Majorana Braiding with Thermal Noise.

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Quantum computing

Background:

• Topological quantum computing utilizes Majorana bound states for robust quantum information storage.
• The self-correcting properties of Majorana networks are crucial for fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the self-correcting properties of a Majorana wire network configured as a trijunction.
• To identify error processes associated with braiding Majorana bound states in this specific architecture.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of Majorana wire networks in a parity-preserving thermal environment.
• Monte Carlo simulations to confirm predicted error mechanisms and their impact on memory lifetime.

Main Results:

• Braiding Majorana bound states within a trijunction introduces previously unidentified error processes.
• These errors prevent the expected increase in quantum memory lifetime with system size.

Conclusions:

• The identified error processes impose a fundamental restriction on the self-correction capabilities of Majorana trijunction quantum computing architectures.
• Findings highlight challenges in realizing fault-tolerant topological quantum computing with mobile Majorana states.