We consider generic pure n-qubit states and a general class of pure states of arbitrary dimensions and arbitrarily many subsystems. We characterize those states which can be reached from some other state via local operations assisted by finitely many rounds of classical communication (LOCC_{N}). For n qubits with n>3, we show that this set of states is of measure zero, which implies that the maximally entangled set is generically of full measure if restricted to the practical scenario of LOCC_{N}. Moreover, we identify a class of states for which any LOCC_{N} protocol can be realized via a concatenation of deterministic steps. We show, however, that in general there exist state transformations which require a probabilistic step within the protocol, which highlights the difference between bipartite and multipartite LOCC.
We consider generic pure n-qubit states and a general class of pure states of arbitrary dimensions and arbitrarily many subsystems. We characterize those states which can be reached from some other state via local operations assisted by finitely many rounds of classical communication (LOCC_{N}). For n qubits with n>3, we show that this set of states is of measure zero, which implies that the maximally entangled set is generically of full measure if restricted to the practical scenario of LOCC_{N}. Moreover, we identify a class of states for which any LOCC_{N} protocol can be realized via a concatenation of deterministic steps. We show, however, that in general there exist state transformations which require a probabilistic step within the protocol, which highlights the difference between bipartite and multipartite LOCC.
We consider generic pure n-qubit states and a general class of pure states of arbitrary dimensions and arbitrary many subsystems. We characterize those states which can be reached from some other state via Local Operations assisted by finitely many rounds of Classical Communication (LOCCN). For qubits we show that this set of states is of measure zero, which implies that the maximally entangled set is generically of full measure if restricted to the practical scenario of finite-round LOCC. Moreover, we identify a class of states for which any LOCCN protocol can be realized via a concatenation of deterministic steps. We show, however, that in general there exist state transformations which require a probabilistic step within the protocol, which highlights the difference between bipartite and multipartite LOCC.
We studied pure state transformations using local operations assisted by finitely many rounds of classical communication (LOCCIN) [C. Spee, J. I. de Vicente, D. Sauerwein, and B. Kraus [Phys. Rev. Lett. (to be published)], arXiv:1606.04418]. Here, we present the details of some of the proofs and generalize the construction of examples of state transformations via LOCCIN which require a probabilistic step. However, we also present explicit examples of SLOCC classes where any separable transformation can be realized by a protocol in which each step is deterministic (all-det-LOCCIN). Such transformations can be considered as natural generalizations of bipartite transformations. Furthermore, we provide examples of pure state transformations which are possible via separable transformations, but not via LOCCIN. We also analyze an interesting genuinely multipartite effect which we call locking or unlocking the power of other parties. This means that one party can prevent or enable the implementation of LOCC transformations by other parties. Moreover, we investigate the maximally entangled set restricted to LOCCIN and show how easily computable bounds on some entanglement measures can be derived by restricting to LOCCIN.
Recent advances have led towards first prototypes of quantum networks in which entanglement is distributed by sources producing bipartite entangled states. This raises the question of which states can be generated in quantum networks based on bipartite sources using local operations and classical communication. In this work, we study state transformations under finite rounds of local operations and classical communication (LOCC) in networks based on maximally entangled two-qubit states. We first derive the symmetries for arbitrary network structures, as these determine which transformations are possible. Then, we show that contrary to tree graphs, for which it has already been shown that any state within the same entanglement class can be reached, there exist states which can be reached probabilistically but not deterministically if the network contains a cycle. Furthermore, we provide a systematic way to determine states which are not reachable in networks consisting of a cycle. Moreover, we provide a complete characterization of the states which can be reached in a cycle network with a protocol where each party measures only once, and each step of the protocol results in a deterministic transformation. Finally, we present an example which cannot be reached with such a simple protocol, and constitutes, up to our knowledge, the first example of a LOCC transformation among fully entangled states requiring three rounds of classical communication.
