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arXiv:2302.13148 · Physical Review A

Quantum coherence between subspaces: State transformation, cohering power, k coherence, and other properties

Azam Mani, F. Rezazadeh, Vahid Karimipour

Published Jan 30, 2024• 4 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The concept of block coherence encompasses the case where experimental capabilities are not so delicate to perform arbitrary refined measurements on individual atoms. We develop a framework which facilitates further investigation of this resource theory in several respects. Using this framework, we investigate the problem of state conversion by incoherent operations and show that a majorization condition is the necessary and sufficient condition for state transformation by block-incoherent operations. We also determine the form of the maximally coherent state from which all other states and all unitary gates can be constructed by incoherent operations. Thereafter, we define the concept of block-cohering and block-decohering powers of quantum channels and determine these powers for several types of channels. Finally, we explore the relation between block coherence and a previous extension of coherence, known as $k$ coherence.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.109.012435

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The coherence power of a quantum channel, that is, its ability to increase the coherence of input states, is a fundamental concept within the framework of the resource theory of coherence. In this note we discuss various possible definitions of coherence power. Then we prove that the coherence power of a unitary operator acting on a qubit, computed with respect to the l1l_1l1​-coherence measure, can be calculated by maximizing its coherence gain over pure incoherent states. We proceed to show that this result fails for dimensions N>2, that is, the maximal coherence gain is found when acting on a state with non-vanishing coherence.
Block coherence provides a natural generalization of standard quantum coherence by treating superpositions across different subspaces as a resource. This work studies deterministic pure-state conversion under three free operations: physically block incoherent operations (PBIO), strictly block incoherent operations (SBIO), and block dephasing covariant incoherent operations (BDCO). For PBIO, we prove that, under a natural nondegeneracy condition on the active Kraus branches, any deterministic conversion from one pure state to another must be implemented by a block incoherent unitary. When the nondegeneracy requirement is removed, the condition becomes more general. It demands that the blockwise action of every active branch reproduce the target block structure with a common proportionality factor across all output blocks. For SBIO and BDCO, we show that deterministic pure-state transformation is completely characterized by the majorization relation between the input and output block probability vectors. The converse proof is constructive, yielding an explicit Kraus representation for every admissible BDCO transformation. In the rank-one limit, these conditions reduce to the known pure-state transformation criteria for physically incoherent operations (PIO), strictly incoherent operations (SIO), and dephasing covariant incoherent operations (DIO) in the standard resource theory of coherence. Using the majorization condition, a maximally block-coherent state with uniform block weights is also identified as a universal pure-state resource under BDCO and SBIO. We have also provided geometric numerical illustrations comparing the state transformation power of BDCO and DIO for a fixed input state, fixed output state and mutual convertibility scenarios.
The coherence power of a quantum channel, that is, its maximum ability to increase the coherence of input states, is a fundamental concept within the framework of the resource theory of coherence. In this note we discuss various possible definitions of coherence power and coherence rate and their basic properties. Then we prove that the coherence power of a unitary operator acting on a qubit, computed with respect to the l1-coherence measure, can be calculated by maximizing its coherence gain over pure incoherent states. We proceed to show that this result fails in the general case, that is, the maximal coherence gain is found when acting on a state with non-vanishing coherence in the case of the l1-coherence and dimension N > 2, the relative entropy of coherence and the geometric measure of coherence.
In this paper we study how the coherence of a superposition of pure states is related with the coherence of its components. We consider two pure initial states and two pure final coherent states, such that the former ones cannot be transformed into the latter ones by means of incoherent transformations. In this situation, we analyze conditions for the existence of superpositions of the initial states that can be transformed into superpositions of the final states. In particular, we consider superpositions formed by quantum states belonging to orthogonal subspaces. By appealing to the majorization theory, we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for such transformations to be possible. Finally, we provide some examples that illustrate the difference between the obtained conditions and the necessary criterion based on the relative entropy of coherence.
Abstract State convertibility is fundamental in the study of resource theory of quantum coherence. It is aimed at identifying when it is possible to convert a given coherent state to another using only incoherent operations. In this paper, we give a complete characterization of state convertibility under genuinely incoherent operations. It is found that convexity of the robustness of coherence plays a central role. Based on this, the majorization condition of determining convertibility from pure states to mixed states under strictly incoherent operations is provided. Moreover, maximally coherent states in the set of all states with fixed diagonal elements are determined. It is somewhat surprising that convexity of the robustness of coherence can also decide conversion between off-diagonal parts of coherent states. This might be a big step to answer completely the question of state convertibility for mixed states under incoherent operations.
We generalize the recently proposed resource theory of coherence (or superposition) [T. Baumgratz et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 140401 (2014); A. Winter and D. Yang, Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 120404 (2016)] to the setting where not just the free (``incoherent'') resources, but also the manipulated objects, are quantum operations rather than states. In particular, we discuss an information theoretic notion of the coherence capacity of a quantum channel and prove a single-letter formula for it in the case of unitaries. Then we move to the coherence cost of simulating a channel and prove achievability results for unitaries and general channels acting on a ddd-dimensional system; we show that a maximally coherent state of rank ddd is always sufficient as a resource if incoherent operations are allowed, and one of rank d2{d}^{2}d2 for ``strictly incoherent'' operations. We also show lower bounds on the simulation cost of channels that allow us to conclude that there exists bound coherence in operations, i.e., maps with nonzero cost of implementing them but zero coherence capacity; this is in contrast to states, which do not exhibit bound coherence.