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Use of faulty states in cat-code error correction

Michael Hanks1,*, Soovin Lee1, Nicolo Lo Piparo2, Shin Nishio2,3,4, William J. Munro2,4, Kae Nemoto2,4, and M. S. Kim1

  • *Contact author: m.hanks@imperial.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. A 113, 042621 – Published 17 April, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vb9n-g6gx

Abstract

Bosonic codes have seen a resurgence in interest for applications as varied as fault-tolerant quantum architectures, quantum enhanced sensing, and entanglement distribution. Cat codes have been proposed as low-level elements in larger architectures, and the theory of rotationally symmetric codes more generally has been significantly expanded in the recent literature. The fault-tolerant preparation and maintenance of cat-code states as a standalone quantum error correction scheme remains, however, limited by the need for robust state preparation and strong intermode interactions. In this work, we consider the teleportation-based correction circuit for cat-code quantum error correction. We show that the class of acceptable ancillary states is broader than is typically acknowledged, and exploit this to propose the use of many-component bridge states, which, though not themselves in the cat-code space, are nonetheless capable of syndrome extraction in the regime where nonlinear interactions are a limiting factor.

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Phys. Rev. A 113, 042621– Published 17 April, 2026
  • Received 19 January 2026
  • Accepted 9 March 2026
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