engineering dissipation through bath coupling, enhancing error protection beyond self-correcting Hamiltonians, with practical implementation proposals.

Contribution

It proposes a dissipation engineering method for quantum memories, demonstrated on 4D lattices and simplified for 2D experimental setups, advancing quantum error correction techniques.

Findings

Dissipation engineering can protect quantum information more effectively.

Implementation feasible in 4D lattice geometries with toric codes.

A simple 2D setup is proposed for experimental validation.

Abstract

Storing quantum information for long times without disruptions is a major requirement for most quantum information technologies. A very appealing approach is to use self-correcting Hamiltonians, i.e. tailoring local interactions among the qubits such that when the system is weakly coupled to a cold bath the thermalization process takes a long time. Here we propose an alternative but more powerful approach in which the coupling to a bath is engineered, so that dissipation protects the encoded qubit against more general kinds of errors. We show that the method can be implemented locally in four dimensional lattice geometries by means of a toric code, and propose a simple 2D set-up for proof of principle experiments.