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arXiv:0908.3157 · Physical Review A

Almost all quantum states have nonclassical correlations

Alessandro Ferraro, Leandro Aolita, Daniel Cavalcanti, Fernando Cucchietti, Antonio Acín

Published May 17, 2010• 513 citations
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Abstract

Quantum discord quantifies nonclassical correlations in a quantum system including those not captured by entanglement. Thus, only states with zero discord exhibit strictly classical correlations. We prove that these states are negligible in the whole Hilbert space: typically a state picked out at random has positive discord and, given a state with zero discord, a generic arbitrarily small perturbation drives it to a positive-discord state. These results hold for any Hilbert-space dimension and have direct implications for quantum computation and for the foundations of the theory of open systems. In addition, we provide a simple necessary criterion for zero quantum discord. Finally, we show that, for almost all positive-discord states, an arbitrary Markovian evolution cannot lead to a sudden, permanent vanishing of discord.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.81.052318

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Quantum discord quantifies nonclassical correlations in a quantum system including those not captured by entanglement. Thus, only states with zero discord exhibit strictly classical correlations. We prove that these states are negligible in the whole Hilbert space: typically a state picked out at random has positive discord and, given a state with zero discord, a generic arbitrarily small perturbation drives it to a positive-discord state. These results hold for any Hilbert-space dimension and have direct implications for quantum computation and for the foundations of the theory of open systems. In addition, we provide a simple necessary criterion for zero quantum discord. Finally, we show that, for almost all positive-discord states, an arbitrary Markovian evolution cannot lead to a sudden, permanent vanishing of discord.
Quantum discord measures the total non-classical correlations in a composite quantum system. As a possible resource for the classically non-achievable tasks, amount of quantum discord is crucial for efficient performance of the quantum technology tasks. Zero discord means the absence of the required resources. For a wide class of the bipartite open quantum systems, initial nonzero discord is known practically never goes to zero, except asymptotically. However, if initial discord equals zero, there remains the possibility to remain zero for the finite time intervals for certain Markovian models of open systems-that we call Markovian classicality. In this paper we search for the models that allow for Markovian classicality. We point out a general model that represents a matter-of-principle formal proof, i.e. a sufficient condition for the, otherwise not obvious, existence of Markovian classicality. Physical relevance of the model is twofold. First, the model is in intimate relation to the topics of quantum information locality, quantum discord saturation and quantum decorrelation. Second, the model is of the general physical interest. It pertains to a specific structure (decomposition into parts/subsystems) of a composite system, not to a special kind of composite system. Being a characteristic of a structure, by definition, the model of Markovian classicality is not a model of sudden death of discord. We emphasize wide-range implications of our results.
Measurements of quantum systems disturb their states. To quantify this nonclassical characteristic, Zurek and Ollivier [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 017901 (2001)] introduced the quantum discord, a quantum correlation that can be nonzero even when entanglement in the system is zero. Discord has aroused great interest as a resource that is more robust against the effects of decoherence and offers the exponential speed-up of certain computational algorithms. Here, we study general two-level bipartite systems and give general results on the relationship between discord, entanglement, and linear entropy. We also identify the states for which discord takes a maximal value for a given entropy or entanglement, thus placing strong bounds on entanglement-discord and entropy-discord relations. We find out that although discord and entanglement are identical for pure states, they differ when generalized to mixed states as a result of the difference in the method of generalization.
Recent observation that almost all quantum states bear non-classical correlations [A. Ferraro et al, Phys. Rev. A 81, 052328 (2010)] may seem to imply that the Markovian bipartite systems are practically deprived of zero discord states. Nevertheless, complementary to the result of Ferraro et al, we construct a model of a Markovian bipartite system providing zero discord for arbitrary long time interval, that we term 'Markovian classicality'. Our model represents a matter-of-principle formal proof, i.e. a sufficient condition for the, otherwise not obvious, existence of Markovian classicality. Interestingly enough, we are not able to offer any alternative to the model. Physical relevance of the model is twofold. First, the model is in intimate relation to the topics of quantum information locality, quantum discord saturation and quantum decorrelation. Second, the model is of the general physical interest. It pertains to a specific structure (decomposition into parts/subsystems) of a composite system, not to a special physical kind of composite systems. Being a characteristic of a structure, by definition, the model of Markovian classicality is not a model of sudden death of discord. We emphasize wide-range implications of our results.
We study the relative strength of classical and quantum correlations, as measured by discord, for two-qubit states. Quantum correlations appear only in the presence of classical correlations, while the reverse is not always true. We identify the family of states that maximize the discord for a given value of the classical correlations and show that the largest attainable discord for mixed states is greater than for pure states. The difference between discord and entanglement is emphasized by the remarkable fact that these states do not maximize entanglement and are, in some cases, even separable. Finally, by random generation of density matrices uniformly distributed over the whole Hilbert space, we quantify the frequency of the appearance of quantum and classical correlations for different ranks.
We study the relative strength of classical and quantum correlations, as measured by discord, for two-qubit states. Quantum correlations appear only in the presence of classical correlations, while the reverse is not always true. We identify the family of states that maximize the discord for a given value of the classical correlations and show that the largest attainable discord for mixed states is greater than for pure states. The difference between discord and entanglement is emphasized by the remarkable fact that these states do not maximize entanglement and are, in some cases, even separable. Finally, by random generation of density matrices uniformly distributed over the whole Hilbert space, we quantify the frequency of the appearance of quantum and classical correlations for different ranks.