Abstract Two primary facets of quantum technological advancement that hold great promise are quantum communication and quantum computation. For quantum communication, the canonical resource is entanglement. For quantum gate implementation, the resource is ‘magic’ in an auxiliary system. It has already been shown that quantum coherence is the fundamental resource for the creation of entanglement. We argue on the similar spirit that quantum coherence is the fundamental resource when it comes to the creation of ‘magic’. This unifies the two strands of modern development in quantum technology under the common underpinning of existence of quantum superposition, quantified by the coherence in quantum theory. We also obtain a coherence monotone from the discrete Wigner distribution. We further study the interplay between quantum coherence and ‘magic’ in a qutrit system and that between quantum entanglement and ‘magic’ in a qutrit-qubit setting.
Abstract Two primary facets of quantum technological advancement that hold great promise are quantum communication and quantum computation. For quantum communication, the canonical resource is entanglement. For quantum gate implementation, the resource is ‘magic’ in an auxiliary system. It has already been shown that quantum coherence is the fundamental resource for the creation of entanglement. We argue on the similar spirit that quantum coherence is the fundamental resource when it comes to the creation of ‘magic’. This unifies the two strands of modern development in quantum technology under the common underpinning of existence of quantum superposition, quantified by the coherence in quantum theory. We also obtain a coherence monotone from the discrete Wigner distribution. We further study the interplay between quantum coherence and ‘magic’ in a qutrit system and that between quantum entanglement and ‘magic’ in a qutrit-qubit setting.
Quantum entanglement and coherence are two fundamental features of nature, arising from the superposition principle of quantum mechanics. While considered as puzzling phenomena in the early days of quantum theory, it is only very recently that entanglement and coherence have been recognized as resources for the emerging quantum technologies, including quantum metrology, quantum communication, and quantum computing. In this work we study the limitations for the interconversion between coherence and entanglement. We prove a fundamental no-go theorem, stating that a general resource theory of superposition does not allow for entanglement activation. By constructing a quantum controlled-not gate as a free operation, we experimentally show that such activation is possible within the more constrained framework of quantum coherence. By using recent results from coherence theory, we further show that the trace norm entanglement is not a strong entanglement monotone.
We are in the midst of a renaissance in the study and interpretation of fundamental quantum mechanics, from quantum coherence and quantum entanglement to the quantum measurement process. This stems partly from the impressive advances in experimental techniques that are making yesterday's gedanken experiment today's reality. Another reason quantum coherence and entanglement have come to the forefront is the emerging and tantalizing field of quantum information science. The ability to store information in quantum systems may someday yield devices that process quantum superpositions of inputs in parallel or improve communication through the `wiring' implicit in quantum entanglement. Indeed, quantum computing has the remote prospect of revolutionizing the way we store and process information. This has become particularly important in the face of impending limits on the miniaturization of conventional computers due to quantum effects. Of course, all real systems face limits imposed by decoherence, or the environmentally-induced destruction of quantum coherence. Here, superpositions of quantum states suddenly become probabilistic mixtures of states when they interact with the environment or when the system parameters are fluctuating. Decoherence theory is commonly interpreted as a way to quantify the elusive boundary between quantum and classical worlds and almost always precludes the existence of complex quantum superpositions, except at extremely short time scales. In practice, it is very important to study how decoherence appears in particular quantum systems and try to fight against it. In this special issue of Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics , we highlight recent results in the exciting area of quantum coherence and entanglement, including generating interesting and complex quantum states, characterizing coherence and entanglement in these systems, and triumphing over relevant decoherence processes. We hope this issue will not only act as a bookmark in the ongoing study of fundamental quantum mechanics, but will also help guide the rapid developments in quantum information science.
