Introduction

The invention refers to a method to piggyback classical information on quantum information protected by QECCs (quantum error correcting codes). It will find application in network management and control, to annotate the quantum information or for synchronization.

Technical features

Quantum information processing by systems including quantum computers and quantum networks have been known since some years. Despite the potential advantages in exploiting the quantum mechanics to process information, there are still several problems to solve. One aspect is that the management of these networks will inevitably require to exchange control data in addition to the user data in order to obtain secure exchange of data. The proposed invention tries to solve this problem and allows, for any quantum communication system employing quantum error correcting codes (QECCs), to read and write classical information on top of quantum information. The method thus defines a communication protocol to send a sequence of classical bits superimposed to qubits protected by QECCs by the introduction of intentional errors on the qubits, making the transmission of information secure.

Possible Applications

• Quantum computing;
• Quantum networks;
• Quantum communication;
• Quantum sensing and metrology.

Advantages

• Secure exchange of data;
• High accuracy in measurements.