UCQM: A Six-Metric Quality Framework for Continuous-Variable Cluster States

Abstract:Continuous-variable (CV) cluster states constitute one of the central resources for measurement-based quantum computation (MBQC). Despite substantial progress in their theoretical development and experimental realization, comparing the quality of different cluster-state topologies remains challenging, as existing approaches typically rely either on qualitative inspection of covariance matrices or on individual metrics that characterize only a single aspect of the underlying correlation structure. In this work, we propose a quantitative evaluation framework that integrates six complementary descriptors of CV cluster states: total correlation strength (SSC), correlation uniformity (CAV), error resilience (EVC), communication overhead (COM), path redundancy (RED), and bottleneck vulnerability (BOT). These quantities are combined into a single \textbf{Unified Cluster Quality Metric (UCQM)}, providing a consistent basis for evaluating and comparing different cluster-state architectures. The proposed framework is applied to four-mode path, square, and star cluster topologies over the squeezing range $r \in [0.2,1.8]$. Across the investigated parameter regime, the square topology consistently achieves the highest UCQM score, indicating the most balanced structural characteristics among the topologies considered and supporting its suitability for measurement-based quantum computation. Because all six metrics are derived directly from covariance-matrix elements together with graph connectivity, the framework naturally extends to arbitrary $N$-mode cluster states, higher-dimensional lattice geometries, and experimentally reconstructed covariance matrices. Beyond providing a single numerical score, UCQM offers a unified perspective for analyzing the structural quality of CV cluster states and establishes a practical framework for their systematic comparison, optimization, and future design.

arXiv:2609.20852 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2609.20852v1 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.20852 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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