In this section we provide a broad overview of the basic principles of quantum mechanics and how they enable modern quantum technologies. The starting point is the concept of superposition, which allows quantum systems to be in multiple states at the same time and forms the basis of quantum computation using qubits and parallel processing of information. The conversation then turns to quantum entanglement, a non-classical effect that creates strong correlations between particles, and has applications in secure communication and quantum teleportation. Also mentioned is the quantum coherence, which preserves phase relations between quantum states and makes it possible for quantum systems to function correctly. But it is also emphasized that quantum coherence is fragile to environmental perturbations. This chapter also covers quantum measurement, taking into account the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, and how the act of observation results in the collapse of a quantum state to a definite outcome. These principles together constitute the theoretical basis of quantum computing, where quantum gates and algorithms and qubits take advantage of superposition, entanglement and interference to offer computational benefits over classical systems. The most important algorithms like Shor’s and Grover’s algorithms that demonstrate a considerable speed-up in solving the problem are discussed along with different models of quantum computing, such as gate, adiabatic and measurement-based models. Furthermore, the section reviews some physical realizations of quantum systems, such as superconducting qubits, trapped ions, photonic systems and topological qubits, with their advantages and difficulties. Overall, this discussion shows how the basic principles of quantum mechanics are the foundation for the development of advanced quantum technologies, while also dealing with the practical difficulties that arise in their implementation.
Magic refers to the degree of “quantumness” in a system that cannot be fully described by stabilizer states and Clifford operations alone. In quantum computing, stabilizer states and Clifford operations can be efficiently simulated on a classical computer, even though they may appear complicated from the perspective of entanglement. In this sense, magic is a crucial resource for unlocking the unique computational power of quantum computers to address problems that are classically intractable. Magic can be quantified by measures such as Wigner negativity and mana that satisfy fundamental properties such as monotonicity under Clifford operations. In this paper, we generalize the statistical mechanical mapping methods of large- q random circuits to the calculation of Rényi Wigner negativity and mana. Based on this, we find: (1) a precise formula describing the competition between magic and entanglement in many-body states prepared under Haar random circuits; (2) a formula describing the spreading and scrambling of magic in states evolved under random Clifford circuits; (3) a quantitative description of magic “squeezing” and “teleportation” under measurements. Finally, we comment on the relation between coherent information and magic.
Magic (non-stabilizerness) is a key resource for achieving universal fault-tolerant quantum computation beyond classical computation. While previous studies have primarily focused on magic in single systems, its interactions and distribution in multipartite settings remain largely unexplored. In this work, we introduce mutual mana as a measure of magic correlations defined in close analogy with quantum mutual information. Our definition builds upon mana, which is the established quantifier of magic based on discrete Wigner function negativity. We characterize magic correlations generated by discrete beamsplitters, whose Gaussian counterparts are fundamental components in quantum optics and quantum technologies. We show that coupling a magic state with a stabilizer vacuum state via a discrete beamsplitter will induce a full conversion of local magic into mutual mana, thereby establishing a mechanism for redistributing magic resources as magic correlations. We reveal the fundamental properties of mutual mana and derive its explicit expressions for several prototypical qutrit states subject to a discrete beamsplitter. We make a comparative study of mutual mana with several established quantifiers of correlations generated by the qutrit beamsplitter, including quantum mutual information, mutual L1-norm magic, and mutual stabilizer 2-Rényi entropy.
Entanglement and magic are among the most fundamental properties unique to quantum systems. Each quantity captures a different aspect of non-classical behavior, and each can be regarded as a resource within its own operational setting. However, the interrelation between them has not yet been fully clarified, and whether a more fundamental measure exists remains an open question. Addressing these issues is essential for deepening our understanding of quantumness. In this study, we establish a unified resource theory of information scrambling, consisting of two types: entanglement scrambling and magic scrambling. We introduce a measure that jointly characterizes both types of scrambling. This unified approach reveals a rigorous trade-off relation between entanglement and magic scrambling, as the exact maximum value of the proposed measure can be derived analytically. Furthermore, we quantify the scrambling capability of unitary transformations in terms of their ability to amplify this measure. We also discuss the relevance of our framework to the Pauli propagation method as a practical application. Our work provides insights into the connection between entanglement and magic that extend beyond the context of information scrambling.