Asymptotically good bosonic Fock state codes

Dor Elimelech1,2, Arda Aydin2, and Alexander Barg2,1,3

1Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science (QuICS), UMD/NIST
2Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
3Department of ECE, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742

Find this paper interesting or want to discuss? Scite or leave a comment on SciRate.

Abstract

We study the error-correction properties of multi-mode Fock-state codes under amplitude-damping (AD) noise, focusing on the asymptotic regime in which the total excitation of the code states grows without limit and the number of photon losses induced by the noise scales linearly with it. In this setting, existing code families, which correct only sublinearly many photon losses, do not protect against amplitude-damping (AD) noise with a constant loss parameter. As our main result, we address this gap by constructing asymptotically good Fock-state codes relying on random classical codes in the discrete simplex. Unlike many standard constructions of random quantum codes, our construction introduces randomness through the underlying classical indexing structure. Randomization also enables another desirable feature: bounded per-mode occupancy, which limits the number of photons in any individual mode and thereby increases the coherence lifetime of the code states. Finally, via a relation between Fock-state codes and permutation-invariant codes, our results also yield asymptotically good families of qudit permutation-invariant codes as well as codes in monolithic nuclear state spaces.

► BibTeX data

► References

[1] K. Adiprasito, I. Bárány, N. H. Mustafa, and T. Terpai. Theorems of Carathéodory, Helly, and Tverberg without dimension. Discrete & Computational Geometry, 64(2):233–258, 2020. doi:10.1007/​s00454-020-00172-5.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1007/​s00454-020-00172-5

[2] A. Aydin, V. V. Albert, and A. Barg. Quantum error correction beyond $ SU (2) $: Spin, bosonic, and permutation-invariant codes from convex geometry. PRX Quantum, 7:010341, 2026. doi:10.1103/​kx3b-4nrp.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​kx3b-4nrp

[3] A. Aydin, M. A. Alekseyev, and A. Barg. A family of permutationally invariant quantum codes. Quantum, 8:1321, 2024. arXiv:2310.05358, doi:10.22331/​q-2024-04-30-1321.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.22331/​q-2024-04-30-1321
arXiv:2310.05358

[4] A. Barg and A. Mazumdar. Codes in permutations and error correction for rank modulation. IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 56(7):3158–3165, 2010. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2010.2048455.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2010.2048455

[5] H. Barnum and E. Knill. Reversing quantum dynamics with near-optimal quantum and classical fidelity. Journal of Mathematical Physics, 43(5):2097–2106, 2002. doi:10.1063/​1.1459754.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1063/​1.1459754

[6] F. Battistel. General quantum error correction for MERA codes. PhD thesis, Technische Universität and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany, 2017.

[7] C. Bény. Conditions for the approximate correction of algebras. In Workshop on Quantum Computation, Communication, and Cryptography, pages 66–75. Springer, 2009. doi:10.1007/​978-3-642-10698-9_8.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1007/​978-3-642-10698-9_8

[8] C. Bény and O. Oreshkov. General conditions for approximate quantum error correction and near-optimal recovery channels. Physical Review Letters, 104(12):120501, 2010. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.104.120501.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.104.120501

[9] M. Bergmann and P. van Loock. Quantum error correction against photon loss using NOON states. Phys. Rev. A, 94:012311, Jul 2016. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.94.012311.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.94.012311

[10] P. Billingsley. Convergence of Probability Measures. J. Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ, 2nd edition, 1999. doi:10.1002/​9780470316962.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1002/​9780470316962

[11] S. Boucheron, G. Lugosi, and P. Massart. Concentration Inequalities: A Nonasymptotic Theory of Independence. Oxford University Press, 2013. doi:10.1093/​acprof:oso/​9780199535255.001.0001.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1093/​acprof:oso/​9780199535255.001.0001

[12] F. G. Brandão, E. Crosson, M. B. Şahinoğlu, and J. Bowen. Quantum error correcting codes in eigenstates of translation-invariant spin chains. Physical Review Letters, 123(11):110502, 2019. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.123.110502.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.123.110502

[13] S. Bravyi and A. Kitaev. Universal quantum computation with ideal clifford gates and noisy ancillas. Physical Review A—Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 71(2):022316, 2005. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.71.022316.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.71.022316

[14] I. L. Chuang, D. W. Leung, and Y. Yamamoto. Bosonic quantum codes for amplitude damping. Physical Review A, 56(2):1114, 1997. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.56.1114.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.56.1114

[15] C. Crépeau, D. Gottesman, and A. Smith. Approximate quantum error-correcting codes and secret sharing schemes. In Annual International Conference on the Theory and Applications of Cryptographic Techniques, pages 285–301. Springer, 2005. doi:10.1007/​11426639_17.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1007/​11426639_17

[16] W. Feller. An Introduction to Probability Theory and its Applications. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, 3rd edition, 1968.

[17] A. G. Fowler, M. Mariantoni, J. M. Martinis, and A. N. Cleland. Surface codes: Towards practical large-scale quantum computation. Physical Review A—Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 86(3):032324, 2012. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.86.032324.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.86.032324

[18] D. Gottesman. Surviving as a quantum computer in a classical world. Textbook manuscript, 2024.

