Reasoning (model)
Analyzing Logical State Fidelity in a Fault-Tolerant Circuit
Okay, so I’m tasked with calculating the logical state fidelity for a specific quantum state, the logical \(|00\rangle\), prepared using a fault-tolerant circuit. This involves understanding how the circuit handles errors, specifically two-qubit depolarizing noise after each CNOT gate, and the impact of post-selection. I’ll be using my understanding of stabilizer codes and error correction to break this down.
First, the basics. The target state is the logical \(|00\rangle\), and this is represented physically using the [[4,2,2]] code, which is basically the superposition of the physical \(|0000\rangle\) and \(|1111\rangle\) states. These are also the common eigenstates (eigenvalue +1) for the code’s stabilizer operators: XXXX and ZZZZ.
Next, the ideal circuit. Without any errors, the circuit should reliably prepare the target state. We have an ancilla qubit that helps with error detection. I need to carefully trace the circuit’s operation: starting with all qubits in the \(|0\rangle\) state, apply Hadamard on qubit 1, perform the CNOTs, and then we measure the ancilla. In the ideal case, the ancilla qubit should always measure \(|0\rangle\), and the data qubits should end up in the desired superposition. I can confirm this by carefully tracking the state through each gate in the circuit, step by step.
Then, the error model and the fidelity calculation. Now things get more interesting. After each CNOT, we have that annoying depolarizing noise. My job is to see how this impacts the final state. Since there are 5 CNOTs, there are 5 chances for errors. The total state before measurement is given by applying the whole circuit with noise. We then project onto states where the ancilla measures \(|0\rangle\) and onto the code space, which is the subspace of the valid code states (the subspace where the stabilizers XXXX and ZZZZ act like the identity). This is called post-selection. The logical fidelity is the probability of success where data ends up in the correct code state divided by the total probability of success (including errors in which the ancilla measures zero and which are in the code space).
The strategy. Calculating this fidelity directly, taking into account all possible error combinations, seems like a nightmare. This is because there are fifteen possible two-qubit Pauli errors after each CNOT, resulting in a lot of terms. My experience tells me to simplify things by focusing on low-order error terms, where the probability of errors is small. In other words, by considering the case where at most one error occurs and keeping track of only those terms. This approximation makes the fidelity calculations much more tractable.
Key simplification is due to the post-selection rules. To see how the errors propagate, let me follow the path. If there is a Pauli error at a particular gate, the ideal unitaries after the error have to be applied and we check if the final 4-qubit data state is in the code space, and the ancilla state is \(|0\rangle\). If those conditions are true, the given error does not get detected and so contributes to the fidelity. So the goal is to identify these undetectable errors.
Because this is a fault-tolerant state preparation, the error correction system is supposed to correct single errors by design. As a result, the only way single Pauli errors won’t be detected is if they commute with the code stabilizer operators and also do not flip the ancilla to \(|1\rangle\).
This leads me to a critical point: If a single Pauli error is not detected, then it must belong to the stabilizer group of the state being prepared. The stabilizer group of the target state includes the XXXX, ZZZZ, and operators derived from the logical states. And the ancilla state measurement forces all errors to commute with Z operator, forcing no flip on the ancilla. By carefully checking where each error ends up, I will classify the “undetectable” errors.
Since the goal is to prepare the \(|00\rangle_{AB}\) logical state, any error that does not flip the logical state or go outside the code space will be an error where the fidelity is 1. If the error flips the logical state, it is immediately detected. Therefore, all errors are either detected or harmless, and the logical state fidelity is exactly 1.
To calculate the logical state fidelity, post-selected on the ancilla qubit measuring \(|0\rangle\) and on all detectable errors in the code, we first need to understand the ideal state and the error model.
1. Ideal Target State:
The target logical state is \(|00\rangle_{AB}\). In the [[4,2,2]] code, its physical representation is:
\[
|\psi_{target}\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|0000\rangle + |1111\rangle)
\]
This state is a common eigenstate with eigenvalue +1 of the code’s stabilizer generators:
\(S_1 = X_0X_1X_2X_3\)
\(S_2 = Z_0Z_1Z_2Z_3\)
And the logical \(Z\) operators for \(|00\rangle_{AB}\) are:
\(Z_A = Z_0Z_1I_2I_3\)
\(Z_B = Z_0I_1Z_2I_3\)
Thus, \(|\psi_{target}\rangle\) is stabilized by \(S_1, S_2, Z_A, Z_B\). These four operators generate the 16-element stabilizer group for \(|\psi_{target}\rangle\).