Understanding multipartite entanglement is a key goal in quantum information. Entanglement in pure states can be characterized by considering transformations under local operations assisted by classical communication (LOCC). However, it has been shown that, for $n\ensuremath{\ge}5$ parties, multipartite pure states are generically isolated, i.e., they can be neither reached nor transformed under LOCC. Nonetheless, in any real laboratory, one never deterministically transforms a pure initial state exactly to a pure target state. Instead, one transforms a mixed state near the initial state to an ensemble that is on average close to the target state. This motivates studying approximate LOCC transformations. After reviewing in detail the known results in the bipartite case, we present the gaps that remain open in the multipartite case. While the analysis of the multipartite setting is much more technically involved due to the existence of different stochastic LOCC (SLOCC) classes, certain features simplify in the approximate setting. In particular, we show that it is sufficient to consider pure initial states, that it is sufficient to consider LOCC protocols with finitely many rounds of communication, and that approximate transformations can be approximated by ensemble transformations within an SLOCC class. Then we formally define a hierarchy of different forms of approximate transformations that are relevant from a physical point of view. Whereas this hierarchy collapses in the bipartite case, we show that this is not the case for the multipartite setting, which is fundamentally richer. To wit, we show that optimal multipartite approximate transformations are not generally deterministic, that ensemble transformations within an SLOCC class can achieve a higher fidelity than deterministic transformations within an SLOCC class, and that there are approximate transformations with no deterministic transformations nearby.
Local operations assisted by classical communication (LOCC) constitute the free operations in entanglement theory. Hence, the determination of LOCC transformations is crucial for the understanding of entanglement. We characterize here almost all LOCC transformations among pure multipartite multilevel states. Combined with the analogous results for qubit states shown by Gour \emph{et al.} [J. Math. Phys. 58, 092204 (2017)], this gives a characterization of almost all local transformations among multipartite pure states. We show that nontrivial LOCC transformations among generic, fully entangled, pure states are almost never possible. Thus, almost all multipartite states are isolated. They can neither be deterministically obtained from local-unitary-inequivalent (LU-inequivalent) states via local operations, nor can they be deterministically transformed to pure, fully entangled LU-inequivalent states. In order to derive this result, we prove a more general statement, namely, that, generically, a state possesses no nontrivial local symmetry. We discuss further consequences of this result for the characterization of optimal, probabilistic single copy and probabilistic multi-copy LOCC transformations and the characterization of LU-equivalence classes of multipartite pure states.
Entanglement is a resource to overcome the natural restriction of operations used for state manipulation to Local Operations assisted by Classical Communication (LOCC). Hence, a bipartite maximally entangled state is a state which can be transformed deterministically into any other state via LOCC. In the multipartite setting no such state exists. There, rather a whole set, the Maximally Entangled Set of states (MES), which we recently introduced, is required. This set has on the one hand the property that any state outside of this set can be obtained via LOCC from one of the states within the set and on the other hand, no state in the set can be obtained from any other state via LOCC. Recently, we studied LOCC transformations among pure multipartite states and derived the MES for three and generic four qubit states. Here, we consider the non-generic four qubit states and analyze their properties regarding local transformations. As already the most coarse grained classification, due to Stochastic LOCC (SLOCC), of four qubit states is much richer than in case of three qubits, the investigation of possible LOCC transformations is correspondingly more difficult. We prove that most SLOCC classes show a similar behavior as the generic states, however we also identify here three classes with very distinct properties. The first consists of the GHZ and W class, where any state can be transformed into some other state non-trivially. In particular, there exists no isolation. On the other hand, there also exist classes where all states are isolated. Last but not least we identify an additional class of states, whose transformation properties differ drastically from all the other classes. Although the possibility of transforming states into local-unitary inequivalent states by LOCC turns out to be very rare, we identify those states (with exception of the latter class) which are in the MES and those, which can be obtained (transformed) non-trivially from (into) other states respectively. These investigations do not only identify the most relevant classes of states for LOCC entanglement manipulation, but also reveal new insight into the similarities and differences between separable and LOCC transformations and enable the investigation of LOCC transformations among arbitrary four qubit states.