Quantum steering is a crucial quantum resource that lies intermediate between entanglement and Bell nonlocality. Gaussian channels, meanwhile, play a foundational role in diverse quantum protocols, secure communication, and related fields. In this paper, we focus on several classes of Gaussian channels associated with quantum steering: Gaussian steering-annihilating channels, Gaussian steering-breaking channels, Gaussian unsteerable channels, and maximal Gaussian unsteerable channels. We give the concepts of these channels, derive the necessary and sufficient conditions for a Gaussian channel to belong to each class, and explore the intrinsic relationships among them. Additionally, since quantifying the steering capability of Gaussian channels in continuous-variable systems requires an understanding of the structure of free superchannels, we also provide a detailed characterization of Gaussian unsteerable superchannels and maximal Gaussian unsteerable superchannels.
The current quantum resource theory for Gaussian steering in continuous-variable systems is flawed and incomplete. Its primary shortcoming stems from an inadequate comprehension of the architecture of Gaussian channels transforming Gaussian unsteerable states into Gaussian unsteerable states, resulting in a restricted selection of free operations. In the present paper we explore in depth the structure of such
(m+n)-mode Gaussian channels and introduce a class of Gaussian unsteerable channels and a class of maximal Gaussian unsteerable channels, both of which may be chosen as free operations, which completes the resource theory for Gaussian steering from
A to
B by using Alice's Gaussian measurements. We also propose two quantifications
Jj (
j=1,2) of
(m+n)-mode Gaussian steering from
A to
B. The computation of the value of
Jj is straightforward and efficient, as it relies solely on the covariance matrices of Gaussian states, eliminating the need for any optimization procedures. Though the
Jj are not genuine Gaussian steering measures, they have some nice properties such as being nonincreasing under certain Gaussian unsteerable channels. Additionally, we compare
J2 with the Gaussian steering measure
N3, which is based on the Uhlmann fidelity, revealing that
J2 is an upper bound of
N3 for a certain class of
(1+1)-mode Gaussian pure states. As an illustration, we apply
J2 to discuss the behavior of Gaussian steering for a special class of
(1+1)-mode Gaussian states in Markovian environments, which uncovers the intriguing phenomenon of rapid decay in quantum steering.
The term Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering refers to a quantum correlation intermediate between entanglement and Bell nonlocality, which has been connected to another fundamental quantum property: measurement incompatibility. In the finite-dimensional case, efficient computational methods to quantify steerability have been developed. In the infinite-dimensional case, however, less theoretical tools are available. Here, we approach the problem of steerability in the continuous variable case via a notion of state-channel correspondence, which generalizes the well-known Choi-Jamio\l{}kowski correspondence. Via our approach we are able to generalize the connection between steering and incompatibility to the continuous variable case and to connect the steerability of a state with the incompatibility breaking property of a quantum channel, with applications to noisy NOON states and amplitude damping channels. Moreover, we apply our methods to the Gaussian steering setting, proving, among other things, that canonical quadratures are sufficient for steering Gaussian states.
Abstract Non-Gaussian quantum states are a known necessary resource for reaching a quantum advantage and for violating Bell inequalities in continuous variable systems. As one kind of manifestation of quantum correlations, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen steering enables verification of shared entanglement even when one of the subsystems is not characterized. However, how to detect and classify such an effect for non-Gaussian states is far from being well understood. Here, we present an efficient non-Gaussian steering criterion based on the high-order observables and conduct a systematic investigation into the hierarchy of non-Gaussian steering criteria. Moreover, we apply our criterion to three experimentally-relevant non-Gaussian states under realistic conditions and, in particular, propose a feasible scheme to create multi-component cat states with tunable size by performing a suitable high-order quadrature measurement on the steering party. Our work reveals the fundamental characteristics of non-Gaussianity and quantum correlations, and offers new insights to explore their applications in quantum information processing.
Quantum steering, also called Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen steering, is the intriguing phenomenon associated with the ability of spatially separated observers to steer---by means of local measurements---the set of conditional quantum states accessible by a distant party. In the light of quantum information, all steerable quantum states are known to be resources for quantum information processing tasks. Here, via a quantity dubbed steering fraction, we derive a simple, but general criterion that allows one to identify quantum states that can exhibit quantum steering (without having to optimize over the measurements performed by each party), thus making an important step towards the characterization of steerable quantum states. The criterion, in turn, also provides upper bounds on the largest steering-inequality violation achievable by arbitrary finite-dimensional maximally entangled states. For the quantification of steerability, we prove that a strengthened version of the steering fraction is a convex steering monotone and demonstrate how it is related to two other steering monotones, namely, steerable weight and steering robustness. Using these tools, we further demonstrate the superactivation of steerability for a well-known family of entangled quantum states, i.e., we show how the steerability of certain entangled, but unsteerable quantum states can be recovered by allowing joint measurements on multiple copies of the same state. In particular, our approach allows one to explicitly construct a steering inequality to manifest this phenomenon. Finally, we prove that there exist examples of quantum states (including some which are unsteerable under projective measurements) whose steering-inequality violation can be arbitrarily amplified by allowing joint measurements on as little as three copies of the same state. For completeness, we also demonstrate how the largest steering-inequality violation can be used to bound the largest Bell-inequality violation and derive, analogously, a simple sufficient condition for Bell nonlocality from the latter.
Using Venn diagrams, we classify the different types of two-mode Gaussian continuous variable quantum correlation including directional entanglement and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering. We establish unified signatures for one- and two-way quantum steering, entanglement, and discord beyond entanglement in terms of an EPR-type variance. By focusing on Gaussian states, we link an optimized condition for entanglement based on an EPR variance to the Simon-Peres condition. This allows us to quantify the asymmetry of the Gaussian entanglement, and to relate the asymmetry to a directional quantum teleportation protocol where Alice and Bob possess asymmetrically noisy channels. Our analysis enables a determination of the type and direction of quantum correlation in a way that is easily measured in experiment. We also find that for symmetric states, when discord exceeds a certain threshold, the states are necessarily steerable.
We characterise Gaussian quantum channels that are Gaussian incompatibility breaking, that is, transform every set of Gaussian measurements into a set obtainable from a joint Gaussian observable via Gaussian postprocessing. Such channels represent local noise which renders measurements useless for Gaussian EPR-steering, providing the appropriate generalisation of entanglement breaking channels for this scenario. Understanding the structure of Gaussian incompatibility breaking channels contributes to the resource theory of noisy continuous variable quantum information protocols.