Valid transformations between quantum states are necessarily described by completely positive maps, instead of just positive maps. Positive but not completely positive maps such as the transposition map cannot be implemented due to the existence of entanglement in composite quantum systems, but there are classes of states for which the positivity is guaranteed, e.g., states not correlated to other systems. this paper, we report on the concept of $N$-copy extension of maps to quantitatively analyze the difference between positive maps and completely positive maps. We consider implementations of the action of positive but not completely positive maps on uncorrelated states by allowing an extra resource of consuming multiple copies of the input state and characterize the positive maps in terms of implementability with multiple copies. We show that by consuming multiple copies, the set of implementable positive maps becomes larger, and almost all positive maps are implementable with finite copies of an input state. The number of copies of the input state required to implement a positive map quantifies the degree by which a positive map violates complete positivity. We then analyze the optimal $N$-copy implementability of a noisy version of the transposition map.
Valid transformations between quantum states are necessarily described by completely positive maps, instead of just positive maps. Positive but not completely positive maps such as the transposition map cannot be implemented due to the existence of entanglement in composite quantum systems, but there are classes of states for which the positivity is guaranteed, e.g., states not correlated to other systems. this paper, we report on the concept of N-copy extension of maps to quantitatively analyze the difference between positive maps and completely positive maps. We consider implementations of the action of positive but not completely positive maps on uncorrelated states by allowing an extra resource of consuming multiple copies of the input state and characterize the positive maps in terms of implementability with multiple copies. We show that by consuming multiple copies, the set of implementable positive maps becomes larger, and almost all positive maps are implementable with finite copies of an input state. The number of copies of the input state required to implement a positive map quantifies the degree by which a positive map violates complete positivity. We then analyze the optimal N-copy implementability of a noisy version of the transposition map.
For a given set of input-output pairs of quantum states or observables, we ask the question whether there exists a physically implementable transformation that maps each of the inputs to the corresponding output. The physical maps on quantum states are trace-preserving completely positive maps, but we also consider variants of these requirements. We generalize the definition of complete positivity to linear maps defined on arbitrary subspaces, then formulate this notion as a semidefinite program, and relate it by duality to approximative extensions of this map. This gives a characterization of the maps which can be approximated arbitrarily well as the restriction of a map that is completely positive on the whole algebra, also yielding the familiar extension theorems on operator spaces. For quantum channel extensions and extensions by probabilistic operations we obtain semidefinite characterizations, and we also elucidate the special case of Abelian inputs or outputs. Finally, revisiting a theorem by Alberti and Uhlmann, we provide simpler and more widely applicable conditions for certain extension problems on qubits, and by using a semidefinite programming formulation we exhibit counterexamples to seemingly reasonable but false generalizations of the Alberti-Uhlmann theorem.
Abstract Legitimate quantum operations must adhere to principles of quantum mechanics, particularly the requirements of complete positivity and trace preservation. Yet, non-physical maps, especially Hermitian-preserving maps, play a crucial role in quantum information science. Here, we introduce the Hermitian-preserving map exponentiation algorithm, which can effectively simulate the action of an arbitrary Hermitian-preserving map by exponentiating its output, N(ρ), into a quantum process, e-iN(ρ)t. We analyze the sample complexity of this algorithm and prove its optimality in certain cases. Utilizing positive but not completely positive maps, this algorithm provides exponential speedups in entanglement detection and quantification compared to protocols based on single-copy operations. In addition, it facilitates the recovery of noiseless quantum states from multiple copies of noisy ones by simulating the inverse map of the corresponding noise channel, providing a new approach to handling quantum noises. This algorithm acts as a building block of large-scale quantum algorithms and presents a pathway for exploring potential quantum speedups across a wide range of information-processing tasks.
