Permutation-symmetric n qubit pure states can be represented by n points on the surface of the unit sphere by means of the Majorana representation. Here this representation is employed to characterize and compare the three entanglement classification schemes LOCC, SLOCC and the Degeneracy Configuration. Symmetric SLOCC operations are found to be described by Mobius transformations, and an intuitive visualization of their freedoms is presented. For symmetric states of up to 5 qubits explicit forms of representative states for all SLOCC classes are derived. The symmetric 4 qubit entanglement classes are compared to the entanglement families introduced in [PRA 65, 052112 (2002)], and examples are given how the SLOCC-inequivalence of symmetric states can be quickly determined from known results about Mobius transformations.
Quantum steering ellipsoid formalism provides a faithful representation of all two-qubit states and is useful for obtaining their correlation properties. The steering ellipsoids of two-qubit states that have undergone local operations on both the qubits, in order to bring the state to its canonical form, are the so-called canonical steering ellipsoids. The steering ellipsoids corresponding to the two-qubit subsystems of permutation-symmetric
N-qubit states are considered here. We construct and analyze the geometric features of the canonical steering ellipsoids corresponding to pure permutation-symmetric
N-qubit states with two distinct spinors. Depending on the degeneracy of the two spinors in the pure symmetric
N-qubit state, several families arise which cannot be converted into one another through stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC). The canonical steering ellipsoids of the two-qubit states drawn from the pure symmetric
N-qubit states with two distinct spinors allow for a geometric visualization of the SLOCC-equivalent class of states. We show that the states belonging to the
W class correspond to oblate spheroids centered at $(0,0,1/(N\ensuremath{-}1))$ with fixed semiaxis lengths $1/\sqrt{N\ensuremath{-}1}$ and $1/(N\ensuremath{-}1)$. The states belonging to all other SLOCC-inequivalent families correspond to ellipsoids centered at the origin of the Bloch sphere. We also explore volume monogamy relations of states belonging to these families, mainly the
W class of states.
Quantum states that are symmetric with respect to permutations of their subsystems appear in a wide range of physical settings, and they have a variety of promising applications in quantum information science. In this thesis, the entanglement of symmetric multipartite states is categorized, with a particular focus on the pure multi-qubit case and the geometric measure of entanglement. An essential tool for this analysis is the Majorana representation, a generalization of the single-qubit Bloch sphere representation, which allows for a unique representation of symmetric n-qubit states by n points on the surface of a sphere. Here this representation is employed to search for the maximally entangled symmetric states of up to 12 qubits in terms of the geometric measure, and an intuitive visual understanding of the upper bound on the maximal symmetric entanglement is given. Furthermore, it will be seen that the Majorana representation facilitates the characterization of entanglement equivalence classes such as stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC) and the degeneracy configuration (DC). It is found that SLOCC operations between symmetric states can be described by the Möbius transformations of complex analysis, which allows for a clear visualization of the SLOCC freedoms and facilitates the understanding of SLOCC invariants and equivalence classes. In particular, explicit forms of representative states for all symmetric SLOCC classes of up to five qubits are derived. Well-known entanglement classification schemes such as the four qubit entanglement families or polynomial invariants are reviewed in the light of the results gathered here, which leads to sometimes surprising connections. Some interesting links and applications of the Majorana representation to related fields of mathematics and physics are also discussed.