A new class of particles called non-Abelian anyons could make quantum computers robust enough to work outside the lab. Today’s quantum computers are fragile. Tiny disturbances from heat, vibration, or stray electromagnetic fields cause errors that destroy calculations. The standard fix—quantum error correction—requires so many extra qubits that building a useful machine becomes prohibitively expensive. This project takes a different route. Instead of correcting errors after they happen, it aims to prevent them by encoding information in the topological properties of non-Abelian anyons—exotic particles that exist only in two-dimensional materials. Because their quantum states depend on how the particles braid around each other, not on local conditions, they are naturally immune to decoherence and control errors. The team recently demonstrated the first quantum simulation of non-Abelian anyons using photonic systems in 2023. This project will turn that proof-of-principle into concrete blueprints for fault-tolerant quantum computation using existing technology. If successful, the work could lead to quantum computers that do not need massive error-correction overheads, making them practical for applications in drug discovery, materials design, and secure communications. The project is primarily fundamental science, but it directly targets a bottleneck that currently blocks quantum computing from leaving the laboratory.
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Quantum computers offer an unprecedented computational advantage over classical ones, which could revolutionise medicine, energy and security. However, to achieve sufficient robustness required for such applications, we need to accurately control a large number of tiny particles at the quantum level. Current generation of quantum computers cannot meet their full potential due to control errors and decoherence, hindering their applications in science and technology. A milestone in the theory of quantum computing was achieved with the discovery of quantum error correcting codes. These algorithms allow to correct errors without measuring or destroying the logical quantum information. Nevertheless, practical implementations of quantum error correction require a huge overhead of resources, making them prohibitively costly in real-world applications. This proposal takes an alternative approach of protecting quantum information from errors and decoherence by harnessing the cutting-edge phenomena in condensed matter physics, in particular the exotic properties of particles known as non-Abelian anyons. Anyons have rich topological properties that can simultaneously protect quantum information and process it in an error-free way, thus promising to realise the ultimate goal of fault-tolerant quantum computation. This proposal will take advantage of the Project Lead's recent success in the quantum simulation of non-Abelian anyons with photonic systems and turn it into prototype fault-tolerant quantum computation devices. The project is very timely as these experimental advances were realised only in 2023, yet questions of how to use them for quantum computation remain open. This proposal will take these initial breakthroughs and create concrete blueprints for topological quantum computation based on the currently available technology. We will achieve that by strengthening our established collaboration with the experimental group of Prof Mehul Malik and by initiating a collaboration with the quantum technology company Aegiq. Anyons have interdisciplinary significance spanning statistical mechanics, condensed matter, and topological quantum field theory, all of which will be impacted by our results. Beyond advancing fundamental science, the success of this project will ensure the UK experimental groups and industry remain at the forefront of leveraging topological properties of anyons to ultimately deliver more robust quantum computers.
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