A Polar Decomposition for Quantum Channels: Theory and Applications
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Date
2019-08-23
Authors
Alexander, Matthew
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Waterloo
Abstract
Every potential benefit of quantum computers would be lost without methods to protect the computations from error. Quantum channels provide a framework for understanding error in quantum systems. In general, for a system of size d, a quantum channel may require as many as ~d^4 parameters to characterize it. We introduce the leading Kraus approximation, a simplification which reduces the number of parameters to ~d^2, while accurately approximating two figures of merit important to the experimentalist: the unitarity and average process fidelity. Additionally, applying the leading Kraus approximation declutters investigations into the set of quantum channels. When applied, a natural decomposition of channels arises, separating behaviour into coherent and decoherent contributions. We find that eliminating the coherent contribution provides the greatest increase to the fidelity, while decoherent processes provide a generalization of depolarizing channels.
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Keywords
quantum theory, quantum computers