A Short Introduction to Topological Quantum Computation
This review presents an entry-level introduction to topological quantum computation -- quantum computing with anyons. We introduce anyons at the system-independent level of anyon models and discuss the key concepts of protected fusion spaces and statistical quantum evolutions for encoding and pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SciPost
2017-09-01
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| Series: | SciPost Physics |
| Online Access: | https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.3.3.021 |
| Summary: | This review presents an entry-level introduction to topological quantum
computation -- quantum computing with anyons. We introduce anyons at the
system-independent level of anyon models and discuss the key concepts of
protected fusion spaces and statistical quantum evolutions for encoding and
processing quantum information. Both the encoding and the processing are
inherently resilient against errors due to their topological nature, thus
promising to overcome one of the main obstacles for the realisation of quantum
computers. We outline the general steps of topological quantum computation, as
well as discuss various challenges faced it. We also review the literature on
condensed matter systems where anyons can emerge. Finally, the appearance of
anyons and employing them for quantum computation is demonstrated in the
context of a simple microscopic model -- the topological superconducting
nanowire -- that describes the low-energy physics of several experimentally
relevant settings. This model supports localised Majorana zero modes that are
the simplest and the experimentally most tractable types of anyons that are
needed to perform topological quantum computation. |
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| ISSN: | 2542-4653 |