We give an independent proof of the Krasikov-Litsyn bound d/n/spl lsim/(1-5/sup -1/4/)/2 on doubly-even self-dual binary codes. The technique used (a refinement of the Mallows-Odlyzko-Sloane approach) extends easily to other families of self-dual codes, modular lattices, and quantum codes; in particular, we show that the Krasikov-Litsyn bound applies to singly-even binary codes, and obtain an analogous bound for unimodular lattices. We also show that in each case, our bound differs from the true optimum by an amount growing faster than O(/spl radic/n).

We show that the maximum fidelity obtained by a positive partial transpose (p.p.t.) distillation protocol is given by the solution to a certain semidefinite program. This gives a number of new lower and upper bounds on p.p.t. distillable entanglement (and thus new upper bounds on 2-locally distillable entanglement). In the presence of symmetry, the semidefinite program simplifies considerably, becoming a linear program in the case of isotropic and Werner states. Using these techniques, we determine the p.p.t. distillable entanglement of asymmetric Werner states and "maximally correlated" states. We conclude with a discussion of possible applications of semidefinite programming to quantum codes and 1-local distillation.

The weight enumerators (Shor and Laflamme 1997) of a quantum code are quite powerful tools for exploring its structure. As the weight enumerators are quadratic invariants of the code, this suggests the consideration of higher degree polynomial invariants. We show that the space of degree k invariants of a code of length n is spanned by a set of basic invariants in one-to-one correspondence with S/sub k//sup n/. We then present a number of equations and inequalities in these invariants; in particular, we give a higher order generalization of the shadow enumerator of a code, and prove that its coefficients are nonnegative. We also prove that the quartic invariants of a ((4, 4, 2))/sub 2/ code are uniquely determined, an important step in a proof that any ((4, 4, 2))/sub 2/ code is additive (Rains 1999).

It is reasonable to expect the theory of quantum codes to be simplified in the case of codes of minimum distance 2; thus it makes sense to examine such codes in the hopes that techniques that prove effective there will generalize. With this in mind, we present a number of results on codes of minimum distance 2. We first compute the linear programming bound on the dimension of such a code, then show that this bound can only be attained when the code either is of even length, or is of length 3 or 5. We next consider questions of uniqueness, showing that the optimal code of length 2 or 1 is unique (implying that the well-known one-qubit-in-five single-error correcting code is unique), and presenting nonadditive optimal codes of all greater even lengths. Finally, we compute the full automorphism group of the more important distance 2 codes, allowing us to determine the full automorphism group of any GF(4)-linear code.

We present several results on quantum codes over general alphabets (that is, in which the fundamental units may have more than two states). In particular, we consider codes derived from finite symplectic geometry assumed to have additional global symmetries. From this standpoint, the analogs of Calderbank-Shor-Steane codes and of GF(4)-linear codes turn out to be special cases of the same construction. This allows us to construct families of quantum codes from certain codes over number fields; in particular, we get analogs of quadratic residue codes, including a single-error-correcting code encoding one letter in five, for any alphabet size. We also consider the problem of fault-tolerant computation through such codes, generalizing ideas of Gottesman (see Phys. Rev. A, vol.57, no.1, p127-37, 1998).

In a previous paper, Shor and Laflamme (see Phys. Rev. Lett., vol.78, p.1600-02, 1997) define two "weight enumerators" for quantum error-correcting codes, connected by a MacWilliams (1977) transform, and use them to give a linear-programming bound for quantum codes. We extend their work by introducing another enumerator, based on the classical theory of shadow codes, that tightens their bounds significantly. In particular, nearly all of the codes known to be optimal among additive quantum codes (codes derived from orthogonal geometry) can be shown to be optimal among all quantum codes. We also use the shadow machinery to extend a bound on additive codes to general codes, obtaining as a consequence that any code of length, can correct at most [(n+1)/6] errors.

The most powerful technique known at present for bounding the size of quantum codes of prescribed minimum distance is the quantum linear programming bound. Unlike the classical linear programming bound, it is not immediately obvious that if the quantum linear programming constraints are satisfiable for dimension K, then the constraints can be satisfied for all lower dimensions. We show that the quantum linear programming bound is monotonic in this sense, and give an explicitly monotonic reformulation.

The problem of finding quantum error correcting codes is transformed into the problem of finding additive codes over the field GF(4) which are self-orthogonal with respect to a certain trace inner product. Many new codes and new bounds are presented, as well as a table of upper and lower bounds on such codes of length up to 30 qubits.

Conway and Sloane (1990) have previously given an upper bound on the minimum distance of a singly-even self-dual binary code, using the concept of the shadow of a self-dual code. We improve their bound, finding that the minimum distance of a self-dual binary code of length n is at most 4[n/24]+4, except when n mod 24=22, when the bound is 4[n/24]+6. We also show that a code of length a multiple of 24 meeting the bound cannot be singly-even. The same technique gives similar results for additive codes over GF(4) (relevant to quantum coding theory).

In a recent paper, Shor and Laflamme (see Phys. Rev. Lett., vol.78, p.1600-2, 1997) defined two "weight enumerators" for quantum error-correcting codes, connected by a MacWilliams transform, and used them to give a linear programming bound for quantum codes. We introduce two new enumerators which, while much less powerful at producing bounds, are useful tools nonetheless. The new enumerators are connected by a much simpler duality transform, clarifying the duality between Shor and Laflamme's enumerators. We also use the new enumerators to give a simpler condition for a quantum code to have specified minimum distance, and to extend the enumerator theory to codes with block size greater than 2.