Strategies for implementing quantum error correction in molecular rotation

Brandon J. Furey; Zhenlin Wu; Mariano Isaza-Monsalve; Stefan Walser; Elyas Mattivi; René Nardi; Philipp Schindler

doi:10.22331/q-2024-12-27-1578

Strategies for implementing quantum error correction in molecular rotation

Brandon J. Furey, Zhenlin Wu, Mariano Isaza-Monsalve, Stefan Walser, Elyas Mattivi, René Nardi, and Philipp Schindler

Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 25/4, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Published:	2024-12-27, volume 8, page 1578
Eprint:	arXiv:2405.02236v2
Doi:	https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2024-12-27-1578
Citation:	Quantum 8, 1578 (2024).

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Abstract

The rotation of trapped molecules offers a promising platform for quantum technologies and quantum information processing. In parallel, quantum error correction codes that can protect quantum information encoded in rotational states of a single molecule have been developed. These codes are currently an abstract concept, as no implementation strategy is yet known. Here, we present a step towards experimental implementation of one family of such codes, namely absorption-emission codes. We first construct architecture-agnostic check and correction operators. These operators are then decomposed into elements of the quantum logic spectroscopy toolbox that is available for molecular ions. We then describe and analyze a measurement-based sequential as well as an autonomous implementation strategy in the presence of thermal background radiation, a major noise source for rotation in polar molecules. The presented strategies and methods might enable robust sensing or even fault-tolerant quantum computing using the rotation of individual molecules.

Popular summary

In quantum computers, information is stored in delicate superposition states which are affected by noise induced by the environment. Quantum error correction (QEC) encodes this quantum information in states that can protect the information from such noise. In this paper, we explore the possibility of robustly encoding quantum information in the rotation of trapped molecules, which has only recently been proposed for quantum information processing. Remarkably, QEC codes have been developed to protect against the absorption or emission of light in such systems [arXiv:2311.12324]. These codes are constructed from superpositions of the molecule rotating about axes pointing in different directions. Absorption and emission of light can be a dominant source of noise in room temperature molecules, as thermal background radiation interacts with the molecule and can change how a molecule rotates.

We build on this theoretical work by developing an experimental implementation strategy focused on trapped molecular ions. In particular, we propose to use a co-trapped helper atomic ion to enable readout of the result of check operators, which check whether an error has occurred, a technique known as quantum logic spectroscopy. We develop schemes to implement the error check operators on the molecule and map this quantum information onto the state of the atom. We construct these operations to readout information of whether an error has occurred, as well as what type of error it was, without gaining any information on the encoded quantum state.

We simulate this strategy for two different error correction philosophies for realistic experimental parameters. In the first, we simulate traditional “sequential” QEC, where a cycle of error check operators is implemented periodically, and in the second, we simulate an autonomous “dissipative” protocol, which can run continuously. We then compare the simulation results and show that quantum information can be protected against environmental noise when implementing these QEC protocols.

► BibTeX data

@article{Furey2024strategies,
  doi = {10.22331/q-2024-12-27-1578},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.22331/q-2024-12-27-1578},
  title = {Strategies for implementing quantum error correction in molecular rotation},
  author = {Furey, Brandon J. and Wu, Zhenlin and Isaza-Monsalve, Mariano and Walser, Stefan and Mattivi, Elyas and Nardi, Ren{\'{e}} and Schindler, Philipp},
  journal = {{Quantum}},
  issn = {2521-327X},
  publisher = {{Verein zur F{\"{o}}rderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften}},
  volume = {8},
  pages = {1578},
  month = dec,
  year = {2024}
}

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