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arXiv:2312.04456 · Physical Review Research

Reversible entanglement beyond quantum operations

Yu-Ao Chen, Xin Wang, Lei Zhang, Chenghong Zhu

Published Mar 21, 2025• 3 citations
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Abstract

We introduce a reversible theory of exact entanglement manipulation by establishing a necessary and sufficient condition for state transfer under trace-preserving transformations that completely preserve the positivity of partial transpose (PPT). Under these free transformations, we show that logarithmic negativity emerges as the pivotal entanglement measure for determining entangled states' transformations, analogous to the role of entropy in the second law of thermodynamics. Previous results proved that entanglement is irreversible under quantum operations that completely preserve PPT and under all nonentangling transformations. In this work, we find that going beyond the complete positivity constraint imposed by standard quantum mechanics enables a reversible theory of exact entanglement manipulation, which may suggest a potential incompatibility between the reversibility of entanglement and the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics.

DOI
10.1103/physrevresearch.7.013297

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We introduce a reversible theory of exact entanglement manipulation by establishing a necessary and sufficient condition for state transfer under trace-preserving transformations that completely preserve the positivity of partial transpose (PPT). Under these free transformations, we show that logarithmic negativity emerges as the pivotal entanglement measure for determining entangled states' transformations, analogous to the role of entropy in the second law of thermodynamics. Previous results proved that entanglement is irreversible under quantum operations that completely preserve PPT and under all nonentangling transformations. In this work, we find that going beyond the complete positivity constraint imposed by standard quantum mechanics enables a reversible theory of exact entanglement manipulation, which may suggest a potential incompatibility between the reversibility of entanglement and the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics.
We demonstrate the irreversibility of asymptotic entanglement manipulation under quantum operations that completely preserve the positivity of partial transpose (PPT), resolving a major open problem in quantum information theory. Our key tool is a new efficiently computable additive lower bound for the asymptotic relative entropy of entanglement with respect to PPT states, which can be used to evaluate the entanglement cost under local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We find that for any rank-two mixed state supporting on the 3⊗3 antisymmetric subspace, the amount of distillable entanglement by PPT operations is strictly smaller than one entanglement bit (ebit) while its entanglement cost under PPT operations is exactly one ebit. As a by-product, we find that for this class of states, both the Rains's bound and its regularization are strictly less than the asymptotic relative entropy of entanglement. So, in general, there is no unique entanglement measure for the manipulation of entanglement by PPT operations. We further show a computable sufficient condition for the irreversibility of entanglement distillation by LOCC (or PPT) operations.
We study the entanglement cost under quantum operations preserving the positivity of the partial transpose (PPT operations). We demonstrate that this cost is directly related to the logarithmic negativity, thereby providing the operational interpretation for this entanglement measure. As examples we discuss general Werner states and arbitrary bipartite Gaussian states. Then we prove that for the antisymmetric Werner state PPT cost and PPT entanglement of distillation coincide. This is the first example of a truly mixed state for which entanglement manipulation is asymptotically reversible, which points towards a unique entanglement measure under PPT operations.
Quantum entanglement plays a leading role in modern understanding of physical systems, from quantum phases of matter to quantum gravity. In quantum information theory, one seeks operationally meaningful quantifiers of entanglement, which for large quantum systems are notoriously difficult to evaluate due to the lack of computationally efficient algorithms. In this Letter, we show that for large random induced mixed states the logarithmic negativity, an efficiently computable entanglement measure, generically coincides with the exact entanglement cost under positive-partial-transpose-preserving operations, thereby acquiring a precise operational interpretation. Our results establish logarithmic negativity as an exact characterization of entanglement in generic many-body states and provide a tractable route for quantifying entanglement in complex quantum systems.
Abstract Many fruitful analogies have emerged between the theories of quantum entanglement and thermodynamics, motivating the pursuit of an axiomatic description of entanglement akin to the laws of thermodynamics. A long-standing open problem has been to establish a true second law of entanglement, and in particular a unique function that governs all transformations between entangled systems, mirroring the role of entropy in thermodynamics. Contrary to previous promising evidence, here we show that this is impossible and that no direct counterpart to the second law of thermodynamics can be established. This is accomplished by demonstrating the irreversibility of entanglement theory from first principles. Assuming only the most general microscopic physical constraints of entanglement manipulation, we show that entanglement theory is irreversible under all non-entangling transformations. We furthermore rule out reversibility without significant entanglement expenditure, showing that reversible entanglement transformations require the generation of macroscopically large amounts of entanglement according to certain measures. Our results not only reveal fundamental differences between quantum entanglement transformations and thermodynamic processes, but also showcase a unique property of entanglement that distinguishes it from other known quantum resources.
We first study the reversibility for a class of states under the operations which completely preserve the positivity of partial transpose (PPT) and show that the entanglement cost is equal to the distillable entanglement for a rank-two mixed state on the 4⊗4 antisymmetric subspace under PPT operations. By using a similar method in finding the irreversibility, we also find that the value of a new efficiently computable additive lower bound E η ( ρ ) for the asymptotic PPT-relative entropy of entanglement presented in [ Phys. Rev. Lett. 119 , 180506 (2017)] is equal to the regularized Rains’ bound and an upper bound E N ( ρ ) for distillable entanglement for these states. Furthermore, we find states on the symmetric subspace satisfying the relation mentioned above, generalize the antisymmetric states and symmetric states in higher dimensions, and give a specific value for distillable entanglement and entanglement cost for these states under the PPT operations.
Quantifying the minimum entanglement needed to prepare quantum states and implement quantum processes is a key challenge in quantum information theory. In this Letter, we develop computable and faithful lower bounds on the entanglement cost under quantum operations that completely preserve the positivity of partial transpose (PPT operations), by introducing the generalized divergence of k-negativity, a generalization of logarithmic negativity. Our bounds are efficiently computable via semidefinite programming and provide nontrivial values for all states that are non-PPT (NPT), establishing their faithfulness for the resource theory of NPT entanglement. Notably, we find and affirm the irreversibility of asymptotic entanglement manipulation under PPT operations for full-rank entangled states. Furthermore, we extend our methodology to derive lower bounds on the entanglement cost of both point-to-point and bipartite quantum channels. Our bound demonstrates improvements over previously known computable bounds for a wide range of quantum states and channels. These findings push the boundaries of understanding the structure of entanglement and the fundamental limits of entanglement manipulation.