BARC codes: general polynomial framework for coherent-state superposition codes

Abstract

We introduce an algebraic framework for constructing a new class of quantum error-correcting codes, bosonic algebraically-restricted constellation (BARC) codes. The code states are finite superpositions of coherent-state constellations constrained by symmetries of solution sets to multivariate complex polynomial systems. The constraints are associated with photon-gain and photon-loss errors, thereby imposing approximate Knill--Laflamme conditions for such errors. For equally-weighted constellation points, we derive upper bounds on the minimum geometric separation between points, indicating how noise-resilient the code is. In the single-mode case, we characterize degree-two polynomial solution sets using an orthogonal group symmetry to obtain explicit ellipsoidal and hexagonal BARC codes. We benchmark representative instances of these families against spherical and cubature codes using the entanglement fidelity with optimal recovery under pure-loss noise.