Every restriction on quantum operations defines a resource theory, determining how quantum states that cannot be prepared under the restriction may be manipulated and used to circumvent the restriction. A superselection rule (SSR) is a restriction that arises through the lack of a classical reference frame and the states that circumvent it (the resource) are quantum reference frames. We consider the resource theories that arise from three types of SSRs, associated respectively with lacking: (i) a phase reference, (ii) a frame for chirality, and (iii) a frame for spatial orientation. Focusing on pure unipartite quantum states (and in some cases restricting our attention even further to subsets of these), we explore single-copy and asymptotic manipulations. In particular, we identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for a deterministic transformation between two resource states to be possible and, when these conditions are not met, the maximum probability with which the transformation can be achieved. We also determine when a particular transformation can be achieved reversibly in the limit of arbitrarily many copies and find the maximum rate of conversion. A comparison of the three resource theories demonstrates that the extent to which resources can be interconverted decreases as the strength of the restriction increases. Along the way, we introduce several measures of frameness and prove that these are monotonically non-increasing under various classes of operations that are permitted by the SSR.
Recently, there has been much interest in a new kind of ``unspeakable'' quantum information that stands to regular quantum information in the same way that a direction in space or a moment in time stands to a classical bit string: the former can only be encoded using particular degrees of freedom while the latter are indifferent to the physical nature of the information carriers. The problem of correlating distant reference frames, of which aligning Cartesian axes and synchronizing clocks are important instances, is an example of a task that requires the exchange of unspeakable information and for which it is interesting to determine the fundamental quantum limit of efficiency. There have also been many investigations into the information theory that is appropriate for parties that lack reference frames or that lack correlation between their reference frames, restrictions that result in global and local superselection rules. In the presence of these, quantum unspeakable information becomes a new kind of resource that can be manipulated, depleted, quantified, etc. Methods have also been developed to contend with these restrictions using relational encodings, particularly in the context of computation, cryptography, communication, and the manipulation of entanglement. This paper reviews the role of reference frames and superselection rules in the theory of quantum-information processing.
Restrictions on quantum operations give rise to resource theories. Total lack of a shared reference frame for transformations associated with a group G between two parties is equivalent to having, in effect, an invariant channel between the parties and a corresponding superselection rule. The resource associated with the absence of the reference frame is known as or asymmetry. We show that any entanglement monotone for pure bipartite states can be adapted as a pure-state monotone for phase-invariant channels [equivalently U(1) superselection rules] and extended to the case of mixed states via the convex-roof extension. As an application, we construct a family of concurrence monotones for U(1) for general finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Furthermore, we study frameness of formation for mixed states analogous to entanglement of formation. In the case of a qubit, we show that it can be expressed as an analytical function of the concurrence analogously to the Wootters formula for entanglement of formation. Our results highlight deep links between entanglement and resource theories.
Restrictions on quantum operations give rise to resource theories. Total lack of a shared reference frame for transformations associated with a group
G between two parties is equivalent to having, in effect, an invariant channel between the parties and a corresponding superselection rule. The resource associated with the absence of the reference frame is known as ``frameness'' or ``asymmetry.'' We show that any entanglement monotone for pure bipartite states can be adapted as a pure-state frameness monotone for phase-invariant channels [equivalently U(1) superselection rules] and extended to the case of mixed states via the convex-roof extension. As an application, we construct a family of concurrence monotones for U(1) frameness for general finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. Furthermore, we study ``frameness of formation'' for mixed states analogous to entanglement of formation. In the case of a qubit, we show that it can be expressed as an analytical function of the concurrence analogously to the Wootters formula for entanglement of formation. Our results highlight deep links between entanglement and frameness resource theories.
Time-reversal symmetry and its violation (T-violation) are fundamental across diverse physics domains, from particle physics to fluctuation theorems and reciprocity. While time-reversal symmetry for isolated systems is simply determined by the Hamiltonian, quantifying the magnitude of T-violation, especially in noisy quantum processes, has been a subject of ongoing debate. Here, we propose an operationally meaningful framework to quantify the intrinsic T-violation of quantum channels. We integrate operationally defined time-reversal transformations into dynamical resource theory to formulate T-violation as a resource. T-violation decomposes into two distinct components: kinematic T-violation originating from antiunitary motion-reversal, and nonunitality driven purely by thermodynamics. This decomposition resolves the longstanding confusion between broken time-reversal symmetry and non-invertibility. Finally, we analyze the resulting resource theory of kinematic T-violation, showing that it is neither quality-like nor quantity-like, and proving the existence of a universal golden unit even within classical channels.
We propose the resource theory of a special antiunitary asymmetry in quantum theory. The notion of antiunitary asymmetry, in particular,
PT-asymmetry is different from the usual resource theory for asymmetry about unitary representation of a symmetry group, as the
PT operator is an antiunitary operator with
P being any self-inverse unitary and
T being the time-reversal operations. Here, we introduce the
PT-symmetric states,
PT-covariant operations and
PT-asymmetry measures. For single qubit system, we find duality relations between the
PT-asymmetry measures and the coherence. Moreover, for two-qubit states we prove the duality relations between the
PT-asymmetry measures and entanglement measure such as the concurrence. This gives a resource theoretic interpretation to the concurrence which is lacking till today. Thus, the
PT-asymmetry measure and entanglement can be viewed as two sides of an underlying resource. Finally, the
PT-symmetric dynamics is discussed and some open questions are addressed.