We apply random matrix and free probability techniques to the study of linear maps of interest in quantum information theory. Random quantum channels have already been widely investigated with spectacular success. Here, we are interested in more general maps, asking only for k-positivity instead of the complete positivity required of quantum channels. Unlike the theory of completely positive maps, the theory of k-positive maps is far from being completely understood, and our techniques give many new parametrized families of such maps. We also establish a conceptual link with free probability theory and show that our constructions can be obtained to some extent without random techniques in the setup of free products of von Neumann algebras. Finally, we study the properties of our examples and show that for some parameters, they are indecomposable. In particular, they can be used to detect the presence of entanglement missed by the partial transposition test, that is, positive partial transposition entanglement. As an application, we considerably refine our understanding of positive partial transposition states in the case where one of the spaces is large, whereas the other one remains small.
Quantum mechanics features a variety of distinct properties such as coherence and entanglement, which could be explored to showcase potential advantages over classical counterparts in information processing. In general, legitimate quantum operations must adhere to principles of quantum mechanics, particularly the requirements of complete positivity and trace preservation. Nonetheless, non-physical maps, especially Hermitian-preserving maps, play a crucial role in quantum information science. To date, there exists no effective method for implementing these non-physical maps with quantum devices. In this work, we introduce the Hermitian-preserving map exponentiation algorithm, which can effectively realize the action of an arbitrary Hermitian-preserving map by encoding its output into a quantum process. We analyze the performances of this algorithm, including its sample complexity and robustness, and prove its optimality in certain cases. When combined with algorithms such as the Hadamard test and quantum phase estimation, it allows for the extraction of information and generation of states from outputs of Hermitian-preserving maps, enabling various applications. Utilizing positive but not completely positive maps, this algorithm provides exponential advantages in entanglement detection and quantification compared to protocols based on single-copy operations. In addition, it facilitates the recovery of noiseless quantum states from multiple copies of noisy states by implementing the inverse map of the corresponding noise channel, offering an intriguing approach to handling quantum errors. Our findings present a pathway for systematically and efficiently implementing non-physical actions with quantum devices, thereby boosting the exploration of potential quantum advantages across a wide range of information processing tasks.
In this paper, we discuss some general connections between the notions of positive map, weak majorization and entropic inequalities in the context of detection of entanglement among bipartite quantum systems. First, basing on the fact that any positive map can be written as the difference between two completely positive maps Λ=Λ 1 −Λ 2 , we propose a possible way to generalize the Nielsen–Kempe majorization criterion. Then, we present two methods of derivation of some general classes of entropic inequalities useful for the detection of entanglement. While the first one follows from the aforementioned generalized majorization relation and the concept of Schur-concave decreasing functions, the second is based on some functional inequalities. What is important is that, contrary to the Nielsen–Kempe majorization criterion and entropic inequalities, our criteria allow for the detection of entangled states with positive partial transposition when using indecomposable positive maps. We also point out that if a state with at least one maximally mixed subsystem is detected by some necessary criterion based on the positive map Λ, then there exist entropic inequalities derived from Λ (by both procedures) that also detect this state. In this sense, they are equivalent to the necessary criterion [ I ⊗Λ](ϱ AB )⩾0. Moreover, our inequalities provide a way of constructing multi-copy entanglement witnesses and therefore are promising from the experimental point of view. Finally, we discuss some of the derived inequalities in the context of the recently introduced protocol of state merging and the possibility of approximating the mean value of a linear entanglement witness.
We investigate linear maps between matrix algebras that remain positive under tensor powers, i.e., under tensoring with n copies of themselves. Completely positive and completely co-positive maps are trivial examples of this kind. We show that for every n ∈ ℕ, there exist non-trivial maps with this property and that for two-dimensional Hilbert spaces there is no non-trivial map for which this holds for all n. For higher dimensions, we reduce the existence question of such non-trivial “tensor-stable positive maps” to a one-parameter family of maps and show that an affirmative answer would imply the existence of non-positive partial transpose bound entanglement. As an application, we show that any tensor-stable positive map that is not completely positive yields an upper bound on the quantum channel capacity, which for the transposition map gives the well-known cb-norm bound. We, furthermore, show that the latter is an upper bound even for the local operations and classical communications-assisted quantum capacity, and that moreover it is a strong converse rate for this task.