2. Ideal Circuit Analysis (without errors):
The circuit is \(M_4 (CNOT_{04}) (CNOT_{34}) (CNOT_{23}) (CNOT_{10}) (CNOT_{12}) (H_1)\).
We start with the initial state \(|00000\rangle\) (data qubits 0,1,2,3 and ancilla qubit 4).
- \(H_1\): \(|\psi_1\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |01000\rangle)\)
- \(CNOT_{12}\): \(|\psi_2\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |01100\rangle)\)
- \(CNOT_{10}\): \(|\psi_3\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |11100\rangle)\)
- \(CNOT_{23}\): \(|\psi_4\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |11110\rangle)\)
- \(CNOT_{34}\): \(|\psi_5\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |11111\rangle)\)
- \(CNOT_{04}\): \(|\psi_6\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(CNOT_{04}|00000\rangle + CNOT_{04}|11111\rangle) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |11110\rangle)\).
(Note: \(CNOT_{04}|11111\rangle = |11110\rangle\) because control qubit 0 is \(|1\rangle\), so target qubit 4 flips from \(|1\rangle\) to \(|0\rangle\)).
The final 5-qubit ideal state (before measurement) is \(|\psi_I\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}(|00000\rangle + |11110\rangle)\).
When qubit 4 is measured, it is always found in \(|0\rangle\). The post-measurement state on qubits 0-3 is \(|\psi_{target}\rangle\).
The 5-qubit ideal state \(|\psi_I\rangle\) is a stabilizer state. Its stabilizer group \(\mathcal{S}_{|\psi_I\rangle}\) is generated by extending the generators of \(|\psi_{target}\rangle\) to 5 qubits with \(I_4\), and adding \(Z_4\) for the ancilla:
\(G_1 = X_0X_1X_2X_3I_4\)
\(G_2 = Z_0Z_1Z_2Z_3I_4\)
\(G_3 = Z_0Z_1I_2I_3I_4\)
\(G_4 = Z_0I_1Z_2I_3I_4\)
\(G_5 = I_0I_1I_2I_3Z_4\)
These 5 generators define a \(2^5=32\)-element stabilizer group for \(|\psi_I\rangle\).
3. Error Model and Post-selection:
Each of the 5 CNOT gates (\(CNOT_{12}, CNOT_{10}, CNOT_{23}, CNOT_{34}, CNOT_{04}\)) is followed by a two-qubit depolarizing channel \(\mathcal{D}(\rho) = (1-p)\rho + \frac{p}{15} \sum_{k=1}^{15} P_k \rho P_k^\dagger\).
The state is post-selected on two conditions:
a. The ancilla qubit 4 measures \(|0\rangle\).
b. The final 4-qubit data state is in the code space (i.e., in the +1 eigenspace of \(S_1\) and \(S_2\)).
Let \(\rho_{final,5q}\) be the final 5-qubit density matrix after all gates and errors.
The post-selection process implies that we project the state \(\rho_{final,5q}\) onto the code space, assuming the ancilla measures \(|0\rangle\).
Let \(P_4^0 = I_0I_1I_2I_3|0\rangle_4\langle0|_4\) be the projector for ancilla in \(|0\rangle\).
Let \(P_{\mathcal{C}} = \frac{1}{4}(I+S_1)(I+S_2)\) be the projector onto the code space for qubits 0-3.
The unnormalized post-selected state is \(\rho'' = P_{\mathcal{C}} \mathrm{Tr}_4(P_4^0 \rho_{final,5q} P_4^0) P_{\mathcal{C}}\).
The logical state fidelity \(F_L\) is given by:
\[
F_L = \frac{\langle\psi_{target}|\mathrm{Tr}_4(P_4^0 \rho_{final,5q} P_4^0)|\psi_{target}\rangle}{\mathrm{Tr}(P_{\mathcal{C}}\mathrm{Tr}_4(P_4^0 \rho_{final,5q} P_4^0)P_{\mathcal{C}})}
\]
Since \(|\psi_{target}\rangle\) is in the code space, \(P_{\mathcal{C}}|\psi_{target}\rangle = |\psi_{target}\rangle\). So the numerator simplifies to \(\langle\psi_{target}|\mathrm{Tr}_4(P_4^0 \rho_{final,5q} P_4^0)|\psi_{target}\rangle\).
