The restricted numerical range W R ( A ) of an operator A acting on a D -dimensional Hilbert space is defined as a set of all possible expectation values of this operator among pure states which belong to a certain subset R of the set of pure quantum states of dimension D . One considers for instance the set of real states, or in the case of composite spaces, the set of product states and the set of maximally entangled states. Combining the operator theory with a probabilistic approach we introduce the restricted numerical shadow of A —a normalized probability distribution on the complex plane supported in W R ( A ). Its value at point is equal to the probability that the expectation value 〈ψ| A |ψ〉 is equal to z , where |ψ〉 represents a random quantum state in subset R distributed according to the natural measure on this set, induced by the unitarily invariant Fubini–Study measure. Studying restricted shadows of operators of a fixed size D = N A N B we analyse the geometry of sets of separable and maximally entangled states of the N A × N B composite quantum system. Investigating trajectories formed by evolving quantum states projected into the plane of the shadow, we study the dynamics of quantum entanglement. A similar analysis extended for operators on D = 2 3 -dimensional Hilbert space allows us to investigate the structure of the orbits of GHZ and W quantum states of a three-qubit system.
The restricted numerical range W R ( A ) of an operator A acting on a D -dimensional Hilbert space is defined as a set of all possible expectation values of this operator among pure states which belong to a certain subset R of the set of pure quantum states of dimension D . One considers for instance the set of real states, or in the case of composite spaces, the set of product states and the set of maximally entangled states. Combining the operator theory with a probabilistic approach we introduce the restricted numerical shadow of A —a normalized probability distribution on the complex plane supported in W R ( A ). Its value at point is equal to the probability that the expectation value 〈ψ| A |ψ〉 is equal to z , where |ψ〉 represents a random quantum state in subset R distributed according to the natural measure on this set, induced by the unitarily invariant Fubini–Study measure. Studying restricted shadows of operators of a fixed size D = N A N B we analyse the geometry of sets of separable and maximally entangled states of the N A × N B composite quantum system. Investigating trajectories formed by evolving quantum states projected into the plane of the shadow, we study the dynamics of quantum entanglement. A similar analysis extended for operators on D = 2 3 -dimensional Hilbert space allows us to investigate the structure of the orbits of GHZ and W quantum states of a three-qubit system.
The totality of normalised density matrices of order N forms a convex set Q_N in R^(N^2-1). Working with the flat geometry induced by the Hilbert-Schmidt distance we consider images of orthogonal projections of Q_N onto a two-plane and show that they are similar to the numerical ranges of matrices of order N. For a matrix A of a order N one defines its numerical shadow as a probability distribution supported on its numerical range W(A), induced by the unitarily invariant Fubini-Study measure on the complex projective manifold CP^(N-1). We define generalized, mixed-states shadows of A and demonstrate their usefulness to analyse the structure of the set of quantum states and unitary dynamics therein.
Numerical range of a Hermitian operator X is defined as the set of all possible expectation values of this observable among a normalized quantum state. We analyze a modification of this definition in which the expectation value is taken among a certain subset of the set of all quantum states. One considers, for instance, the set of real states, the set of product states, separable states, or the set of maximally entangled states. We show exemplary applications of these algebraic tools in the theory of quantum information: analysis of k-positive maps and entanglement witnesses, as well as study of the minimal output entropy of a quantum channel. Product numerical range of a unitary operator is used to solve the problem of local distinguishability of a family of two unitary gates.
This paper, a continuation of a previous one ( Iwai 2007 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 1361 ), studies the geometry of multi-qubit entanglement with respect to bipartite partitions. An n -qubit system ( C 2 ) ⊗ n is isomorphic with , the linear space of 2 ℓ × 2 m complex matrices, where ℓ + m = n . According to the isomorphism, the local transformation group U (2 ℓ ) × U (2 m ) acts on the space of normalized states in . Let M and G denote the space of normalized states and the local transformation group acting on M , respectively. According to the orbit types, M is stratified into strata, among which a principal stratum and the sets of separable states and maximally entangled states will be identified. For , a function F ( C ) = det( I − CC *) proves to serve as a measure of entanglement, where I denotes the 2 ℓ × 2 ℓ identity matrix. The F ( C ) attains the minimal and the maximal values, respectively, on the sets of separable states and maximally entangled states, and further takes no extremal values on the principal stratum. The F ( C ) projects to a function on the factor space G \ M . A naturally defined metric on M also projects to that on G \ M , which serves to measure the distance between the separable states, F −1 (0), and the states, F −1 ( k ), of prescribed value k of measure. To be precise, one has to restrict M to the principal stratum, when projecting the metric. Three- and four-qubit systems will be studied intensively, and then multi-qubit systems discussed.
