Error tolerance of topological codes with independent bit-flip and measurement errors

TL;DR

This paper investigates the error tolerance of topological quantum codes, specifically toric and color codes, considering independent qubit and measurement errors, and reveals differences in their fault-tolerant thresholds.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of fault-tolerant thresholds with independently varied error sources, extending previous models to more realistic error scenarios.

Findings

Toric and color codes exhibit distinct error threshold behaviors.

Independent variation of error sources reveals unique vulnerabilities.

Results enhance understanding of quantum error correction robustness.

Abstract

Topological quantum error correction codes are currently among the most promising candidates for efficiently dealing with the decoherence effects inherently present in quantum devices. Numerically, their theoretical error threshold can be calculated by mapping the underlying quantum problem to a related classical statistical-mechanical spin system with quenched disorder. Here, we present results for the general fault-tolerant regime, where we consider both qubit and measurement errors. However, unlike in previous studies, here we vary the strength of the different error sources independently. Our results highlight peculiar differences between toric and color codes. This study complements previous results published in New J. Phys. 13, 083006 (2011).