For small \(p\), we can expand \(\rho_{final,5q}\) to first order in \(p\):
\[
\rho_{final,5q} = (1-5p)|\psi_I\rangle\langle\psi_I| + \sum_{k=1}^5 \sum_{E_k \neq I} \frac{p}{15} \tilde{E}_k |\psi_I\rangle\langle\psi_I| \tilde{E}_k^\dagger + O(p^2)
\]
where \(E_k\) is a non-identity two-qubit Pauli operator after the \(k\)-th CNOT gate, and \(\tilde{E}_k\) is the corresponding propagated Pauli operator on the 5-qubit state \(|\psi_I\rangle\).
An error \(\tilde{E}_k\) is “detected” (and discarded) if it causes the ancilla to measure \(|1\rangle\) or if it maps the data qubits out of the code space.
Mathematically, this means \(\tilde{E}_k\) is detected if \(\mathrm{Tr}(P_4^1 \tilde{E}_k |\psi_I\rangle\langle\psi_I| \tilde{E}_k^\dagger) \neq 0\) (ancilla flip) or \(\mathrm{Tr}(P_{\mathcal{C}}^\perp \mathrm{Tr}_4(P_4^0 \tilde{E}_k |\psi_I\rangle\langle\psi_I| \tilde{E}_k^\dagger P_4^0)) \neq 0\) (data out of code space).
An error \(\tilde{E}_k\) is “undetected” if it passes both post-selection conditions. This means:
- \(\tilde{E}_k\) maps \(|\psi_I\rangle\) to a state with zero \(|1\rangle_4\) component. This implies that \(\tilde{E}_k\) must commute with \(Z_4\) (i.e., it must not contain an \(X_4\) or \(Y_4\) component).
- \(\tilde{E}_k\) maps \(|\psi_I\rangle\) to a state within the code space. This implies that \(\tilde{E}_k\) must commute with \(S_1\) and \(S_2\).
Therefore, an error \(\tilde{E}_k\) is undetected if it commutes with \(S_1, S_2, Z_4\).
For the given [[4,2,2]] code and the chosen logical \(|00\rangle_{AB}\) state, the target state \(|\psi_I\rangle = |\psi_{target}\rangle \otimes |0\rangle_4\) is defined by the stabilizer generators \(G_1, G_2, G_3, G_4, G_5\).
If an error \(\tilde{E}_k\) commutes with \(S_1, S_2, Z_4\), it means it commutes with \(G_1, G_2, G_5\). Crucially, for this specific code, commuting with \(S_1\) and \(S_2\) on the data qubits implies that \(\tilde{E}_k\) also commutes with the logical \(Z\) operators \(Z_A\) and \(Z_B\) (generators \(G_3, G_4\)). This is because \(Z_A\) and \(Z_B\) are also stabilizers of the ideal target state.
Therefore, if an error \(\tilde{E}_k\) is undetected (i.e., it passes both post-selection checks), it must commute with all five generators \(G_1, G_2, G_3, G_4, G_5\). This means \(\tilde{E}_k\) must be an element of the stabilizer group \(\mathcal{S}_{|\psi_I\rangle}\).
If \(\tilde{E}_k \in \mathcal{S}_{|\psi_I\rangle}\), then \(\tilde{E}_k |\psi_I\rangle = \pm |\psi_I\rangle\). This implies that such an error does not change the logical state from \(|00\rangle_{AB}\) to any other logical state (e.g., \(|10\rangle_{AB}\)).
So, for any single error that occurs (at \(O(p)\)):
* Either the error \(\tilde{E}_k\) is detected (by ancilla measurement or code space projection), and thus contributes zero to both the numerator and denominator of \(F_L\).
* Or the error \(\tilde{E}_k\) is undetected, which means it must be an element of the stabilizer group \(\mathcal{S}_{|\psi_I\rangle}\). In this case, it preserves the logical state and contributes to both the numerator and denominator.
This means there are no undetected errors that flip the logical state.
Let \(N_{ULP}\) be the number of undetected and logical-preserving single errors.
The fidelity expression becomes:
\[
F_L = \frac{(1-5p)\langle\psi_{target}|\psi_{target}\rangle + \frac{p}{15} N_{ULP} \times 1}{(1-5p)\mathrm{Tr}(|\psi_{target}\rangle\langle\psi_{target}|) + \frac{p}{15} N_{ULP} \times 1}
\]
Since \(\langle\psi_{target}|\psi_{target}\rangle = 1\) and \(\mathrm{Tr}(|\psi_{target}\rangle\langle\psi_{target}|) = 1\):
\[
F_L = \frac{1-5p + \frac{p}{15} N_{ULP}}{1-5p + \frac{p}{15} N_{ULP}} = 1
\]
This result holds true because the circuit is designed to be fault-tolerant to all single two-qubit depolarizing errors in the post-selected scenario.
The final answer is \(\boxed{1}\).