Spatio-temporal Path Optimization for Stabilizer-Code-Protected Quantum Networks
2026-08-24 • Networking and Internet Architecture
Networking and Internet Architecture
AI summaryⓘ
The authors study how to best send fragile quantum information across networks that can be noisy. They focus on using quantum error correction (QEC) at certain points along the path to fix errors and keep the data intact. They create algorithms to decide the best route and where to do error correction to minimize problems and costs. Their simulations show these methods work better than some existing strategies, lowering errors and congestion in the network.
Quantum Error CorrectionQuantum NetworksLogical QubitStabilizer CodesRouting AlgorithmsSpatio-temporal OptimizationDecode-AlwaysThroughputCongestionMulti-flow Routing
Authors
Yuanbo Zhang, Qianfan Wang, Yangming Zhao, Lin Chen, Deke Guo
Abstract
Quantum Error Correction~(QEC)-protected direct transmission is a fundamental approach to preserve fragile quantum states while they are physically forwarded across noisy quantum networks. When a logical qubit traverses multiple hops, selected QEC-capable nodes may recover the encoded state before it continues along the route. The feasibility and cost of the final transmission strategy therefore depend on how we jointly choose the path, the recovery locations, and the protection schemes. In this paper, we formulate and analyze a cross-layer spatio-temporal path optimization problem for block-style stabilizer-code-protected direct transmission. Our main results include fixed-scheme and flexible-scheme single-flow routing algorithms, as well as a multi-flow routing algorithm. The framework developed in this paper can serve as an algorithmic building block for QEC-aware routing under logical-error and logical-lifetime constraints. Simulations show that it reduces single-flow average routing cost by approximately 25--30\% over Decode-Always and lowers multi-flow throughput-normalized congestion by approximately 28--31\% over Greedy-Assignment.