Hyperbolic color codes with constant rate and polynomial distance
A new preprint on arXiv proposes a family of hyperbolic color codes that achieve constant encoding rate and polynomial distance. The authors motivate this by noting that recent quantum hardware relaxes strict geometric-locality constraints, and they build on color codes' role in fault-tolerant computation.
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What this could mean
- 0–2 yearsPlausible
Within two years, this construction could provide the basis for small fault-tolerant memory or logic demonstrations on reconfigurable qubit platforms, such as neutral-atom arrays or trapped-ion systems, because those platforms already allow nonlocal stabilizer measurements.
The code is designed for hardware that need not respect two-dimensional geometric locality, and those platforms now support long-range interactions through shuttling or all-to-all connectivity. If the stabilizer weights and connectivity requirements can be mapped to current devices, a proof-of-principle experiment would test constant-rate encoding with polynomial-distance protection.
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