Abstract In a recent work by us Ge et al [Phys. Rev. A 110, L010402 (2024)], we have derived a series of polygon relations of bipartite entanglement measures that is useful to reveal entanglement properties of discrete, continuous, and even hybrid multipartite quantum systems. In this work, with the information-theoretical measures of Rényi and Tsallis entropies, we study the relationship between the polygon relation and the subadditivity of entropy. In particular, the entropy-polygon relations are derived for pure multi-qubit states and then generalized to multi-mode Gaussian states, by utilizing the known results from the quantum marginal problem. Then the equivalence between the polygon relation and subadditivity is established, in the sense that for all discrete or continuous multipartite states, the polygon relation holds if and only if the underlying entropy is subadditive. As a byproduct, the subadditivity of Rényi and Tsallis entropies is proven for all bipartite Gaussian states. Finally, the difference between polygon relations and monogamy relations is clarified, and generalizations of our results are discussed. Our work provides a better understanding of the rich structure of multipartite states, and hence is expected to be helpful for the study of multipartite entanglement.
Abstract In a recent work by us Ge et al [Phys. Rev. A 110, L010402 (2024)], we have derived a series of polygon relations of bipartite entanglement measures that is useful to reveal entanglement properties of discrete, continuous, and even hybrid multipartite quantum systems. In this work, with the information-theoretical measures of Rényi and Tsallis entropies, we study the relationship between the polygon relation and the subadditivity of entropy. In particular, the entropy-polygon relations are derived for pure multi-qubit states and then generalized to multi-mode Gaussian states, by utilizing the known results from the quantum marginal problem. Then the equivalence between the polygon relation and subadditivity is established, in the sense that for all discrete or continuous multipartite states, the polygon relation holds if and only if the underlying entropy is subadditive. As a byproduct, the subadditivity of Rényi and Tsallis entropies is proven for all bipartite Gaussian states. Finally, the difference between polygon relations and monogamy relations is clarified, and generalizations of our results are discussed. Our work provides a better understanding of the rich structure of multipartite states, and hence is expected to be helpful for the study of multipartite entanglement.
Abstract Quantum entanglement and quantum entropy are crucial concepts in the study of multipartite quantum systems. In this work, we show how the notion of concurrence vector, re-expressed in a particularly useful form, provides new insights and computational tools for the analysis of both. In particular, using this approach for a general multipartite pure state, one can easily prove known relations in an easy way and to build up new relations between the concurrences associated with the different bipartitions. The approach is also useful to derive sufficient conditions for genuine entanglement in generic multipartite systems that are computable in polynomial time. From an entropy-of-entanglement perspective, the approach is powerful to prove properties of the Tsallis-2 entropy, such as the subadditivity, and to derive new ones, e.g., a modified version of the strong subadditivity which is always fulfilled; thanks to the purification theorem these results hold for any multipartite state, whether pure or mixed.
The entropy of a quantum state measures the information or uncertainty contained in the quantum system and plays a crucial role in quantum information theory. Many entropic properties, such as the subadditivity, have been studied for the discrete system with a finite-dimensional state space, while much less is explored in the infinite-dimensional system. In this work, we study the entropic properties of the continuous system that models a collection of Gaussian modes or fields. In particular, we identify the parameter range for the Rényi, Tsallis, and Unified entropies of Gaussian states that they are additive, subadditive, and strong subadditive. We show that the Rényi entropies are subadditive, further giving rise to the subadditivity of the Tsallis and Unified entropies in certain parameter range. We also find that the Tsallis and Unified entropies are not strong subadditive, while the Rényi entropies with the order ranging from 1 to 2 are conjectured to admit the strong subadditivity. Our results are useful in studying quantum correlations and channel capacities in Gaussian systems.
Entanglement is an important resource for quantum communication tasks. Most results are focused on qubit entanglement. Our goal in this work is to characterize the multipartite high-dimensional entanglement. We first derive an entanglement polygon inequality for the q concurrence, which manifests the relationship among all the ``one-to-group'' marginal entanglements in any multipartite qudit system. This implies lower and upper bounds for the marginal entanglement of any three-qudit system. We further extend our study to general entanglement distribution inequalities for high-dimensional entanglement in terms of the unified-(r,s) entropy entanglement, including Tsallis entropy, R\'enyi entropy, and von Neumann entropy entanglement as special cases. These results provide insights into characterizing bipartite high-dimensional entanglement in quantum information processing.