[19] K. Goyal, D. T. Dao, M. Kovačević, and H. M. Kiah. Gilbert–Varshamov bound for codes in $l_1$ metric using multivariate analytic combinatorics. IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 71(1):244–262, 2025. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2024.3483303.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2024.3483303

[20] M. Grassl, L. Kong, Z. Wei, Z.-Q. Yin, and B. Zeng. Quantum error-correcting codes for qudit amplitude damping. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 64(6):4674–4685, 2018. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2018.2790423.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2018.2790423

[21] J. A. Gross. Designing codes around interactions: The case of a spin. Phys. Rev. Lett., 127:010504, 2021. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.127.010504.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.127.010504

[22] J. Gu and T. Fuja. A generalized Gilbert-Varshamov bound derived via analysis of a code-search algorithm. IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 39(3):1089–1093, 1993. doi:10.1109/​18.256522.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​18.256522

[23] W. Hoeffding. Probability inequalities for sums of bounded random variables. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 58(301):13–30, 1963. doi:10.1080/​01621459.1963.10500830.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1080/​01621459.1963.10500830

[24] M. Hofheinz, E. M. Weig, M. Ansmann, R. C. Bialczak, E. Lucero, M. Neeley, A. D. O'Connell, H. Wang, J. M. Martinis, and A. N. Cleland. Generation of Fock states in a superconducting quantum circuit. Nature, 454(7202):310–314, 2008. doi:10.1038/​nature07136.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1038/​nature07136

[25] S. Khatri and M. M. Wilde. Principles of Quantum Communication Theory: A Modern Approach. arXiv preprint arXiv:2011.04672v2, 2024. book draft.
arXiv:2011.04672v2

[26] R. Klesse. Approximate quantum error correction, random codes, and quantum channel capacity. Physical Review A, 75(6):062315, 2007. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.75.062315.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.75.062315

[27] E. Knill. Quantum computing with realistically noisy devices. Nature, 434(7029):39–44, 2005. doi:10.1038/​nature03350.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1038/​nature03350

[28] L. Kong and Z.-W. Liu. Near-optimal covariant quantum error-correcting codes from random unitaries with symmetries. PRX Quantum, 3(2):020314, 2022. doi:10.1103/​PRXQuantum.3.020314.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PRXQuantum.3.020314

[29] M. Kovačević and V. Y. F. Tan. Codes in the space of multisets—Coding for permutation channels with impairments. IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 64(7):5156–5169, 2018. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2017.2789292.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2017.2789292

[30] E. Kubischta and I. Teixeira. Family of quantum codes with exotic transversal gates. Phys. Rev. Lett., 131(24):240601, 2023. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.131.240601.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.131.240601

[31] E. Kubischta and I. Teixeira. Quantum codes from twisted unitary $t$-groups. Phys. Rev. Lett., 133:030602, Jul 2024. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.133.030602.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.133.030602

[32] D. W. Leung, M. A. Nielsen, I. L. Chuang, and Y. Yamamoto. Approximate quantum error correction can lead to better codes. Physical Review A, 56(4):2567, 1997. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.56.2567.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.56.2567

[33] F. Ma, X. Tan, and J. Wright. Haar random codes attain the quantum hamming bound, approximately. arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.07158, 2025.
arXiv:2510.07158

[34] F. J. MacWilliams and N. J. A. Sloane. The Theory of Error-Correcting Codes. Elsevier, 1977.

[35] P. Mandayam and H. K. Ng. Towards a unified framework for approximate quantum error correction. Physical Review A—Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 86(1):012335, 2012. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.86.012335.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.86.012335

[36] C. McDiarmid. On the method of bounded differences. In Surveys in combinatorics, 1989 (Norwich, 1989), volume 141 of London Math. Soc. Lecture Note Ser., pages 148–188. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1989. doi:10.1017/​CBO9781107359949.008.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1017/​CBO9781107359949.008

[37] N. Ofek, A. Petrenko, R. Heeres, P. Reinhold, Z. Leghtas, B. Vlastakis, Y. Liu, L. Frunzio, S. M. Girvin, L. Jiang, et al. Extending the lifetime of a quantum bit with error correction in superconducting circuits. Nature, 536(7617):441–445, 2016. doi:10.1038/​nature17665.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1038/​nature17665

[38] F. W. Olver et al., editors. NIST Handbook of Mathematical Functions. Cambridge University Press, 2010. online at https:/​/​dlmf.nist.gov/​10.29.
https:/​/​dlmf.nist.gov/​10.29.

