Information that is stored in quantum-mechanical systems can be easily lost because of the interaction with the environment in a process known as decoherence. Possible physical implementations of many processes in quantum information theory involve systems of identical particles, whence comprehension of the dynamics of entanglement induced by decoherence processes in identical-particle open systems becomes relevant. Here we study the effects and concomitant entanglement evolution arising from the interaction between a system of two identical fermions and the environment for two paradigmatic quantum channels. Entanglement measures are introduced to quantify the entanglement between the different parties, and a study of the dynamics of entanglement for some particular examples is carried out. Our analysis, which includes also the evolution of an entanglement indicator based on an entropic criteria, offers insights into the dynamics of entanglement in open systems of identical particles, involving the emergence of multipartite genuine entanglement. The results improve our understanding of the phenomenon of decoherence and will provide strategies to control it.
Information that is stored in quantum-mechanical systems can be easily lost because of the interaction with the environment in a process known as decoherence. Possible physical implementations of many processes in quantum information theory involve systems of identical particles, whence comprehension of the dynamics of entanglement induced by decoherence processes in identical-particle open systems becomes relevant. Here we study the effects and concomitant entanglement evolution arising from the interaction between a system of two identical fermions and the environment for two paradigmatic quantum channels. Entanglement measures are introduced to quantify the entanglement between the different parties, and a study of the dynamics of entanglement for some particular examples is carried out. Our analysis, which includes also the evolution of an entanglement indicator based on an entropic criteria, offers insights into the dynamics of entanglement in open systems of identical particles, involving the emergence of multipartite genuine entanglement. The results improve our understanding of the phenomenon of decoherence and will provide strategies to control it.
Abstract We analyze the dynamics of entanglement due to decoherence in a system of two identical fermions with spin 3/2 interacting with a global bosonic environment. We make use of an appropriate measure of the so-called fermionic entanglement to quantify the fermionic correlations, and compare the dynamical effects due to decoherence with those that arise in a pair of distinguishable qubits immersed in the same environment. According to the system’s initial state, three types of qualitatively different dynamics are identified: i) invariant regime , corresponding to initial states that belong to a decoherence free subspace (DFS), which maintain invariant their entanglement and coherence throughout the evolution; ii) exponential decay , corresponding to initial states orthogonal to the DFS, and evolve towards states whose entanglement and coherence decrease exponentially; iii) entanglement sudden death , corresponding to initial states that have some overlap with the DFS and exhibit a richer dynamics leading, in particular, to the sudden death of the fermionic entanglement, while the coherence decays exponentially. Our analysis offers insights into the dynamics of entanglement in open systems of identical particles and into the existence of decoherence free subspaces and entanglement sudden death in indistinguishable-fermion systems.
We analyze the dynamics of entanglement due to decoherence in asystem of two identical fermions with spin 3/2 interacting with a global bosonicenvironment. We make use of an appropriate measure of the so-called fermionicentanglement to quantify the fermionic correlations, and compare the dynamicaleffects due to decoherence with those that arise in a pair of distinguishablequbits immersed in the same environment. According to the system?s initialstate, three types of qualitatively different dynamics are identified: i) invariantregime, corresponding to initial states that belong to a decoherence free subspace(DFS), which maintain invariant their entanglement and coherence throughoutthe evolution; ii) exponential decay, corresponding to initial states orthogonal tothe DFS, and evolve towards states whose entanglement and coherence decreaseexponentially; iii) entanglement sudden death, corresponding to initial states that havesome overlap with the DFS and exhibit a richer dynamics leading, in particular,to the sudden death of the fermionic entanglement, while the coherence decaysexponentially. Our analysis offers insights into the dynamics of entanglementin open systems of identical particles and into the existence of decoherence freesubspaces and entanglement sudden death in indistinguishable-fermion systems.
