We analyze how the performance of a quantum-repeater network depends on the protocol employed to distribute entanglement, and we find that the choice of repeater-to-repeater link protocol has a profound impact on communication rate as a function of h
ardware parameters. We develop numerical simulations of quantum networks using different protocols, where the repeater hardware is modeled in terms of key performance parameters, such as photon generation rate and collection efficiency. These parameters are motivated by recent experimental demonstrations in quantum dots, trapped ions, and nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. We find that a quantum-dot repeater with the newest protocol (MidpointSource) delivers the highest communication rate when there is low probability of establishing entanglement per transmission, and in some cases the rate is orders of magnitude higher than other schemes. Our simulation tools can be used to evaluate communication protocols as part of designing a large-scale quantum network.
State distillation is the process of taking a number of imperfect copies of a particular quantum state and producing fewer better copies. Until recently, the lowest overhead method of distilling states |A>=(|0>+e^{ipi/4}|1>)/sqrt{2} produced a single
improved |A> state given 15 input copies. New block code state distillation methods can produce k improved |A> states given 3k+8 input copies, potentially significantly reducing the overhead associated with state distillation. We construct an explicit surface code implementation of block code state distillation and quantitatively compare the overhead of this approach to the old. We find that, using the best available techniques, for parameters of practical interest, block code state distillation does not always lead to lower overhead, and, when it does, the overhead reduction is typically less than a factor of three.
We consider dynamical decoupling schemes in which the qubit is continuously manipulated by a control field at all times. Building on the theory of the Uhrig Dynamical Decoupling sequence (UDD) and its connections to Chebyshev polynomials, we derive a
method of always-on control by expressing the UDD control field as a Fourier series. We then truncate this series and numerically optimize the series coefficients for decoupling, constructing the CAFE (Chebyshev and Fourier Expansion) sequence. This approach generates a bounded, continuous control field. We simulate the decoupling effectiveness of our sequence vs. a continuous version of UDD for a qubit coupled to fully-quantum and semi-classical dephasing baths and find comparable performance. We derive filter functions for continuous-control decoupling sequences, and we assess how robust such sequences are to noise on control fields. The methods we employ provide a variety of tools to analyze continuous-control dynamical decoupling sequences.
Quantum computers can in principle simulate quantum physics exponentially faster than their classical counterparts, but some technical hurdles remain. Here we consider methods to make proposed chemical simulation algorithms computationally fast on fa
ult-tolerant quantum computers in the circuit model. Fault tolerance constrains the choice of available gates, so that arbitrary gates required for a simulation algorithm must be constructed from sequences of fundamental operations. We examine techniques for constructing arbitrary gates which perform substantially faster than circuits based on the conventional Solovay-Kitaev algorithm [C.M. Dawson and M.A. Nielsen, emph{Quantum Inf. Comput.}, textbf{6}:81, 2006]. For a given approximation error $epsilon$, arbitrary single-qubit gates can be produced fault-tolerantly and using a limited set of gates in time which is $O(log epsilon)$ or $O(log log epsilon)$; with sufficient parallel preparation of ancillas, constant average depth is possible using a method we call programmable ancilla rotations. Moreover, we construct and analyze efficient implementations of first- and second-quantized simulation algorithms using the fault-tolerant arbitrary gates and other techniques, such as implementing various subroutines in constant time. A specific example we analyze is the ground-state energy calculation for Lithium hydride.
