Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1002.2451 · New Journal of Physics

Experimental information complementarity of two-qubit states

Alessandro Fedrizzi, Bojan Škerlak, Tomasz Paterek, Marcelo Pereira de Almeida, Andrew G. White

Published May 20, 2011• 6 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The concept of information offers a more complete description of complementarity than the traditional approach based on observables. We present the first experimental test of information complementarity for two-qubit pure states, achieving close agreement with theory. We also explore the distribution of information in a comprehensive range of mixed states. Our results highlight the strange and subtle properties of even the simplest quantum systems; for example, entanglement can be increased by reducing the correlations between two subsystems.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/13/5/053038

Related papers

COMPLEMENTARITY RELATIONS FOR MULTI-QUBIT SYSTEMS

Tracey E. Tessier

We derive two complementarity relations that constrain the individual and bipartite properties that may simultaneously exist in a multi-qubit system. The first expression, valid for an arbitrary pure state of n qubits, demonstrates that the degree to which single particle properties are possessed by an individual member of the system is limited by the bipartite entanglement that exists between that qubit and the remainder of the system. This result implies that the phenomenon of entanglement sharing is one specific consequence of complementarity. The second expression, which holds for an arbitrary state of two qubits, pure or mixed, quantifies a tradeoff between the amounts of entanglement, separable uncertainty, and single particle properties that are encoded in the quantum state. The separable uncertainty is a natural measure of our ignorance about the properties possessed by individual subsystems, and may be used to completely characterize the relationship between entanglement and mixedness in two-qubit systems. The two-qubit complementarity relation yields a useful geometric picture in which the root mean square values of local subsystem properties act like coordinates in the space of density matrices, and suggests possible insights into the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics.

•Jan 1, 2004•17 citations

Quantification of complementarity in multiqubit systems

Xinhua Peng, Xiwen Zhu, Dieter Suter +3 more

Complementarity was originally introduced as a qualitative concept for the discussion of properties of quantum mechanical objects that are classically incompatible. More recently, complementarity has become a quantitative relation between classically incompatible properties, such as the visibility of interference fringes and ``which-way'' information, but also between purely quantum mechanical properties, such as measures of entanglement. We discuss different complementarity relations for systems of two-, three-, or $n$ qubits. Using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, we have experimentally verified some of these complementarity relations in a two-qubit system.

arXiv:quant-ph/0507183•Physical Review A•Nov 16, 2005•56 citations

Complementarity and Entanglement in Quantum Information Theory

Tracey E. Tessier

The restrictions that nature places on the distribution of correlations in a multipartite quantum system play fundamental roles in the evolution of such systems, and yield vital insights into the design of protocols for the quantum control of ensembles with potential applications in the field of quantum computing. We show how this entanglement sharing behavior may be studied in increasingly complex systems of both theoretical and experimental significance and demonstrate that entanglement sharing, as well as other unique features of entanglement, e.g. the fact that maximal information about a multipartite quantum system does not necessarily entail maximal information about its component subsystems, may be understood as specific consequences of the phenomenon of complementarity extended to composite quantum systems. We also present a local hidden-variable model supplemented by an efficient amount of classical communication that reproduces the quantum-mechanical predictions for the entire class of Gottesman-Knill circuits. The success of our simulation provides strong evidence that the power of quantum computation arises not directly from entanglement, but rather from the nonexistence of an efficient, local realistic description of the computation, even when augmented by an efficient amount of nonlocal, but classical communication. Finally, we note that the findings presented in this thesis support the conjecture that Hilbert space dimension is an objective property of a quantum system since it constrains the number of valid conceptual divisions of the system into subsystems.