Due to their great importance, both from the fundamental and from the practical points of view, it is imperative that the various facets of the concepts of information and entanglement are explored systematically in connection with diverse physical systems and processes. These concepts are at the core of the emerging field of the Physics of Information. In this Thesis I investigate some aspects of the dynamics of information in both classical and quantum mechanical systems and then move on to explore entanglement in fermion systems by searching for novel ways to classify and quantify entanglement in fermionic systems. In Chapter 1 a brief review of the different information and entropic measures as well as of the main evolution equations of classical dynamical and quantum mechanical systems is given. The conservation of information as a fundamental principle both at the classical and quantum levels, and the implications of Landauer's theorem are discussed in brief. An alternative and more intuitive proof of the no-broadcasting theorem is also provided. Chapter 2 is a background chapter on quantum entanglement, where the differences between the concept of entanglement in systems consisting of distinguishable subsystems and the corresponding concept in systems of identical fermions are emphasized. Different measures of entanglement and relevant techniques such as majorization, are introduced. To illustrate some of the concepts reviewed here I discuss the entanglement properties of an exactly soluble many-body model which was studied in paper (E) of the publication list corresponding to the present Thesis. An alternative approach to the characterization of quantum correlations, based on perturbations under local measurements, is also briefly reviewed. The use of uncertainty relations as entanglement indicators in composite systems having distinguishable subsystems is then examined in some detail. Chapter 3 is based on papers (A) and (B) of the list of publications. Extended Landauer-like principles are developed, based amongst others on the conservation of information of divergenceless dynamical systems. Conservation of information within the framework of general probabilistic theories, which include the classical and quantum mechanical probabilities as particular instances, is explored. Furthermore, Zurek's information transfer theorem and the no-deleting theorem are generalized. Chapter 4 is based on articles (C) and (D) mentioned in the publication list, and investigates several separability criteria for fermions. Criteria for the detection of entanglement are developed based either on the violation of appropriate uncertainty relations or on inequalities involving entropic measures. Chapter 5 introduces an approach for the characterization of quantum correlations (going beyond entanglement) in fermion systems based upon the state disturbances generated by the measurement of local observables. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions drawn in the previous chapters. The work leading up to this Thesis has resulted in five publications in peer reviewed science research journals.
The study of entanglement in systems composed of identical particles raises interesting challenges with far-reaching implications in both, our fundamental understanding of the physics of composite quantum systems, and our capability of exploiting quantum indistinguishability as a resource in quantum information theory. Impressive theoretical and experimental advances have been made in the last decades that bring us closer to a deeper comprehension and to a better control of entanglement. Yet, when it involves composites of indistinguishable quantum systems, the very meaning of entanglement, and hence its characterization, still finds controversy and lacks a widely accepted definition. The aim of the present paper is to introduce, within an accessible and self-contained exposition, the basic ideas behind one of the approaches advanced towards the construction of a coherent definition of entanglement in systems of indistinguishable particles, with focus on fermionic systems. We also inquire whether the corresponding tools developed for studying entanglement in identical-fermion systems can be exploited when analysing correlations in distinguishable-party systems, in which the complete information of the individual parts is not available. Further, we open the discussion on the broader problem of constructing a suitable framework that accommodates entanglement in the presence of generalized statistics. This article is part of the theme issue 'Identity, individuality and indistinguishability in physics and mathematics'.
Abstract We consider a system of two indistinguishable fermions (with four accessible states each) that suffers decoherence without dissipation due to its coupling with a global bosonic bath at a fixed temperature. Using an appropriate measure of fermionic entanglement, we identify families of two-fermion states whose entanglement persists throughout the evolution, either fully or partially, despite the noisy effects of the interaction with the bath, and independently of its temperature. The identified resilience to decoherence provides valuable insights into the entanglement dynamics of open systems of indistinguishable fermions, and into the conditions under which long-lived entanglement emerges under more general decoherence channels.
The dynamics of the environment is usually experimentally inaccessible and hence ignored for open systems. Here we overcome this limitation by using an interferometric setup that allows the implementation of several decoherence channels and full access to all environmental degrees of freedom. We show that when a qubit from an entangled pair interacts with the environment, the initial bipartite entanglement gets redistributed into bipartite and genuine multipartite entanglements involving the two qubits and the environment. This is yet another trait of the subtle behavior of entangled open systems.