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arXiv:1503.05325

Optimal quantum state discrimination with confidentiality

Kenji Nakahira, Tsuyoshi Sasaki Usuda, Kentaro Kato

Published Mar 18, 2015• 0 citations
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Abstract

We investigate quantum state discrimination with confidentiality. $N$ observers share a given quantum state belonging to a finite set of known states. The observers want to determine the state as accurately as possible and send a discrimination result to a receiver. However, the observers are not allowed to get any information about which state was given. $N-1$ or fewer observers might try to steal the information, but if $N$ observers coexist, the honest ones will keep the dishonest ones from doing anything wrong. Assume that the state set has a certain symmetry, or more precisely, is Abelian geometrically uniform; this letter describes the case of three linearly independent cyclic pure states as a special case. We propose a protocol that realizes any optimal inconclusive measurement, which is a generalized version of a minimum-error measurement and an optimal unambiguous measurement, for such a state set and ensures that any combined state of $N-1$ or fewer observers has absolutely no information about the given state. Our protocol provides a method of performing a quantum measurement securely, which could be useful in quantum information applications.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1503.05325

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In this paper, we consider the quantum unambiguous discrimination problem of a set of linearly independent pure states. With a constructive procedure, we establish a necessary and sufficient condition for feasible POVM measurements for unambiguous quantum state discrimination. We develop methods to calculate the optimal discrimination efficiencies for minimizing the inconclusive probability and the optimal discrimination efficiencies for the minimax criterion. Finally, we prove a necessary and sufficient condition to have a feasible POVM measurement which achieves the minimum inconclusive probability criterion and the minimax criterion simultaneously and show that geometrically uniform states with equal a priori probabilities meet this condition.
We consider the problem of discrimination between a set of quantum states with the maximum probability of correct detection for a fixed rate of inconclusive results. We show that this type of measurement can be decomposed into two steps. The first step is the discrimination of whether the measurement result is inconclusive. The second step, which is performed in the case in which a conclusive result was obtained, is minimum error discrimination of output states of the first step. Using this result, we derive a closed-form analytical expression for an optimal measurement for both a geometrically uniform pure-state set and a set of binary doubly symmetric mixed states for any probability of an inconclusive result.