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arXiv:1811.09506 · Open Systems & Information Dynamics

Dynamical Semigroups in the Birkhoff Polytope of Order 3 as a Tool for Analysis of Quantum Channels

Mateusz Snamina, E. J. Zak

Published Mar 1, 2020• 3 citations
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Abstract

In the present paper we show a link between bistochastic quantum channels and classical maps. The primary goal of this work is to analyse the multiplicative structure of the Birkhoff polytope of order 3 (the simplest nontrivial case). A suitable complex parametrization of the Birkhoff polytope is proposed, which reveals several its symmetries and characteristics, in particular: (i) the structure of Markov semigroups inside the Birkhoff polytope, (ii) the relation between the set of Markov time evolutions, the set of positive definite matrices and the set of divisible matrices. A condition for Markov time evolution of semigroups in the set of symmetric bistochastic matrices is derived, which leads to an universal conserved quantity for all Markov evolutions. Finally, the complex parametrization is extended to the Birkhoff polytope of order 4.

DOI
10.1142/s1230161220500018

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In the present paper we show a link between bistochastic quantum channels and classical maps. The primary goal of this work is to analyse the multiplicative structure of the Birkhoff polytope of order 3 (the simplest nontrivial case). A suitable complex parametrization of the Birkhoff polytope is proposed, which reveals several its symmetries and characteristics, in particular: (i) the structure of Markov semigroups inside the Birkhoff polytope, (ii) the relation between the set of Markov time evolutions, the set of positive definite matrices and the set of divisible matrices. A condition for Markov time evolution of semigroups in the set of symmetric bistochastic matrices is derived, which leads to an universal conserved quantity for all Markov evolutions. Finally, the complex parametrization is extended to the Birkhoff polytope of order 4.
The Birkhoff polytope Bd consisting of all bistochastic matrices of order d assists researchers from many areas, including combinatorics, statistical physics, and quantum information. Its subset Ud of unistochastic matrices, determined by squared moduli of unitary matrices, is of particular importance for quantum theory as classical dynamical systems described by unistochastic transition matrices can be quantized. In order to investigate the problem of unistochasticity, we introduce the set Ld of bracelet matrices that forms a subset of Bd, but a superset of Ud. We prove that for every dimension d, this set contains the set of factorizable bistochastic matrices Fd and is closed under matrix multiplication by elements of Fd. Moreover, we prove that both Ld and Fd are star-shaped with respect to the flat matrix. We also analyze the set of d × d unistochastic matrices arising from circulant unitary matrices and show that their spectra lie inside d-hypocycloids on the complex plane. Finally, applying our results to small dimensions, we fully characterize the set of circulant unistochastic matrices of order d ≤ 4 and prove that such matrices form a monoid for d = 3.
Abstract A quantum measurement, often referred to as positive operator-valued measurement (POVM), is a set of positive operators summing to identity. This can be seen as a generalization of a probability distribution of positive real numbers summing to unity, whose evolution is given by a stochastic matrix. Discrete transformations in the set of quantum measurements can be described by blockwise stochastic matrices, composed of positive blocks that sum columnwise to identity, and the notion of sequential product of matrices. We show that such transformations correspond to a sequence of quantum measurements. Imposing additionally the dual condition that the sum of blocks in each row is equal to identity we arrive at blockwise bistochastic matrices (also called quantum magic squares) and study their properties. Analyzing the dynamics they induce we formulate a quantum analog of the Ostrowski description of the classical Birkhoff polytope and introduce the notion of majorization between quantum measurements. Our framework provides a dynamical characterization of the set of blockwise bistochastic matrices and establishes a resource theory in this set.
We investigate the semigroup structure of bosonic Gaussian quantum channels. Particular focus lies on the sets of channels which are divisible, idempotent or Markovian (in the sense of either belonging to one-parameter semigroups or being infinitesimal divisible). We show that the non-compactness of the set of Gaussian channels allows for remarkable differences when comparing the semigroup structure with that of finite dimensional quantum channels. For instance, every irreversible Gaussian channel is shown to be divisible in spite of the existence of Gaussian channels which are not infinitesimal divisible. A simpler and known consequence of non-compactness is the lack of generators for certain reversible channels. Along the way we provide new representations for classes of Gaussian channels: as matrix semigroup, complex valued positive matrices or in terms of a simple form describing almost all one-parameter semigroups.
A bistochastic matrix B of size N is called unistochastic if there exists a unitary U such that Bij=|Uij|2 for i,j=1,…,N. The set U3 of all unistochastic matrices of order N=3 forms a proper subset of the Birkhoff polytope, which contains all bistochastic (doubly stochastic) matrices. We compute the volume of the set U3 with respect to the flat (Lebesgue) measure and analytically evaluate the mean entropy of an unistochastic matrix of this order. We also analyze the Jarlskog invariant J, defined for any unitary matrix of order three, and derive its probability distribution for the ensemble of matrices distributed with respect to the Haar measure on U(3) and for the ensemble which generates the flat measure on the set of unistochastic matrices. For both measures the probability of finding |J| smaller than the value observed for the Cabbibo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix, which describes the violation of the CP parity, is shown to be small. Similar statistical reasoning may also be applied to the Maki–Nakagawa–Sakata matrix, which plays role in describing the neutrino oscillations. Some conjectures are made concerning analogous probability measures in the space of unitary matrices in higher dimensions.
We investigate the semigroup structure of bosonic Gaussian quantum channels. Particular focus lies on the sets of channels which are divisible, idempotent or Markovian (in the sense of either belonging to one-parameter semigroups or being infinitesimal divisible). We show that the non-compactness of the set of Gaussian channels allows for remarkable differences when comparing the semigroup structure with that of finite dimensional quantum channels. For instance, every irreversible Gaussian channel is shown to be divisible in spite of the existence of Gaussian channels which are not infinitesimal divisible. A simpler and known consequence of non-compactness is the lack of generators for certain reversible channels. Along the way we provide new representations for classes of Gaussian channels: as matrix semigroup, complex valued positive matrices or in terms of a simple form describing almost all one-parameter semigroups.
It is established that both discrete and continuous semigroups of unital quantum channels are eventually mixed unitary. This result is novel even for the subclass of Schur maps and stands in sharp contrast to the resolution of the asymptotic quantum Birkhoff conjecture by Haagerup and Musat, who demonstrated that tensor powers of some unital quantum channels maintain a persistent positive distance from the set of mixed unitary channels. Remarkably, our results show that this gap vanishes in finite time when considering ordinary powers within a semigroup. Building on this, we define the mixed unitary index of a unital quantum channel as the minimum time (or power) beyond which all subsequent maps become mixed unitary. We demonstrate that for any fixed dimension d≥3d \geq 3d≥3, there is no universal upper bound for this index. Furthermore, we observe that if a continuous semigroup is not mixed unitary at some t>0t > 0t>0, it remains non-mixed unitary for all ttt sufficiently close to the origin. Finally, we investigate quantum dynamical semigroups where mixed unitarity is restricted to specific families, such as Weyl or diagonal unitaries. We show that Schur semigroups of correlation matrices eventually become mixtures of rank-one correlation matrices, and we characterize the generators of Schur semigroups that remain within this set for all t≥0t \geq 0t≥0.