It is usually taken for granted that the natural mathematical framework for quantum mechanics is the theory of Hilbert spaces, where pure states of a quantum system correspond to complex vectors of unit length. These vectors can be combined to create more general states expressed in terms of positive semidefinite matrices of unit trace called density operators. A density operator tells us everything we know about a quantum system. In particular, it specifies a unique probability for any measurement outcome. Thus, to fully appreciate quantum mechanics as a statistical model for physical phenomena, it is necessary to understand the basic properties of its set of states. Studying the convex geometry of quantum states provides important clues as to why the theory is expressed most naturally in terms of complex amplitudes. At the very least, it gives us a new perspective into thinking about structure of quantum mechanics. \n \n \nThis thesis is concerned with the structure of quantum state space obtained from the geometry of the convex set of probability distributions for a special class of measurements called symmetric informationally complete (SIC) measurements. In this context, quantum mechanics is seen as a particular restriction of a regular simplex, where the state space is postulated to carry a symmetric set of states called SICs, which are associated with equiangular lines in a complex vector space. The analysis applies specifically to 3-dimensional quantum systems or qutrits, which is the simplest nontrivial case to consider according to Gleason's theorem. It includes a full characterization of qutrit SICs and includes specific proposals for implementing them using linear optics. The infinitely many qutrit SICs are classified into inequivalent families according to the Clifford group, where equivalence is defined by geometrically invariant numbers called triple products. The multiplication of SIC projectors is also used to define structure coefficients, which are convenient for elucidating some additional structure possessed by SICs, such as the Lie algebra associated with the operator basis defined by SICs, and a linear dependency structure inherited from the Weyl-Heisenberg symmetry. After describing the general one-to-one correspondence between density operators and SIC probabilities, many interesting features of the set of qutrits are described, including an elegant formula for its pure states, which reveals a permutation symmetry related to the structure of a finite affine plane, the exact rotational equivalence of different SIC probability spaces, the shape of qutrit state space defined by the radial distance of the boundary from the maximally mixed state, and a comparison of the 2-dimensional cross-sections of SIC probabilities to known results. Towards the end, the representation of quantum states in terms of SICs is used to develop a method for reconstructing quantum theory from the postulate of maximal consistency, and a procedure for building up qutrit state space from a finite set of points corresponding to a Hesse configuration in Hilbert space is sketched briefly.
We analyse several product measures in the space of mixed quantum states. In particular, we study measures induced by the operation of partial tracing. The natural, rotationally invariant measure on the set of all pure states of a N × K composite system, induces a unique measure in the space of N × N mixed states (or in the space of K × K mixed states, if the reduction takes place with respect to the first subsystem). For K = N the induced measure is equal to the Hilbert-Schmidt measure, which is shown to coincide with the measure induced by singular values of non-Hermitian random Gaussian matrices pertaining to the Ginibre ensemble. We compute several averages with respect to this measure and show that the mean entanglement of N × N pure states behaves as ln N -1/2.
A geometric approach to investigation of quantum entanglement is advocated. Analyzing the space of pure states of a bipartite system we show how an entanglement measure of a gives state can be related to its distance to the closest separable state. We study geometry of the (N2 - 1)-dimensional convex body of mixed quantum states acting on an N-dimensional Hilbert space and demonstrate that it belongs to the class of sets of a constant height. The same property characterizes the set of all separable states of a two-qubit system. These results contribute to our understanding of quantum entanglement and its dynamics.