Fermion-to-qubit encodings with arbitrary code distance

We introduce a framework which allows to systematically and arbitrarily scale the code distance of local fermion-to-qubit encodings in one and two dimensions without growing the weights of stabilizers. This is achieved by embedding low-distance encodings into the surface code in the form of topological defects. We introduce a family of Ladder Encodings (LE), which is optimal in the sense that the code distance is equal to the weights of density and nearest-neighbor hopping operators of a one-dimensional Fermi-Hubbard model. In two dimensions, we show how to scale the code distance of LE as well as other low-distance encodings such as Verstraete-Cirac and Derby-Klassen. We further introduce Perforated Encodings, which locally encode two fermionic spin modes within the same surface code structure. We show that our strategy is also extendable to other topological codes by explicitly embedding the LE into a 6.6.6 color code.