The resource theory of coherence studies the operational value of superpositions in quantum technologies. A key question in this theory concerns the efficiency of manipulation and interconversion of this resource. Here we solve this question completely for mixed states of qubits by determining the optimal probabilities for mixed state conversions via stochastic incoherent operations. This implies new lower bounds on the asymptotic state conversion rate between mixed single-qubit states which in some cases is proven to be tight. Furthermore, we obtain the minimal distillable coherence for given coherence cost among all single-qubit states, which sheds new light on the irreversibility of coherence theory.
The resource theory of coherence studies the operational value of superpositions in quantum technologies. A key question in this theory concerns the efficiency of manipulation and interconversion of this resource. Here we solve this question completely for mixed states of qubits by determining the optimal probabilities for mixed state conversions via stochastic incoherent operations. This implies new lower bounds on the asymptotic state conversion rate between mixed single-qubit states which in some cases is proven to be tight. Furthermore, we obtain the minimal distillable coherence for given coherence cost among all single-qubit states, which sheds new light on the irreversibility of coherence theory.
Abstract The resource theory of coherence studies the operational value of superpositions in quantum technologies. A key question in this theory concerns the efficiency of manipulation and interconversion of the resource. Here, we solve this question completely for qubit states by determining the optimal probabilities for mixed-state conversions via stochastic incoherent operations. Extending the discussion to distributed scenarios, we introduce and address the task of assisted incoherent state conversion, where the process is enhanced by making use of correlations with a second party. Building on these results, we demonstrate experimentally that the optimal state-conversion probabilities can be achieved in a linear optics setup. This paves the way towards real world applications of coherence transformations in current quantum technologies.
Quantum coherence is an essential feature of quantum mechanics which is responsible for the departure between the classical and quantum world. The recently established resource theory of quantum coherence studies possible quantum technological applications of quantum coherence, and limitations that arise if one is lacking the ability to establish superpositions. An important open problem in this context is a simple characterization for incoherent operations, constituted by all possible transformations allowed within the resource theory of coherence. In this Letter, we contribute to such a characterization by proving several upper bounds on the maximum number of incoherent Kraus operators in a general incoherent operation. For a single qubit, we show that the number of incoherent Kraus operators is not more than 5, and it remains an open question if this number can be reduced to 4. The presented results are also relevant for quantum thermodynamics, as we demonstrate by introducing the class of Gibbs-preserving strictly incoherent operations, and solving the corresponding mixed-state conversion problem for a single qubit.
We establish an operational theory of coherence (or of superposition) in quantum systems, by focusing on the optimal rate of performance of certain tasks. Namely, we introduce the two basic concepts-"coherence distillation" and "coherence cost"-in the processing quantum states under so-called incoherent operations [Baumgratz, Cramer, and Plenio, Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140401 (2014)]. We, then, show that, in the asymptotic limit of many copies of a state, both are given by simple single-letter formulas: the distillable coherence is given by the relative entropy of coherence (in other words, we give the relative entropy of coherence its operational interpretation), and the coherence cost by the coherence of formation, which is an optimization over convex decompositions of the state. An immediate corollary is that there exists no bound coherent state in the sense that one would need to consume coherence to create the state, but no coherence could be distilled from it. Further, we demonstrate that the coherence theory is generically an irreversible theory by a simple criterion that completely characterizes all reversible states.
Any quantum resource theory is based on free states and free operations, i.e., states and operations which can be created and performed at no cost. In the resource theory of coherence free states are diagonal in some fixed basis, and free operations are those which cannot create coherence for some particular experimental realization. Recently, some problems of this approach have been discussed, and new sets of operations have been proposed to resolve these problems. As an example for such a problem, a quantum operation can be incoherent in one particular experimental realization, but it still can create large amount of coherence in another. This problem is resolved by the framework of genuine quantum coherence. Here, we investigate this concept further and study other more general sets of operations which cannot create coherence in any experimental realization. We analyze in detail the mathematical structure of this class of maps and use this to study possible state transformations under these operations. We show that deterministic manipulation is severely limited, even in the asymptotic settings. In particular, this framework does not have a unique golden unit, i.e., there is no single state from which all other states can be created deterministically with the free operations. On the other hand, we show that these theories allow for a richer structure in what comes to stochastic manipulation of states. In particular, we determine the optimal probability of conversion among pure states with genuinely incoherent operations. Still, the aforementioned limitations suggest that any reasonably powerful resource theory of coherence must contain free operations which can potentially create coherence in some experimental realization.
Quantum resource theories provide a mathematically rigorous way of understanding the nature of various quantum resources. An important problem in any quantum resource theory is to determine how quantum states can be converted into each other within the physical constraints of the theory. The standard approach to this problem is to study approximate or probabilistic transformations. Here, we investigate the intermediate regime, providing limits on both, the fidelity and the probability of state transformations. We derive limitations on the transformations, which are valid in all quantum resource theories, by providing bounds on the maximal transformation fidelity for a given transformation probability. As an application, we show that these bounds imply an upper bound on the asymptotic rates for various classes of states under probabilistic transformations. We also show that the deterministic version of the single copy bounds can be applied for drawing limitations on the manipulation of quantum channels, which goes beyond the previously known bounds of channel manipulations. Furthermore, we completely solve the question of stochastic-approximate state conversion via local operations and classical communication in the following two cases: (i) Both initial and target states are pure bipartite entangled states of arbitrary dimensions. (ii) The target state is a two-qubit entangled state and the initial state is a pure bipartite state.
We establish a kind of resource conversion relationship between quantum coherence and entanglement in multipartite systems, where the operational measures of resource cost and distillation are focused on. The coherence cost of single-party system bounds the maximal amounts of entanglement cost and entanglement of formation generated via multipartite incoherent operations. The converted entanglement in multipartite systems can be further transferred to subsystems or restored to coherence of single party by means of local incoherent operations and classical communications. The similar relations also hold for distillable coherence and entanglement. As an example, we present a scheme for cyclic interconversion between coherence and entanglement in three-qubit systems under full incoherent operations scenario. Moreover, we also analyze the property of genuine multi-level entanglement by the initial coherence and investigate resource dynamics in the conversion.