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arXiv:0909.0408

The semigroup structure of Gaussian channels

Teiko Heinosaari, Alexander Semenovich Holevo, Michael M. Wolf

Published Sep 2, 2009• 31 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the semigroup structure of bosonic Gaussian quantum channels. Particular focus lies on the sets of channels which are divisible, idempotent or Markovian (in the sense of either belonging to one-parameter semigroups or being infinitesimal divisible). We show that the non-compactness of the set of Gaussian channels allows for remarkable differences when comparing the semigroup structure with that of finite dimensional quantum channels. For instance, every irreversible Gaussian channel is shown to be divisible in spite of the existence of Gaussian channels which are not infinitesimal divisible. A simpler and known consequence of non-compactness is the lack of generators for certain reversible channels. Along the way we provide new representations for classes of Gaussian channels: as matrix semigroup, complex valued positive matrices or in terms of a simple form describing almost all one-parameter semigroups.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.0909.0408

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We investigate the semigroup structure of bosonic Gaussian quantum channels. Particular focus lies on the sets of channels which are divisible, idempotent or Markovian (in the sense of either belonging to one-parameter semigroups or being infinitesimal divisible). We show that the non-compactness of the set of Gaussian channels allows for remarkable differences when comparing the semigroup structure with that of finite dimensional quantum channels. For instance, every irreversible Gaussian channel is shown to be divisible in spite of the existence of Gaussian channels which are not infinitesimal divisible. A simpler and known consequence of non-compactness is the lack of generators for certain reversible channels. Along the way we provide new representations for classes of Gaussian channels: as matrix semigroup, complex valued positive matrices or in terms of a simple form describing almost all one-parameter semigroups.
We investigate the semigroup structure of bosonic Gaussian quantum channels. Particular focus lies on the sets of channels which are divisible, idempotent or Markovian (in the sense of either belonging to one-parameter semigroups or being infinitesimal divisible). We show that the non-compactness of the set of Gaussian channels allows for remarkable differences when comparing the semigroup structure with that of finite dimensional quantum channels. For instance, every irreversible Gaussian channel is shown to be divisible in spite of the existence of Gaussian channels which are not infinitesimal divisible. A simpler and known consequence of non-compactness is the lack of generators for certain reversible channels. Along the way we provide new representations for classes of Gaussian channels: as matrix semigroup, complex valued positive matrices or in terms of a simple form describing almost all one-parameter semigroups.
We present two projects concerning the main part of my PhD work. In the first one we study quantum channels, which are the most general operations mapping quantum states into quantum states, from the point of view of their divisibility properties. We introduced tools to test if a given quantum channel can be implemented by a process described by a Lindblad master equation. This in turn defines channels that can be divided in such a way that they form a one-parameter semigroup, thus introducing the most restricted studied divisibility type of this work. Using our results, together with the study of other types of divisibility that can be found in the literature, we characterized the space of qubit quantum channels. We found interesting results connecting the concept of entanglement-breaking channel and infinitesimal divisibility. Additionally we proved that infinitely divisible channels are equivalent to the ones that are implementable by one-parameter semigroups, opening this question for more general channel spaces. In the second project we study the functional forms of one-mode Gaussian quantum channels in the position state representation, beyond Gaussian functional forms. We perform a black-box characterization using complete positivity and trace preserving conditions, and report the existence of two subsets that do not have a functional Gaussian form. The study covers as particular limit the case of singular channels, thus connecting our results with the known classification scheme based on canonical forms. Our full characterization of Gaussian channels without Gaussian functional form is completed by showing how Gaussian states are transformed under these operations, and by deriving the conditions for the existence of master equations for the non-singular cases.
We investigate the possibility of dividing quantum channels into concatenations of other channels, thereby studying the semigroup structure of the set of completely-positive trace-preserving maps. We show the existence of ‘ indivisible ’ channels which can not be written as non-trivial products of other channels and study the set of ‘ infinitesimal divisible ’ channels which are elements of continuous completely positive evolutions. For qubit channels we obtain a complete characterization of the sets of indivisible and infinitesimal divisible channels. Moreover, we identify those channels which are solutions of time-dependent master equations for both positive and completely positive evolutions. For arbitrary finite dimension we prove a representation theorem for elements of continuous completely positive evolutions based on new results on determinants of quantum channels and Markovian approximations.
This article analyzes the algebraic structure of the set of all quantum channels and its subset consisting of quantum channels that have Holevo representation. The regularity of these semigroups under composition of mappings is analyzed. It is also known that these sets are compact convex sets and, therefore, rich in geometry. An attempt is made to identify generalized invertible channels and also the idempotent channels. When channels are of the Holevo type, these two problems are fully studied in this article. The motivation behind this study is its applicability to the reversibility of channel transformations and recent developments in resource-destroying channels, which are idempotents. This is related to the coding-encoding problem in quantum information theory. Several examples are provided, with the main examples coming from pre-conditioner maps which assign preconditioners to matrices in numerical linear algebra. Thus, the known pre-conditioner maps are viewed as quantum channels in finite dimensions. In addition, the infinite-dimensional analogue of preconditioners is introduced and certain limit theorems are discussed; this is with an aim to analyze asymptotic methods in quantum channels analogous to problems in asymptotic linear algebra.
Finite-time Markovian channels, unlike their infinitesimal counterparts, do not form a convex set. As a particular instance of this observation, we consider the problem of mixing the three Pauli channels, conservatively assumed to be quantum dynamical semigroups, and fully characterize the resulting ``Pauli simplex.'' We show that neither the set of non-Markovian (completely positive indivisible) nor Markovian channels is convex in the Pauli simplex, and that the measure of non-Markovian channels is about 0.87. All channels in the Pauli simplex are P divisible. A potential application in the context of quantum resource theory is also discussed.
We study regularisation and irreducibility properties of Gaussian quantum Markov semigroups (GQMSs) acting on continuous-variable quantum systems. We first identify a natural notion of regularity for operators in this setting, which allows us to formulate and characterise the smoothing effects of GQMSs in terms of algebraic conditions involving the drift and quantum diffusion matrices. These conditions establish a connection with the controllability theory of quantum linear systems and with the structure of decoherence-free subsystems. We then characterise irreducibility through several equivalent algebraic criteria: one formulated in terms of the drift and quantum diffusion matrices, one in terms of the operators appearing in the generalised GKLS representation of the generator, and a third given by a quantum analogue of Hörmander's condition. A central and somewhat surprising consequence is that, in contrast with the classical case, irreducibility is strictly stronger than conditions ensuring regularisation. Our results provide an algebraic framework for analysing these properties and lay the groundwork for a broader study of reducible Gaussian quantum Markov semigroups and, more generally, more general relevant quantum Markov semigroups on continuous-variable systems.