We consider both known and not previously studied trace functions with applications in quantum physics. By using perspectives we obtain convexity statements for different notions of residual entropy, including the entropy gain of a quantum channel as studied by Holevo and others. We give new and simplified proofs of the Carlen-Lieb theorems concerning concavity or convexity of certain trace functions by making use of the theory of operator monotone functions. We then apply these methods in a study of new types of trace functions. Keywords: Trace function, convexity, entropy gain, residual entropy, operator monotone function.
Abstract Very recently, Karder and Petek completely described maps on density matrices (positive semidefinite matrices with unit trace) preserving certain entropy-like convex functionals of any convex combination. As a result, maps could be characterized that preserve von Neumann entropy or Schatten
p -norm of any convex combination of quantum states (whose mathematical representatives are the density matrices). In this note we consider these latter two problems on the set of invertible density operators, in a much more general setting, on the set of positive invertible elements with unit trace in a
C∗ -algebra.