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arXiv:2503.04605 · Physical Review A

Conclusive exclusion of quantum states with group action

Hongshun Yao, Xin Wang

Published Nov 14, 2025• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Retrieving classical information from quantum systems is central to quantum information processing. As a more general task than quantum state discrimination, which focuses on identifying the exact state, quantum state exclusion only requires ruling out options, revealing fundamental limits of information extraction from quantum systems. In this work, we study the conclusive exclusion of quantum states generated by group actions, establishing explicit criteria for when such exclusion is possible. For systems with complex symmetries, including finite and compact Lie groups, we derive a sufficient condition for conclusive exclusion based on the initial state's amplitudes and the group's structure. As applications to special groups such as Abelian groups, we establish necessary and sufficient conditions for conclusive state exclusion and generalize the Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph result to a wider range of scenarios. Finally, we explore zero-error communication via conclusive exclusion of quantum states and derive a lower bound on the feedback-assisted and non-signalling-assisted zero-error capacity of classical-quantum channels generated by group actions.

DOI
10.1103/bxn4-4v6p

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Retrieving classical information from quantum systems is central to quantum information processing. As a more general task than quantum state discrimination, which focuses on identifying the exact state, quantum state exclusion only requires ruling out options, revealing fundamental limits of information extraction from quantum systems. In this work, we study the conclusive exclusion of quantum states generated by group actions, establishing explicit criteria for when such exclusion is possible. For systems with complex symmetries, including finite and compact Lie groups, we derive a sufficient condition for conclusive exclusion based on the initial state's amplitudes and the group's structure. As applications to special groups such as Abelian groups, we establish necessary and sufficient conditions for conclusive state exclusion and generalize the Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph result to a wider range of scenarios. Finally, we explore zero-error communication via conclusive exclusion of quantum states and derive a lower bound on the feedback-assisted and non-signalling-assisted zero-error capacity of classical-quantum channels generated by group actions.
In the task of quantum state exclusion, we consider a quantum system prepared in a state chosen from a known set. The aim is to perform a measurement on the system which can conclusively rule that a subset of the possible preparation procedures cannot have taken place. We ask what conditions the set of states must obey in order for this to be possible and how well we can complete the task when it is not. The task of quantum state discrimination forms a subclass of this set of problems. Within this paper, we formulate the general problem as a semidefinite program (SDP), enabling us to derive sufficient and necessary conditions for a measurement to be optimal. Furthermore, we obtain a necessary condition on the set of states for exclusion to be achievable with certainty, and we give a construction for a lower bound on the probability of error. This task of conclusively excluding states has gained importance in the context of the foundations of quantum mechanics due to a result from Pusey, Barrett, and Rudolph (PBR). Motivated by this, we use our SDP to derive a bound on how well a class of hidden variable models can perform at a particular task, proving an analog of Tsirelson's bound for the PBR experiment and the optimality of a measurement given by PBR in the process. We also introduce variations of conclusive exclusion, including unambiguous state exclusion, and state exclusion with worst-case error.
Quantum state exclusion is the task of determining which states from a given set a system was not prepared in. We provide a complete solution to optimal quantum state exclusion for arbitrary sets of pure states generated by finite groups, establishing necessary and sufficient conditions for perfect (zero-error conclusive) exclusion. When perfect exclusion is impossible, we introduce two natural extensions: minimum-error and unambiguous exclusion. For both, we derive the optimal protocols and present analytical expressions for the corresponding failure probabilities and measurements, providing additional insight into how quantum states encode information.
The task of conclusive exclusion for a set of quantum states is to find a measurement such that for each state in the set, there is an outcome that allows one to conclude with certainty that the state in question was not prepared. Defining classicality of statistics as realizability by a generalized-noncontextual ontological model, we show that there is a quantum-over-classical advantage for how well one can achieve conclusive exclusion. This is achieved in an experimental scenario motivated by the construction appearing in the Pusey-Barrett-Rudolph theorem. We derive noise-robust noncontextuality inequalities bounding the conclusiveness of exclusion, and describe a quantum violation of these. Finally, we show that this bound also constitutes a classical causal compatibility inequality within the bilocality scenario, and that its violation in quantum theory yields a novel possibilistic proof of a quantum-classical gap in that scenario.
Part 1: Why can we not distinguish between pure, non-orthogonal quantum states? Regarding the quantum state as a state of knowledge rather than something physically real, has the potential to answer this question and explain other quantum properties but such interpretations have recently been undermined. This important no-go result, due to Pusey, Barrett and Rudolph, makes use of a specific example of a task we term state exclusion. Here, a system is prepared in a state chosen from a known set and the aim is to determine a preparation that has not taken place. We formulate state exclusion as a semidefinite program, using it to investigate when exclusion is conclusively possible and how it can be achieved. Based on state exclusion, we construct a communication task which exhibits drastic, `infinite', separations between a variety of classical and quantum information and communication complexity measures. This serves to requisition the aforementioned foundational result for use in information theoretic protocols. Part 2: What does thermodynamics look like in the absence of the thermodynamic limit? In recent years there has been a concerted effort to apply techniques from quantum information theory to study the laws of thermodynamics at the nano-scale. This has led to the resource theory of thermal operations for determining when single-copy transformations are possible. However, if a deterministic transition is forbidden, can it occur probabilistically? Here we compute and bound the maximum probability with which nano-scale thermodynamical transformations can occur. Thermal operations assume that one can precisely manipulate all of the degrees of freedom in a very large heat bath. While this enables the derivation of ultimate limits on nano-scale thermodynamics, it does not make them feasible to perform in reality. We show how allowed transitions can be implemented whilst manipulating only a single bath-qubit, making thermal operations more experimentally palatable.
Abstract We develop the theory of quantum (a.k.a. noncommutative) relations and quantum (a.k.a. noncommutative) graphs in the finite-dimensional covariant setting, where all systems (finite-dimensional C∗C^*C∗ C ∗ -algebras) carry an action of a compact quantum group G , and all channels (completely positive maps preserving a certain G -invariant functional) are covariant with respect to the G -actions. We motivate our definitions by applications to zero-error quantum communication theory with a symmetry constraint. Some key results are the following: (1) We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a covariant quantum relation to be the underlying relation of a covariant channel. (2) We show that every quantum confusability graph with a G -action (which we call a quantum G -graph) arises as the confusability graph of a covariant channel. (3) We show that a covariant channel is reversible precisely when its confusability G -graph is discrete. (4) When G is quasitriangular (this includes all compact groups), we show that covariant zero-error source-channel coding schemes are classified by covariant homomorphisms between confusability G -graphs.
Quantum state exclusion is the task of identifying at least one state from a known set that was not used in the preparation of a quantum system. A set of quantum states is said to admit state exclusion if there exists a measurement whose outcomes can be put in one-to-one correspondence with the states in the set, such that each outcome rules out its corresponding state with certainty (while possibly also ruling out other states), and each outcome occurs with nonzero probability for at least one state in the set. State exclusion, however, is not always possible in the single-copy setting. In this paper, we investigate whether access to multiple identical copies of the system enables state exclusion. We prove that for any set of three or more pure states, state exclusion becomes possible with a finite number of copies. Moreover, we show that the number of copies required may be arbitrarily large: in particular, for every natural number NNN, we construct sets of states for which state exclusion remains impossible with NNN or fewer copies.