Genuine multipartite entanglement (GME) represents the strongest form of quantum correlation, where all parties of a system across each bipartition are inseparably linked. This resource is crucial for advanced quantum protocols, including multi-party cryptography and distributed quantum computing, yet its quantification remains a significant theoretical challenge. This review surveys a rapidly evolving geometric paradigm that translates this challenge into a problem of polygon inequalities. By representing marginal bipartite entanglements as side lengths, the distribution of entanglement in a multipartite state must satisfy geometric closure conditions akin to forming a polygon. These polygon-based constraints provide a unifying framework for detecting and quantifying GME, offering an intuitive bridge between bipartite entanglement measures and global multipartite structure. We chart the development of this approach from its monogamy-based origins to modern formulations using concurrence triangles, wedge products, and entropy-based polygons. Recent advances have established rigorous conditions for these geometric quantities to serve as faithful, operationally meaningful entanglement measures, while also extending the framework to mixed states and higher-dimensional systems. Despite progress, key challenges persist in ensuring universal monotonicity and experimental robustness. By synthesizing these geometric insights, this review highlights how polygon inequalities are reshaping the quantification of complex quantum correlations and providing novel diagnostic tools for the next generation of quantum technologies.
Although many different entanglement measures have been proposed so far, much less is known in the multipartite case, which leads to the previous monogamy relations in the literature being not complete. We establish here a strict framework for defining the multipartite entanglement measure (MEM): apart from the postulates of the bipartite measure, i.e., vanishing on separable measures and nonincreasing under local operations and classical communication, a complete MEM should additionally satisfy the unification condition and the hierarchy condition. We then come up with a complete monogamy formula for the unified MEM (an MEM is called a unified MEM if it satisfies the unification condition) and a tightly complete monogamy relation for the complete MEM (an MEM is called a complete MEM if it satisfies both the unification condition and the hierarchy condition). Consequently, we propose MEMs which are multipartite extensions of entanglement of formation (EoF), concurrence, tangle, Tsallis q entropy of entanglement, R\'enyi $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ entropy of entanglement, the convex-roof extension of negativity, and negativity. We show that (i) the extensions of EoF, concurrence, tangle, and Tsallis q entropy of entanglement are complete MEMs; (ii) multipartite extensions of R\'enyi $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ entropy of entanglement, negativity, and the convex-roof extension of negativity are unified MEMs but not complete MEMs; and (iii) all these multipartite extensions are completely monogamous, and the ones which are defined by the convex-roof structure (except for the R\'enyi $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ entropy of entanglement and the convex-roof extension of negativity) are not only completely monogamous but also tightly completely monogamous. In addition, as a byproduct, we find a class of states that satisfy the additivity of EoF. We also find a class of tripartite states one part of which can be maximally entangled with the other two parts simultaneously according to the definition of mixed maximally entangled state (MMES) in Li et al. [Z. Li, M. Zhao, S. Fei, H. Fan, and W. Liu, Quantum Inf. Comput. 12, 0063 (2012)]. Consequently, we improve the definition of maximally entangled state (MES) and prove that the only MES is the pure MES.
Multipartite entanglement is the premier resource for quantum technologies. Yet, its exact quantification in the laboratory is notoriously challenging, typically requiring the full knowledge of high dimensional quantum states. Here, we construct observable bounds to multipartite entanglement for systems of arbitrary size, which are functions of the local and global state purities, and correlation functions. First, we derive experimentally accessible upper and lower limits to both the bipartite entanglement of formation and the squashed entanglement of bipartite systems, by leveraging cornerstone results of quantum information theory: the entropy strong subadditivity inequality and the Koashi-Winter monogamy relation. Then, we convert them into bounds to the entanglement up to degree k for arbitrary states, and to the genuine k-partite entanglement, by employing a recently proposed method. Finally, we analytically and numerically test these results, by bounding the multipartite entanglement of several relevant states and mixtures, including the important classes of GHZ, Dicke, W states, and random pure states.