Noise-Resilient Quantum Simulation with the Quantum Error Detection Code

Quantum computing promises substantial speed-up in simulating physical systems, but noise in near-term quantum processors prevents us from fully realizing its power. In this work, we propose a procedure to reduce errors in quantum simulations on current and near-term quantum computers using the [[n,n-2,2]] quantum error detection code. We employ a weakly fault-tolerant construction and develop systematic methods to construct a logical exponential map for a general Pauli operator. Used together with mid-circuit syndrome measurements, this method can detect errors in deep circuits consisting of a sequence of exponential maps, as generally occur in dynamical or molecular system simulations using Trotter–Suzuki formulas. Our work suggests that one can use elements of fault-tolerance to reduce noise in practical near-term quantum computers.