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arXiv:1308.1737 · IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

When Do Local Operations and Classical Communication Suffice for Two-Qubit State Discrimination?

Eric Chitambar, Runyao Duan, Min-Hsiu Hsieh

Published Jan 31, 2014• 46 citations
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Abstract

In this paper, we consider the conditions under which a given ensemble of two-qubit states can be optimally distinguished by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We begin by completing the perfect distinguishability problem of two-qubit ensembles-both for separable operations and LOCC-by providing necessary and sufficient conditions for the perfect discrimination of one pure and one mixed state. Then, for the well-known task of minimum error discrimination, it is shown that almost all two-qubit ensembles consisting of three pure states cannot be optimally discriminated using LOCC. This is surprising considering that any two pure states can be distinguished optimally by LOCC. Special attention is given to ensembles that lack entanglement, and we prove an easy sufficient condition for when a set of three product states cannot be optimally distinguished by LOCC, thus providing new examples of the phenomenon known as non-locality without entanglement. We next consider an example of N parties who each share the same state but who are ignorant of its identity. The state is drawn from the rotationally invariant trine ensemble, and we establish a tight connection between the N-copy ensemble and Shor's lifted single-copy ensemble. For any finite N, we prove that optimal identification of the states cannot be achieved by LOCC; however, as N→∞, LOCC can indeed discriminate the states optimally. This is the first result of its kind. Finally, we turn to the task of unambiguous discrimination and derive new lower bounds on the LOCC inconclusive probability for symmetric states. When applied to the double trine ensemble, this leads to a rather different distinguishability character than when the minimum error probability is considered.

DOI
10.1109/tit.2013.2295356

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In this paper, we consider the conditions under which a given ensemble of two-qubit states can be optimally distinguished by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We begin by completing the perfect distinguishability problem of two-qubit ensembles-both for separable operations and LOCC-by providing necessary and sufficient conditions for the perfect discrimination of one pure and one mixed state. Then, for the well-known task of minimum error discrimination, it is shown that almost all two-qubit ensembles consisting of three pure states cannot be optimally discriminated using LOCC. This is surprising considering that any two pure states can be distinguished optimally by LOCC. Special attention is given to ensembles that lack entanglement, and we prove an easy sufficient condition for when a set of three product states cannot be optimally distinguished by LOCC, thus providing new examples of the phenomenon known as non-locality without entanglement. We next consider an example of N parties who each share the same state but who are ignorant of its identity. The state is drawn from the rotationally invariant trine ensemble, and we establish a tight connection between the N-copy ensemble and Shor's lifted single-copy ensemble. For any finite N, we prove that optimal identification of the states cannot be achieved by LOCC; however, as N→∞, LOCC can indeed discriminate the states optimally. This is the first result of its kind. Finally, we turn to the task of unambiguous discrimination and derive new lower bounds on the LOCC inconclusive probability for symmetric states. When applied to the double trine ensemble, this leads to a rather different distinguishability character than when the minimum error probability is considered.
Entangled states can help in quantum-state discrimination by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). For example, a Bell state is necessary (and sufficient) to perfectly discriminate a set of either three or four Bell states by LOCC. In this paper, we consider the task of LOCC discrimination of the states of noisy Bell ensembles, where a given ensemble consists of the states obtained by mixing the Bell states with an arbitrary two-qubit state with nonzero probabilities. It is proved that a Bell state is required for optimal discrimination by LOCC, even though the ensembles do not contain, in general, any maximally entangled state and, in specific instances, any entangled state.
In this paper, we consider the problem of discriminating quantum states by local operations and classical communication (LOCC) when an arbitrarily small amount of error is permitted. This paradigm is known as asymptotic state discrimination, and we derive necessary conditions for when two multipartite states of any size can be discriminated perfectly by asymptotic LOCC. We use this new criterion to prove a gap in the LOCC and separable distinguishability norms. We then turn to the operational advantage of using two-way classical communication over one-way communication in LOCC processing. With a simple two-qubit product state ensemble, we demonstrate a strict majorization of the two-way LOCC norm over the one-way norm.
An ensemble of product states is said to exhibit “quantum nonlocality without entanglement” if it cannot be optimally discriminated using local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We show that this property can depend on the chosen discrimination measure. Specifically, we construct a family of ensembles, each consisting of six linearly independent, equally probable bipartite product states, for which LOCC fails to achieve optimal minimum-error discrimination but succeeds in achieving optimal unambiguous discrimination. We further extend our construction to multipartite systems and provide strong numerical evidence that a similar separation between local and global optima is present for minimum-error discrimination, but not for unambiguous discrimination.
The problem studied in this paper is, if the number of queries to unitary operations is fixed, say kkk, then when do local operations and classical communication (LOCC) suffice for optimally distinguishing bipartite unitary operations? We consider the above problem for two-qubit unitary operations in the case of k=1k=1k=1, showing that for two two-qubit entangling unitary operations without local parties, LOCC achieves the same distinguishability as the global operations. Specifically, we obtain the following: (i) if such two unitary operations are perfectly distinguishable by global operations, then they are perfectly distinguishable by LOCC also, and (ii) if they are not perfectly distinguishable by global operations, then LOCC can achieve the same optimal discrimination probability as the global operations.
We study the discrimination of a pair of orthogonal quantum states in the many-copy setting. This is not a problem when arbitrary quantum measurements are allowed, as then the states can be distinguished perfectly even with one copy. However, it becomes highly nontrivial when we consider states of a multipartite system and locality constraints are imposed. We hence focus on the restricted families of measurements such as local operation and classical communication (LOCC), separable operations (SEP), and the positive-partial-transpose operations (PPT) in this paper. We first study asymptotic discrimination of an arbitrary multipartite entangled pure state against its orthogonal complement using LOCC/SEP/PPT measurements. We prove that the incurred optimal average error probability always decays exponentially in the number of copies, by proving upper and lower bounds on the exponent. In the special case of discriminating a maximally entangled state against its orthogonal complement, we determine the explicit expression for the optimal average error probability, thus establishing the associated Chernoff exponent. Our technique is based on the idea of using PPT operations to approximate LOCC. Then, we show an infinite asymptotic separation between SEP and PPT operations by providing a pair of states constructed from an unextendible product basis (UPB): they can be distinguished perfectly by PPT measurements, while the optimal error probability using SEP measurements admits an exponential lower bound. On the technical side, we prove this result by providing a quantitative version of the well-known statement that the tensor product of UPBs is UPB.
In 1991, Peres and Wootters wrote a seminal paper on the nonlocal processing of quantum information [Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 1119 (1991)]. We return to their classic problem and solve it in various contexts. Specifically, for discriminating the ``double trine'' ensemble with minimum error, we prove that global operations are more powerful than local operations with classical communication (LOCC). Even stronger, there exists a finite gap between the optimal LOCC probability and that obtainable by separable operations (SEP). Additionally we prove that a two-way, adaptive LOCC strategy can always beat a one-way protocol. Our results demonstrate ``nonlocality without entanglement'' in two-qubit pure states.