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Logical error rates for the surface code under a mixed coherent and stochastic circuit-level noise model inspired by trapped ions

Tyler LeBlond1,*,†, Peter Groszkowski2, Justin G. Lietz2,‡, Christopher M. Seck1, and Ryan S. Bennink1

  • *Contact author: tyler.leblond@quantinuum.com
  • †Present address: Quantinuum, Broomfield, USA.
  • ‡Present address: NVIDIA Corporation, Santa Clara, USA.
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043184 – Published 19 November, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ktb3-gcxr

Abstract

With fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) on the horizon, it is critical to understand sources of logical errors in plausible hardware implementations of quantum error-correcting codes. Detailed error modeling of computational instructions on particular FTQC architectures will enable the better prediction of error propagation in FT-encoded quantum circuits while revealing where greater attention is needed in hardware design. In this work, we consider logical error rates for the surface code implemented on a hypothetical grid-based trapped-ion quantum charge-coupled device architecture. Specifically, we construct logical channels for the idling surface code and examine its diamond error under a mixed coherent and stochastic circuit-level noise model inspired by trapped ions. We include the coherent dephasing noise that is known to accumulate during physical qubit idling and transport in these systems, determining idling and transport durations using the time-resolved output of an open-source trapped-ion surface code compiler. To estimate expectation values of logical Pauli observables following hardware circuits containing non-Clifford sources of noise, we utilize a Monte Carlo technique to sample from an underlying quasiprobability distribution of Clifford circuits that we independently simulate in a phase-sensitive fashion. We verify error suppression up to code distance d=11 at coherent dephasing rates near and below those of current-generation trapped-ion quantum computers and find that logical error rates align with those of analogous fully stochastic simulations in this regime. Exploring higher dephasing rates at d=3−5, we find evidence for growing coherent rotations about all three logical Pauli axes, increased diagonal logical error process matrix elements relative to those of stochastic simulations, and a reduced dephasing rate threshold. Overall, our work paves a way toward realistic hardware emulation of small fault-tolerant quantum processes, e.g., members of an FTQC instruction set.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 043184– Published 19 November, 2025
  • Received 27 August 2025
  • Accepted 22 October 2025
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