Tailoring Dynamical Codes for Biased Noise: The X$^3$Z$^3$ Floquet Code
F. Setiawan, Campbell McLauchlan
Published: 2024/11/7
Abstract
We propose the X$^3$Z$^3$ Floquet code, a dynamical code with improved performance under biased noise compared to other Floquet codes. The enhanced performance is attributed to a simplified decoding problem resulting from a persistent stabiliser-product symmetry, which surprisingly exists in a code without constant stabilisers. Even if such a symmetry is allowed, we prove that general dynamical codes with two-qubit parity measurements cannot admit one-dimensional decoding graphs, a key feature responsible for the high performance of bias-tailored stabiliser codes. Despite this, our comprehensive simulations show that the symmetry of the X$^3$Z$^3$ Floquet code renders its performance under biased noise far better than several leading Floquet codes. To maintain high-performance implementation in hardware without native two-qubit parity measurements, we introduce ancilla-assisted bias-preserving parity measurement circuits. Our work establishes the X$^3$Z$^3$ code as a prime quantum error-correcting code, particularly for devices with reduced connectivity, such as the honeycomb and heavy-hexagonal architectures.