Quantum Error Correction and Reversible Operations

Carlton M. Caves

Published 1998-11-30Version 1

I give a pedagogical account of Shor's nine-bit code for correcting arbitrary errors on single qubits, and I review work that determines when it is possible to maintain quantum coherence by reversing the deleterious effects of open-system quantum dynamics. The review provides an opportunity to introduce an efficient formalism for handling superoperators. I present and prove some bounds on entanglement fidelity, which might prove useful in analyses of approximate error correction.