Using concatenated quantum codes for universal fault-tolerant quantum gates

Abstract: We propose a method for universal fault-tolerant quantum computation using concatenated quantum error correcting codes. Namely, other than computational basis state preparation as required by the DiVincenzo criteria [1], our scheme requires no special ancillary state preparation to achieve universality, as opposed to schemes such as magic state distillation. The concatenation scheme exploits the transversal properties of two different codes, combining them to provide a means to protect against low-weight arbitrary errors. We give the required properties of the error correcting codes to ensure universal fault-tolerance and discuss a particular example using the 7-qubit Steane and 15-qubit Reed-Muller codes. We believe that optimizing the codes used in such a scheme could provide a useful alternative to state distillation schemes that exhibit high overhead costs.