Union-find quantum decoding without union-find

The union-find decoder is a leading algorithmic approach to the correction of quantum errors on the surface code, achieving code thresholds comparable to minimum-weight perfect matching (MWPM) with amortized computational time scaling near-linearly in the number of physical qubits. This complexity i...

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Main Authors: Sam J. Griffiths, Dan E. Browne
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: American Physical Society 2024-02-01
Series:Physical Review Research
Online Access:http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013154
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author Sam J. Griffiths
Dan E. Browne
author_facet Sam J. Griffiths
Dan E. Browne
author_sort Sam J. Griffiths
collection DOAJ
description The union-find decoder is a leading algorithmic approach to the correction of quantum errors on the surface code, achieving code thresholds comparable to minimum-weight perfect matching (MWPM) with amortized computational time scaling near-linearly in the number of physical qubits. This complexity is achieved via optimizations provided by the disjoint-set data structure. We demonstrate, however, that the behavior of the decoder at scale underutilizes this data structure for twofold analytic and algorithmic reasons, and that improvements and simplifications can be made to architectural designs to reduce resource overhead in practice. To reinforce this, we model the behavior of erasure clusters formed by the decoder and show that there does not exist a percolation threshold within the data structure for any mode of operation. This yields a linear-time worst-case complexity for the decoder at scale, even with a naive implementation omitting popular optimizations.
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spelling doaj.art-d45dbc9d112a464eaaec882af9386eda2024-04-12T17:39:03ZengAmerican Physical SocietyPhysical Review Research2643-15642024-02-016101315410.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013154Union-find quantum decoding without union-findSam J. GriffithsDan E. BrowneThe union-find decoder is a leading algorithmic approach to the correction of quantum errors on the surface code, achieving code thresholds comparable to minimum-weight perfect matching (MWPM) with amortized computational time scaling near-linearly in the number of physical qubits. This complexity is achieved via optimizations provided by the disjoint-set data structure. We demonstrate, however, that the behavior of the decoder at scale underutilizes this data structure for twofold analytic and algorithmic reasons, and that improvements and simplifications can be made to architectural designs to reduce resource overhead in practice. To reinforce this, we model the behavior of erasure clusters formed by the decoder and show that there does not exist a percolation threshold within the data structure for any mode of operation. This yields a linear-time worst-case complexity for the decoder at scale, even with a naive implementation omitting popular optimizations.http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013154
spellingShingle Sam J. Griffiths
Dan E. Browne
Union-find quantum decoding without union-find
Physical Review Research
title Union-find quantum decoding without union-find
title_full Union-find quantum decoding without union-find
title_fullStr Union-find quantum decoding without union-find
title_full_unstemmed Union-find quantum decoding without union-find
title_short Union-find quantum decoding without union-find
title_sort union find quantum decoding without union find
url http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.6.013154
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AT danebrowne unionfindquantumdecodingwithoutunionfind