Error-prevention scheme with two pairs of qubits

Abstract

A scheme is presented for protecting one-qubit quantum information against decoherence due to a general environment and local exchange interactions. The scheme operates essentially by distributing information over two pairs of qubits and through error-prevention procedures. In the scheme, quantum information is encoded through a decoherence-free subspace for collective phase errors and exchange errors affecting the qubits in pairs; leakage out of the encoding space due to amplitude damping is reduced by quantum Zeno effect. In addition, how to construct decoherence-free states for n-qubit information against phase and exchange errors is discussed.