arXiv:quant-ph/0412060•Dec 7, 2004•7 citations

Maximal complementarity in the n-qubit Pauli group

Markus Frembs, Giovanni Natale, Christopher S. P. Wever +1 more

Observables in quantum mechanics are generally complementary, that is, they reveal mutually incompatible pieces of information about a given system. This property is not only a fundamental tenet of the quantum formalism, but also a key component in quantum cryptographic protocols. As such it has fuelled much research into finding sets of highly complementary observables. In its strongest form -- the one we consider in this work -- the information between complementary observables is not merely incompatible but mutually exclusive: maximal information about one observable implies no information about the other, and vice versa. Maximal sets of non-degenerate complementary observables are known to exist in systems of prime power dimension such as n-qubit systems. Here, we study complementarity of degenerate observables, specifically we prove that observables associated with the n-qubit Pauli group also exhibit complementarity under this restriction: first, we obtain a criterion for two such observables to be complementary and, second, we relate maximal sets of complementary observables with informational pure state complementarity equalities, further studied in two companion papers. Equivalently, these results can be formulated in terms of maximal complementary sets of (not necessarily maximal) Abelian subgroups of the Pauli group linking with (possibly coarse-grained) mutually unbiased bases. Finally, we prove that these complementarity sets entail strong entropic uncertainty relations.

quant-pharXiv:2607.24988•Jul 29, 2026•0 citations

Complementarity in two-qubit systems

Tracey E. Tessier

We present a complementarity relation between entanglement, uncertainty, and single particle properties which completely characterizes the connection between entanglement and mixedness in two-qubit systems. Our results yield a geometric picture in which the root mean square (RMS) values of local subsystem properties act like coordinates in the space of density matrices, and suggest possible insights into the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics.

•Mar 2, 2004•0 citations

Nonlocality and entanglement in qubit systems

Josep Amengual i Batle, M. Casas

Nonlocality and quantum entanglement constitute two special aspects of the quantum correlations existing in quantum systems, which are of paramount importance in quantum-information theory. Traditionally, they have been regarded as identical (equivalent, in fact, for pure two qubit states, that is, Gisin's Theorem ), yet they constitute different resources. Describing nonlocality by means of the violation of several Bell inequalities, we obtain by direct optimization those states of two qubits that maximally violate a Bell inequality, in terms of their degree of mixture as measured by either their participation ratio R = 1/Tr(ρ 2 ) or their maximum eigenvalue λ max . This optimum value is obtained as well, which coincides with previous results. Comparison with entanglement is performed too. An example of an application is given in the XY model. In this novel approximation, we also concentrate on the nonlocality for linear combinations of pure states of two qubits, providing a closed form for their maximal nonlocality measure. The case of Bell diagonal mixed states of two qubits is also extensively studied. Special attention concerning the connection between nonlocality and entanglement for mixed states of two qubits is paid to the so-called maximally entangled mixed states. Additional aspects for the case of two qubits are also described in detail. Since we deal with qubit systems, we will perform an analogous study for three qubits, employing similar tools. Relation between distillability and nonlocality is explored quantitatively for the whole space of states of three qubits. We finally extend our analysis to four-qubit systems, where nonlocality for generalized Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger states of arbitrary number of parties is computed.