[39] Y. Ouyang. Permutation-invariant quantum codes. Phys. Rev. A, 90:062317, 2014. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.90.062317.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.90.062317

[40] Y. Ouyang. Permutation-invariant quantum coding for quantum deletion channels. In 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), pages 1499–1503, 2021. doi:10.1109/​ISIT45174.2021.9518078.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​ISIT45174.2021.9518078

[41] Y. Ouyang and R. Chao. Permutation-invariant constant-excitation quantum codes for amplitude damping. IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 66(5):2921–2933, 2020. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2019.2956142.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2019.2956142

[42] Y. Ouyang and J. Fitzsimons. Permutation-invariant codes encoding more than one qubit. Phys. Rev. A, 93:042340, Apr 2016. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.93.042340.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.93.042340

[43] Y. Ouyang, Y. Jing, and G. K. Brennen. Measurement-free code-switching for low overhead quantum computation using permutation invariant codes, 2025. arXiv:2411.13142.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​p28m-hb6x
arXiv:2411.13142

[44] H. Pollatsek and M. B. Ruskai. Permutationally invariant codes for quantum error correction. Linear Alg. Appl., 392:255–288, 2004. doi:10.1016/​j.laa.2004.06.014.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1016/​j.laa.2004.06.014

[45] T. C. Ralph, A. Hayes, and A. Gilchrist. Loss-tolerant optical qubits. Physical Review Letters, 95(10):100501, 2005. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.95.100501.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.95.100501

[46] M. B. Ruskai. Pauli exchange and quantum error correction, 2000. arXiv quant-ph/​0006008.
arXiv:quant-ph/0006008

[47] B. Schumacher and M. D. Westmoreland. Approximate quantum error correction. Quantum Information Processing, 1(1):5–12, 2002. doi:10.1023/​A:1019653202562.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1023/​A:1019653202562

[48] T. Shibayama and M. Hagiwara. Permutation-invariant quantum codes for deletion errors. In 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT), pages 1493–1498. IEEE, 2021. doi:10.1109/​ISIT45174.2021.9517870.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​ISIT45174.2021.9517870

[49] J. G. Skellam. The frequency distribution of the difference between two Poisson variates belonging to different populations. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A: Statistics in Society, 109(3):296–296, 1946. doi:10.1111/​j.2397-2335.1946.tb04670.x.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1111/​j.2397-2335.1946.tb04670.x

[50] L. Tolhuizen. The generalized Gilbert-Varshamov bound is implied by Turán's theorem. IEEE Trans. Inform. Theory, 43(5):1605–1606, 1997. doi:10.1109/​18.623158.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​18.623158

[51] J. Tyson. Two-sided bounds on minimum-error quantum measurement, on the reversibility of quantum dynamics, and on the maximum overlap problem using directional iterates. Journal of Mathematical Physics, 51(9):092204, 2010. doi:10.1063/​1.3463451.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1063/​1.3463451

[52] M. Uria, P. Solano, and C. Hermann-Avigliano. Deterministic generation of large Fock states. Phys. Rev. Lett., 125:093603, Aug 2020. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.125.093603.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.125.093603

[53] E. Waks, E. Diamanti, and Y. Yamamoto. Generation of photon number states. New Journal of Physics, 8(1):4, jan 2006. doi:10.1088/​1367-2630/​8/​1/​004.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1088/​1367-2630/​8/​1/​004

[54] H. Wang, M. Hofheinz, M. Ansmann, R. C. Bialczak, E. Lucero, M. Neeley, A. D. O'Connell, D. Sank, J. Wenner, A. N. Cleland, and J. M. Martinis. Measurement of the decay of Fock states in a superconducting quantum circuit. Phys. Rev. Lett., 101:240401, Dec 2008. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevLett.101.240401.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevLett.101.240401

[55] W. Wasilewski and K. Banaszek. Protecting an optical qubit against photon loss. Physical Review A—Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, 75(4):042316, 2007. doi:10.1103/​PhysRevA.75.042316.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1103/​PhysRevA.75.042316

[56] J. Watrous. The Theory of Quantum Information. Cambridge University Press, 2018. doi:10.1017/​9781316848142.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1017/​9781316848142

[57] M. M. Wilde. Quantum Information Theory. Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 2017. doi:10.1017/​9781316809976.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1017/​9781316809976

[58] Y. Yehezkeally and M. Schwartz. Reconstruction codes for DNA sequences with uniform tandem-duplication errors. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 66(5):2658–2668, 2019. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2019.2940256.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2019.2940256

[59] Y. Yehezkeally and M. Schwartz. Uncertainty of reconstruction with list-decoding from uniform-tandem-duplication noise. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, 67(7):4276–4287, 2021. doi:10.1109/​TIT.2021.3070466.
https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1109/​TIT.2021.3070466

Cited by

[1] Dor Elimelech, Victor V. Albert, and Alexander Barg, "Theory of approximate quantum error correction and the error-set model", arXiv:2607.22995, (2026).

[2] Varin Sikand and Andrew Nemec, "Quantum Anonymous Secret Sharing with Permutation Invariant Codes", arXiv:2604.27284, (2026).

The above citations are from SAO/NASA ADS (last updated successfully 2026-10-20 13:56:47). The list may be incomplete as not all publishers provide suitable and complete citation data.

Could not fetch Crossref cited-by data during last attempt 2026-10-20 13:56:46: Could not fetch cited-by data for 10.22331/q-2026-10-20-2240 from Crossref. This is normal if the DOI was registered recently.