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How do logical qubits protect against bit-flip and phase-flip errors?
Asked on Oct 23, 2025
Answer
Logical qubits are designed to protect against bit-flip and phase-flip errors by encoding a single logical qubit into multiple physical qubits using quantum error correction codes. These codes detect and correct errors without collapsing the quantum state, maintaining coherence and fidelity in quantum computations.
Example Concept: The Shor code is a well-known quantum error correction code that protects against both bit-flip and phase-flip errors by encoding one logical qubit into nine physical qubits. It uses a combination of repetition codes and entanglement to detect and correct errors. The code first encodes the logical qubit into three qubits to protect against bit-flips, and then each of these is further encoded into three qubits to protect against phase-flips, allowing the detection and correction of single-qubit errors.
Additional Comment:
- Quantum error correction requires periodic measurement of ancillary qubits to detect errors without measuring the logical qubits directly.
- Stabilizer codes, like the Steane code, are another approach that uses fewer qubits than the Shor code while still protecting against both types of errors.
- Implementing these codes involves complex gate operations and error syndrome extraction, often requiring advanced quantum hardware capabilities.
- Logical qubits are essential for fault-tolerant quantum computing, enabling scalable quantum algorithms.
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