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arXiv:1003.5256

A Condition for the Nullity of Quantum Discord

Animesh Datta

Published Mar 27, 2010• 36 citations
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Abstract

The positivity of quantum discord is shown to be equivalent to the strong subadditivity of von-Neumann entropy. This leads us to a necessary and sufficient condition characterizing the set of states with zero quantum discord. This also gives us a mathematical definition of pointer states, as they are the states with zero discord. Finally, we suggest that strong subadditivity of entropy might delineate the boundaries of the set of quantum correlations.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1003.5256

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The positivity of quantum discord is shown to be equivalent to the strong subadditivity of von-Neumann entropy. This leads us to a necessary and sufficient condition characterizing the set of states with zero quantum discord. This also gives us a mathematical definition of pointer states, as they are the states with zero discord. Finally, we suggest that strong subadditivity of entropy might delineate the boundaries of the set of quantum correlations.
The "classical-quantum" (cq\mathit{cq}cq) discord of a bipartite state ρABρ^{AB}ρAB is the smallest difference between the mutual information S(ρA:B)S(ρ^{A:B})S(ρA:B) of ρρρ and that of ρρρ after a measurement channel is applied on the AAA system. Relating zero discord to the strong subadditivity of the Von Neumann entropy, Datta proved that a state has zero cq\mathit{cq}cq discord iff and only if it can be written in the form ∑ipi ∣i⟩⟨i∣⊗ρiB\sum_i p_i\, |i\rangle\langle i|\otimes ρ^B_i∑i​pi​∣i⟩⟨i∣⊗ρiB​ for pip_ipi​ a probability distribution, ∣i⟩|i\rangle∣i⟩ a basis of the AAA system and ρiBρ^B_iρiB​ states of the BBB system. We provide a simple proof of that same result using directly a theorem of Petz on channels that leave unchanged the relative entropy of two given states.
The definition of quantum discord is generalized to allow for any concave entropy function, and its non-negativity strengthens the subadditivity condition for that entropy function. In a sense, this condition is intermediate in strength between subadditivity and strong subadditivity, hence called firm subadditivity, allowing one to further classify entropy functions based on whether they satisfy this intermediate condition. It is proven that the quadratic entropy $1-\Tr(ρ^2)$ satisfies the firm subadditivity condition, whereas some other subadditive Tsallis entropies are not firmly subadditive.
Does the sum of correlations in subsystems constitute the correlation in the total system? Such a concept can be expressed by an additivity relationship of correlations. From a strong subadditivity condition of von Neumann entropy, four different additivity relations in total correlation are derived and quantified. Based upon the classification of the additivity in total correlation, we identify the corresponding additive relationships in entanglement. It is also discussed that similar relationships are satisfied for quantum discord of pure states, but it is not always true for mixed states.
We present an operational interpretation of quantum discord based on the quantum state merging protocol. Quantum discord is the markup in the cost of quantum communication in the process of quantum state merging, if one discards relevant prior information. Our interpretation has an intuitive explanation based on the strong subadditivity of von Neumann entropy. We use our result to provide operational interpretations of other quantities like the local purity and quantum deficit. Finally, we discuss in brief some instances where our interpretation is valid in the single-copy scenario.
The strong subadditivity inequality of von Neumann entropy relates the entropy of subsystems of a tripartite state ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{ABC}$ to that of the composite system. Here, we define ${\mathbit{T}}^{(a)}({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{ABC})$ as the extent to which ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{ABC}$ fails to satisfy the strong subadditivity inequality $S({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{B})+S({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{C})\ensuremath{\le}S({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{AB})+S({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{AC})$ with equality and investigate its properties. In particular, by introducing auxiliary subsystem EEE, we consider any purification $|{\ensuremath{\psi}}_{ABCE}\ensuremath{\rangle}$ of ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{ABC}$ and formulate ${\mathbit{T}}^{(a)}({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{ABC})$ as the extent to which the bipartite quantum correlations of ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{AB}$ and ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{AC}$, measured by entanglement of formation and quantum discord, change under the transformation $B\ensuremath{\rightarrow}BE$ and $C\ensuremath{\rightarrow}CE$. Invariance of quantum correlations of ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{AB}$ and ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{AC}$ under such transformation is shown to be a necessary and sufficient condition for vanishing ${\mathbit{T}}^{(a)}({\ensuremath{\rho}}_{ABC})$. Our approach allows one to characterize, intuitively, the structure of states for which the strong subadditivity is saturated. Moreover, along with providing a conservation law for quantum correlations of states for which the strong subadditivity inequality is satisfied with equality, we find that such states coincide with those that the Koashi-Winter monogamy relation is saturated.
We revisit the upper bound of quantum discord given by the von Neumann entropy of the measured subsystem. Using the Koashi-Winter relation, we obtain a tradeoff between the amount of classical correlation and quantum discord in the tripartite pure states. The difference between the quantum discord and its upper bound is interpreted as a measure on the classical correlative capacity. Further, we give the explicit characterization of the quantum states saturating the upper bound of quantum discord, through the equality condition for the Araki-Lieb inequality. We also demonstrate that the saturating of the upper bound of quantum discord precludes any further correlation between the measured subsystem and the environment.