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cat code

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description cat code Overview

Cat codes are quantum error correction schemes that encode logical qubits across multiple physical qubits, representing states as superposition of "cat" and "no cat" configurations to protect against noise.

help cat code FAQ

Why is it called a cat code?

The name refers to Schrödinger-cat states, quantum superpositions of coherent states with distinguishable phases. A logical qubit is encoded in states of a bosonic mode rather than simply copied across ordinary two-level qubits.

What type of quantum error does a cat code suppress?

Stabilized cat qubits can suppress bit-flip errors exponentially as the average photon number increases. Residual phase-flip errors may then be handled by an outer repetition code.

Does a cat code require several physical qubits?

A basic bosonic cat qubit stores redundant information in multiple photon-number states of one oscillator, often a superconducting microwave cavity. Larger fault-tolerant schemes can concatenate several cat qubits with ancilla transmons for syndrome measurements.

How are cat codes different from surface codes?

Surface codes spread a logical qubit over a two-dimensional array of physical two-level qubits and repeatedly measure local checks. Cat codes first exploit the large state space of a bosonic oscillator, potentially reducing the number of separate hardware elements needed for error correction.

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