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arXiv:1407.3942

Conjugate degradable channels: A new class of quantum channels with a tractable quantum capacity formula

Kamil Brádler

Published Jul 15, 2014• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Conjugate degradable channels are channels whose quantum capacity is calculable. They were defined and studied in [1] where, however, only channels that are both degradable and conjugate degradable were found. In this paper we bring the very first example of conjugate degradable channels that are not degradable. We also identify the physical origin of these channels and show that they belong to the class of optimal universal asymmetric cloners. We thus not only positively answer the question whether conjugate degradable channels form a new class of channels with a single-letter capacity formula but as a side result we also calculate the quantum capacity of the optimal asymmetric 1->1+1 cloning channels.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1407.3942

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Conjugate degradable channels are channels whose quantum capacity is calculable. They were defined and studied in [1] where, however, only channels that are both degradable and conjugate degradable were found. In this paper we bring the very first example of conjugate degradable channels that are not degradable. We also identify the physical origin of these channels and show that they belong to the class of optimal universal asymmetric cloners. We thus not only positively answer the question whether conjugate degradable channels form a new class of channels with a single-letter capacity formula but as a side result we also calculate the quantum capacity of the optimal asymmetric 1->1+1 cloning channels.
To decide whether a quantum channel is degradable is relatively easy: one has to find at least one example of a degrading quantum channel. But in general, no conclusive criterion exists to show the opposite. Using elementary methods we derive a necessary and sufficient condition to decide under what circumstances the conclusion is unambiguous. The findings lead to an extension of the antidegradability region for qubit and qutrit transpose depolarizing channels. In the qubit case we reproduce the known results for the class of qubit depolarizing channels (due to their equivalence). One of the consequences is that the optimal qubit and qutrit asymmetric cloners possess a single-letter quantum capacity formula. We also investigate the ramifications of the criterion for the search of exclusively conjugate degradable channels.
A quantum channel is conjugate degradable if the channel’s environment can be simulated up to complex conjugation using the channel’s output. For all such channels, the quantum capacity can be evaluated using a single-letter formula. In this article we introduce conjugate degradability and establish a number of its basic properties. We then use it to calculate the quantum capacity of N to N+1 and 1 to M universal quantum cloning machines as well as the quantum capacity of a channel that arises naturally when data are being transmitted to an accelerating receiver. All the channels considered turn out to have strictly positive quantum capacity, meaning they could be used as part of a communication system to send quantum states reliably.
Degradable quantum channels are among the only channels whose quantum and private classical capacities are known. As such, determining the structure of these channels is a pressing open question in quantum information theory. We give a comprehensive review of what is currently known about the structure of degradable quantum channels, including a number of new results as well as alternate proofs of some known results. In the case of qubits, we provide a complete characterization of all degradable channels with two dimensional output, give a new proof that a qubit channel with two Kraus operators is either degradable or anti-degradable, and present a complete description of anti-degradable unital qubit channels with a new proof. For higher output dimensions we explore the relationship between the output and environment dimensions (dB and dE, respectively) of degradable channels. For several broad classes of channels we show that they can be modeled with an environment that is “small” in the sense of ΦC. Such channels include all those with qubit or qutrit output, those that map some pure state to an output with full rank, and all those which can be represented using simultaneously diagonal Kraus operators, even in a non-orthogonal basis. Perhaps surprisingly, we also present examples of degradable channels with “large” environments, in the sense that the minimal dimension dE>dB. Indeed, one can have dE>14dB2. These examples can also be used to give a negative answer to the question of whether additivity of the coherent information is helpful for establishing additivity for the Holevo capacity of a pair of channels. In the case of channels with diagonal Kraus operators, we describe the subclasses that are complements of entanglement breaking channels. We also obtain a number of results for channels in the convex hull of conjugations with generalized Pauli matrices. However, a number of open questions remain about these channels and the more general case of random unitary channels.
The quantum capacity of degradable quantum channels has been proven to be additive. On the other hand, there is no general rule for the behavior of quantum capacity for antidegradable quantum channels. We introduce the set of partially degradable (PD) quantum channels to answer the question of additivity of quantum capacity for a well-separable subset of antidegradable channels. A quantum channel is PD if the channel output can be used to simulate the degraded environment state. The PD channels could exist both in the degradable, antidegradable and conjugate degradable family. We define the term partial simulation, which is a clear benefit that arises from the structure of the complementary channel of a PD channel. We prove that the quantum capacity of an arbitrary dimensional PD channel is additive. We also demonstrate that better quantum data rates can be achieved over a PD channel in comparison with standard (non-PD) channels. Our results indicate that the partial degradability property can be exploited and yet still hold many benefits for quantum communications.
We introduce an infinite sequence of quantum channels for which the Holevo capacity is additive. The channel series is closely related to the quantum channels arising from universal quantum cloning machines. The additivity proof is motivated by a special property the studied channels enjoy: the property of conjugate degradability. As a consequence of the announced proof, we also provide an easy way of proving the additivity of the Holevo capacity for the original Unruh channel for which the quantum capacity is already known. Consequently, we present not only an infinite series of finite-dimensional channels but also a nontrivial example of an infinite-dimensional channel for which the classical and quantum channel capacities are easily calculable.
Quantum channel capacities give the fundamental performance limits for information flow over a communication channel. However, the prevalence of superadditivity is a major obstacle to understanding capacities, both quantitatively and conceptually. In contrast, examples exhibiting additivity, though relatively rare, offer crucial insights into the origins of nonadditivity and form the basis of our strongest upper bounds on capacity. Degradable channels, whose coherent information is provably additive, stand out as among the few classes of channels for which the quantum capacity is exactly computable. In this paper, we introduce two families of non-degradable channels whose coherent information remains additive, making their quantum capacities tractable. First, we demonstrate that channels capable of “outperforming” their environment, under conditions weaker than degradability, can exhibit either strong or weak additivity of coherent information. Second, we explore a complementary construction that modifies a channel to preserve coherent information additivity while destroying the “outperforming” property. We analyze how structural constraints guarantee strong and weak additivity and investigate how relaxing these constraints leads to the failure of strong additivity, with weak additivity potentially persisting.