We study the one-shot zero-error classical capacity of a quantum channel assisted by quantum no-signalling correlations, and the reverse problem of exact simulation of a prescribed channel by a noiseless classical one. Quantum no-signalling correlations are viewed as two-input and two-output completely positive and trace preserving maps with linear constraints enforcing that the device cannot signal. Both problems lead to simple semidefinite programmes (SDPs) that depend only on the Choi-Kraus (operator) space of the channel. In particular, we show that the zero-error classical simulation cost is precisely the conditional min-entropy of the Choi-Jamiołkowski matrix of the given channel. The zero-error classical capacity is given by a similar-looking but different SDP; the asymptotic zero-error classical capacity is the regularization of this SDP, and in general, we do not know of any simple form. Interestingly, however, for the class of classical-quantum channels, we show that the asymptotic capacity is given by a much simpler SDP, which coincides with a semidefinite generalization of the fractional packing number suggested earlier by Aram Harrow. This finally results in an operational interpretation of the celebrated Lovász ϑ function of a graph as the zero-error classical capacity of the graph assisted by quantum no-signalling correlations, the first information theoretic interpretation of the Lovász number.
Recently the power of positive partial transpose preserving (PPTp) and no-signalling (NS) codes in quantum communication has been studied. We continue with this line of research and show that the NS/PPTp/NS∩PPTp codes assisted zero-error quantum capacity depends only on the non-commutative bipartite graph of the channel and the one-shot case can be computed efficiently by semidefinite programming (SDP). As an example, the activated PPTp codes assisted zero-error quantum capacity is carefully studied. We then present a general SDP upper bound QΓof quantum capacity and show it is always smaller than or equal to the “Partial transposition bound” introduced by Holevo and Werner, and the inequality could be strict. This upper bound is found to be additive, and thus is an upper bound of the potential PPTp assisted quantum capacity as well. We further demonstrate that QΓis strictly better than several previously known upper bounds for an explicit class of quantum channels. Finally, we show that QΓcan be used to bound the super-activation of quantum capacity.
We study zero-error communication and exact simulation of quantum channels assisted by quantum no-signalling correlations. For a channel with Kraus operator space
K, we introduce a semidefinite programming parameter
Γ(K) that is exactly multiplicative under tensor products and upper-bounds
ΘNS(K), where
log2ΘNS(K)=C0,NS(K) and
C0,NS(K) denotes the asymptotic quantum no-signalling-assisted zero-error capacity. Among known upper bounds on
ΘNS given by semidefinite programs,
Γ is the tightest. We also prove that the previously introduced simulation lower bound
Σ−(K) is exactly multiplicative and satisfies
ΘNS(K)≤Γ(K)≤Σ−(K)≤Γ(K)2. Using this multiplicativity, we show that neither
S0,NS(K)=log2Σ−(K) nor its regularized extension
S0,NS(K)=limn→∞n−1log2Σ−(K⊗n) holds in general. This answers an open question about the asymptotic simulation cost
S0,NS(K). For classical-quantum channels, we obtain sharp bounds. If
r is the effective output dimension, then
ΘNS≤Γ≤(1+r1/2)ΘNS/2 and
Γ≤Σ−≤(1+r1/2)Γ/2. If
k is the minimum rank of the output support projections, then
Σ−/ΘNS≤[(1+r1/2)/(1+k1/2)]2, and this bound is sharp for every
1≤k≤r. Thus, we obtain the sharp bound
S0,NS−C0,NS≤2log2[(1+r1/2)/(1+k1/2)].
Duan and Winter studied the one-shot zero-error classical capacity of a quantum channel assisted by quantum non-signalling correlations, and formulated this problem as a semidefinite program depending only on the Kraus operator space of the channel. For the class of classical-quantum channels, they showed that the asymptotic zero-error classical capacity assisted by quantum non-signalling correlations, minimized over all classicalquantum channels with a confusability graph G, is exactly log ϑ(G), where ϑ(G) is the celebrated Lov´asz theta function. In this paper, we show that the one-shot capacity for a classical-quantum channel, induced from a circulant graph G defined by equal-sized cyclotomic cosets, is logbϑ(G)c, which further implies that its asymptotic capacity is log ϑ(G). This type of graphs include the cycle graphs of odd length, the Paley graphs of prime vertices, and the cubit residue graphs of prime vertices. Examples of other graphs are also discussed. This gives Lov´asz ϑ function another operational meaning in zero-error classical-quantum communication.
We investigate the classical communication over quantum channels when assisted by no-signaling and positive-partial-transpose-preserving (PPT) codes, for which both the optimal success probability of a given transmission rate and the one-shot E-error capacity are formalized as semidefinite programs (SDPs). Based on this, we obtain improved SDP finite blocklength converse bounds of general quantum channels for entanglement-assisted codes and unassisted codes. Furthermore, we derive two SDP strong converse bounds for the classical capacity of general quantum channels: for any code with a rate exceeding either of the two bounds of the channel, the success probability vanishes exponentially fast as the number of channel uses increases. In particular, applying our efficiently computable bounds, we derive an improved upper bound on the classical capacity of the amplitude damping channel. We also establish the strong converse property for the classical and private capacities of a new class of quantum channels. We finally study the zero-error setting and provide efficiently computable upper bounds on the one-shot zero-error capacity of a general quantum channel.
We initiate the study of zero-error communication via quantum channels when the receiver and the sender have at their disposal a noiseless feedback channel of unlimited quantum capacity, generalizing Shannon's zero-error communication theory with instantaneous feedback. We first show that this capacity is only a function of the linear span of Choi-Kraus operators of the channel, which generalizes the bipartite equivocation graph of a classical channel, and which we dub non-commutative bipartite graph. Then, we go on to show that the feedback-assisted capacity is non-zero (allowing for a constant amount of activating noiseless communication) if and only if the non-commutative bipartite graph is non-trivial, and give a number of equivalent characterizations. This result involves a far-reaching extension of the conclusive exclusion of quantum states. We then present an upper bound on the feedback-assisted zero-error capacity, motivated by a conjecture originally made by Shannon and proved later by Ahlswede. We demonstrate that this bound to have many good properties, including being additive and given by a minimax formula. We also prove a coding theorem showing that this quantity is the entanglement-assisted capacity against an adversarially chosen channel from the set of all channels with the same Choi-Kraus span, which can also be interpreted as the feedback-assisted unambiguous capacity. The proof relies on a generalization of the Postselection Lemma (de Finetti reduction) that allows to reflect additional constraints, and which we believe to be of independent interest. This capacity is a relaxation of the feedback-assisted zero-error capacity; however, we have to leave open the question of whether they coincide in general. We illustrate our ideas with a number of examples, including classical-quantum channels and Weyl diagonal channels, and close with an extensive discussion of open questions.