Cellular-automaton decoders for topological quantum memories

Understand

We introduce a new framework for constructing topological quantum memories, by recasting error recovery as a dynamical process on a field generating cellular automaton.

• We envisage quantum systems controlled by a classical hardware composed of small local memories, communicating with neighbours, and repeatedly performing identical simple update rules.
• This approach does not require any global operations or complex decoding algorithms.
• Our cellular automata draw inspiration from classical field theories, with a Coulomb-like potential naturally emerging from the local dynamics.