A Quantum-Mechanical Engineer’s Commentary on Bulusu’s Laws -- Nov 06, 2025

*An Interdisciplinary Interpretation for Distributed Quantum Computing*

Preamble

Bulusu’s three laws, first articulated on 1 November 2025, are not rigid axioms to be “proven wrong” but **design heuristics** that force the engineer to confront the *interface* between quantum physics, computer-science abstractions, and hardware reality. Below we interpret each law in the language of a practicing quantum-mechanical engineer—someone who must translate Hilbert-space ideals into noisy, distributed, fault-tolerant hardware.

Law 1

States must be designed, distinguishable, and resolvable within a large Hilbert space.

Engineer's Translation

Encode the logical problem into a *sufficiently large* physical Hilbert space so that *effective* distinguishability emerges after error correction, even though the raw physical states remain non-orthogonal.

Key Insights

• Designed = systematic encoding (surface code, color code, cat code, etc.).
• Distinguishable = logical distinguishability, not physical orthogonality.
• Resolvable = syndrome extraction + decoder latency < coherence time.
• Large Hilbert space = ancillary qubits + redundancy to push logical error below threshold.

Practical Checklist

• [ ] Choose code distance(d) such that (p_L < 10^-12) at physical (p = 10^-3).
• [ ] Verify decoder runtime scales sub-exponentially with d.
• [ ] Confirm ancillary overhead fits cryogenic budget.

Law 2

Measurement must achieve fidelity and resolution exceeding state separation.

Key Insights

• State separation = Trace distance in the code subspace after encoding.
• Fidelity and resolution = combined effect of:
  • Physical readout fidelity
  • Syndrome repetition,
  • Majority voting / MWPM decoder.
• Exceeding = **logical** separation > **physical** noise floor.
• The law is not a violation of Helstrom; it is a design target for the measurement + decoding chain.

Practical Checklist

• [ ] Measure physical readout error ε_r.
• [ ] Set syndrome rounds r so that P(logical misID) < ε_r^r.
• [ ] Confirm decoder SNR > 10 dB in simulation.

Law 3

Operations on distributed entangled states must be applied with identical phase, timing, and fidelity across all nodes.

Engineer's Translation

All nodes must share a common reference frame (phase, clock, fidelity calibration) in the logical time base—implemented via heralding, feed-forward, and adaptive synchronization, not hardware identity.

Closing Remark

Bulusu’s laws are provocations, not prohibitions. They compel the quantum-mechanical engineer to close the loop from abstract Hilbert space to concrete, distributed, fault-tolerant hardware. Refine them, implement them, and the roadmap to interplanetary quantum networks becomes an engineering specification—not a philosophical debate.