CSS code ($[[N,k_1-k_2,d]]$)

For binary linear codes $C_2\subseteq C_1\subseteq {\mathbb{F}}_2^N$, the CSS code has basis $|x+C_2⟩=|C_2{|}^{-1/2}{\sum }_{y\in C_2}|x+y⟩$ for $x\in C_1/C_2$. Its X stabilizers come from $C_2$ and its Z stabilizers from the dual code $C_1^{\perp }$; their commutation follows from orthogonality. For positive logical dimension, $d_X=\min \{\mathrm{wt}(x):x\in C_1\setminus C_2\}$ and $d_Z=\min \{\mathrm{wt}(z):z\in C_2^{\perp }\setminus C_1^{\perp }\}$, with quantum code distance $d=\min (d_X,d_Z)$. Thus arbitrary errors on at most $\lfloor (d-1)/2\rfloor$ qubits are correctable. Stabilizer errors are harmless even if their weight is small; the distances exclude them.

For binary linear codes $C\subseteq C^{\prime }$, the coset superpositions of the CSS code have $X$ checks labelled by $C$ and $Z$ checks by $(C^{\prime }{)}^{\perp }$. A bit-error pattern $a$ gives the classical syndrome for $C^{\prime }$, and a phase-error pattern $b$ gives the syndrome for the dual code $C^{\perp }$. Errors with $2t_X<{\min }_{a\in C^{\prime }\setminus C}\mathrm{wt}(a)$ and $2t_Z<{\min }_{b\in C^{\perp }\setminus (C^{\prime }{)}^{\perp }}\mathrm{wt}(b)$ are jointly correctable. Every pairwise Pauli-error product either anticommutes with a check, giving zero code compression, or its low-weight components belong to the stabilizer and give scalar compression. Thus the Knill--Laflamme condition covers coherent superpositions and quantum channels as well as definite bit and phase errors.