arXiv:1102.4653•Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical•Oct 14, 2011•61 citations
The concept of information offers a more complete description of complementarity than the traditional approach based on observables. We present the first experimental test of information complementarity for two-qubit pure states, achieving close agreement with theory. We also explore the distribution of information in a comprehensive range of mixed states. Our results highlight the strange and subtle properties of even the simplest quantum systems; for example, entanglement can be increased by reducing the correlations between two subsystems.
We derive two complementarity relations that constrain the individual and bipartite properties that may simultaneously exist in a multi-qubit system. The first expression, valid for an arbitrary pure state of n qubits, demonstrates that the degree to which single particle properties are possessed by an individual member of the system is limited by the bipartite entanglement that exists between that qubit and the remainder of the system. This result implies that the phenomenon of entanglement sharing is one specific consequence of complementarity. The second expression, which holds for an arbitrary state of two qubits, pure or mixed, quantifies a tradeoff between the amounts of entanglement, separable uncertainty, and single particle properties that are encoded in the quantum state. The separable uncertainty is a natural measure of our ignorance about the properties possessed by individual subsystems, and may be used to completely characterize the relationship between entanglement and mixedness in two-qubit systems. The two-qubit complementarity relation yields a useful geometric picture in which the root mean square values of local subsystem properties act like coordinates in the space of density matrices, and suggests possible insights into the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics.
Complementarity was originally introduced as a qualitative concept for the discussion of properties of quantum mechanical objects that are classically incompatible. More recently, complementarity has become a quantitative relation between classically incompatible properties, such as the visibility of interference fringes and ``which-way'' information, but also between purely quantum mechanical properties, such as measures of entanglement. We discuss different complementarity relations for systems of two-, three-, or nnn qubits. Using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, we have experimentally verified some of these complementarity relations in a two-qubit system.
The restrictions that nature places on the distribution of correlations in a multipartite quantum system play fundamental roles in the evolution of such systems, and yield vital insights into the design of protocols for the quantum control of ensembles with potential applications in the field of quantum computing. We show how this entanglement sharing behavior may be studied in increasingly complex systems of both theoretical and experimental significance and demonstrate that entanglement sharing, as well as other unique features of entanglement, e.g. the fact that maximal information about a multipartite quantum system does not necessarily entail maximal information about its component subsystems, may be understood as specific consequences of the phenomenon of complementarity extended to composite quantum systems. We also present a local hidden-variable model supplemented by an efficient amount of classical communication that reproduces the quantum-mechanical predictions for the entire class of Gottesman-Knill circuits. The success of our simulation provides strong evidence that the power of quantum computation arises not directly from entanglement, but rather from the nonexistence of an efficient, local realistic description of the computation, even when augmented by an efficient amount of nonlocal, but classical communication. Finally, we note that the findings presented in this thesis support the conjecture that Hilbert space dimension is an objective property of a quantum system since it constrains the number of valid conceptual divisions of the system into subsystems.
Observables in quantum mechanics are generally complementary, that is, they reveal mutually incompatible pieces of information about a given system. This property is not only a fundamental tenet of the quantum formalism, but also a key component in quantum cryptographic protocols. As such it has fuelled much research into finding sets of highly complementary observables. In its strongest form -- the one we consider in this work -- the information between complementary observables is not merely incompatible but mutually exclusive: maximal information about one observable implies no information about the other, and vice versa. Maximal sets of non-degenerate complementary observables are known to exist in systems of prime power dimension such as n-qubit systems. Here, we study complementarity of degenerate observables, specifically we prove that observables associated with the n-qubit Pauli group also exhibit complementarity under this restriction: first, we obtain a criterion for two such observables to be complementary and, second, we relate maximal sets of complementary observables with informational pure state complementarity equalities, further studied in two companion papers. Equivalently, these results can be formulated in terms of maximal complementary sets of (not necessarily maximal) Abelian subgroups of the Pauli group linking with (possibly coarse-grained) mutually unbiased bases. Finally, we prove that these complementarity sets entail strong entropic uncertainty relations.
Nonlocality and quantum entanglement constitute two special aspects of the quantum correlations existing in quantum systems, which are of paramount importance in quantum-information theory. Traditionally, they have been regarded as identical (equivalent, in fact, for pure two qubit states, that is, Gisin's Theorem ), yet they constitute different resources. Describing nonlocality by means of the violation of several Bell inequalities, we obtain by direct optimization those states of two qubits that maximally violate a Bell inequality, in terms of their degree of mixture as measured by either their participation ratio R = 1/Tr(ρ 2 ) or their maximum eigenvalue λ max . This optimum value is obtained as well, which coincides with previous results. Comparison with entanglement is performed too. An example of an application is given in the XY model. In this novel approximation, we also concentrate on the nonlocality for linear combinations of pure states of two qubits, providing a closed form for their maximal nonlocality measure. The case of Bell diagonal mixed states of two qubits is also extensively studied. Special attention concerning the connection between nonlocality and entanglement for mixed states of two qubits is paid to the so-called maximally entangled mixed states. Additional aspects for the case of two qubits are also described in detail. Since we deal with qubit systems, we will perform an analogous study for three qubits, employing similar tools. Relation between distillability and nonlocality is explored quantitatively for the whole space of states of three qubits. We finally extend our analysis to four-qubit systems, where nonlocality for generalized Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger states of arbitrary number of parties is computed.