Passive storage of quantum information

In the same way that your computer's hard drive stores information even when the power is switched off, we aim to construct a passive storage system for a quantum bit in which the interactions of the system naturally prevent accumulation of errors for a time which increases with system size. Some necessary conditions for the system Hamiltonian are readily derived, naturally invoking topological quantum phases. The simplest topological model, the toric code, will be introduced and used to gain further insights into important properties of such a quantum memory. In the interest of fostering potential collaborations, this will be preceded by a brief advertisement for some of the speaker's other quantum information research interests.