Quantum error correction via less noisy qubits

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantum error correction scheme that relaxes the requirement for noiseless auxiliary qubits, allowing for more realistic assumptions while still leveraging classical linear codes.

Contribution

It presents a new quantum error correction method using less noisy qubits, expanding practical applicability over traditional entanglement-assisted schemes.

Findings

The scheme can import any binary or quaternary linear codes.

It saturates the quantum Singleton bound with MDS classical codes.

It generalizes entanglement-assisted codes to more realistic noisy auxiliary qubits.

Abstract

Known quantum error correction schemes are typically able to take advantage of only a limited class of classical error-correcting codes. Entanglement-assisted quantum error correction is a partial solution which made it possible to exploit any classical linear codes over the binary or quaternary finite field. However, the known entanglement-assisted scheme requires noiseless qubits that help correct quantum errors on noisy qubits, which can be too severe an assumption. We prove that a more relaxed and realistic assumption is sufficient by presenting encoding and decoding operations assisted by qubits on which quantum errors of one particular kind may occur. As in entanglement assistance, our scheme can import any binary or quaternary linear codes. If the auxiliarly qubits are noiseless, our codes become entanglement-assisted codes, and saturate the quantum Singleton bound when the underlying classical codes are maximum distance separable.