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arXiv:2603.17844

Uncertainty equality for SU(N) observables enabling the experimentally friendly detection of k-inseparability via purity measurements

G. Tartaglione, G. Zanfardino, F. Illuminati

quant-phSubmitted Mar 18, 2026• Announced Mar 19, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

We derive an exact uncertainty relation for arbitrary quantum states of finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. For any given $k$-partition of a $d$-dimensional multipartite system, we introduce the total uncertainty as the sum of the uncertainties associated with all possible tensor products of local $\mathrm{SU}(N)$ observables, where each observable acts on the corresponding subsystem. We show that the total uncertainty exactly equals the algebraic sum of the global state purity and the purities of all possible state reductions. For systems containing at least one single-qubit subsystem, this equality implies saturation of the Robertson-Schrödinger uncertainty inequality, with the missing term needed for saturation equal to the bipartite qubit-environment entanglement for a pure global state, or to the qubit two-Rényi entropy for a mixed global state. Leveraging on these results, we show how for any finite-dimensional multipartite system the Hilbert-Schmidt squared norm of the correlation matrix $t$ can be expressed exclusively in terms of the global and reduced state purities. We then derive a correlation matrix-based necessary condition for $k$-separability of arbitrary finite-dimensional quantum states and show, in the case of $n$ qubits, how it is related to a necessary criterion for Bell nonlocality in scenarios with two dichotomic measurements per party. For sufficiently large systems the purity-based formulation of the $k$-separability criterion always yields an exponential advantage over the direct evaluation of the $t$-matrix norm, allowing for a more efficient practical verification of multipartite entanglement and nonlocality via simple experimental schemes based on purity measurements. Our results shed some further light on the intimate and intricate relation between correlations, entropies, uncertainties, and the entanglement certification and detection problem.

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We derive an exact uncertainty relation for arbitrary quantum states of finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces. For any given kkk-partition of a ddd-dimensional multipartite system, we introduce the total uncertainty as the sum of the uncertainties associated with all possible tensor products of local SU(N)\mathrm{SU}(N)SU(N) observables, where each observable acts on the corresponding subsystem. We show that the total uncertainty exactly equals the algebraic sum of the global state purity and the purities of all possible state reductions. For systems containing at least one single-qubit subsystem, this equality implies saturation of the Robertson-Schrödinger uncertainty inequality, with the missing term needed for saturation equal to the bipartite qubit-environment entanglement for a pure global state, or to the qubit two-Rényi entropy for a mixed global state. Leveraging on these results, we show how for any finite-dimensional multipartite system the Hilbert-Schmidt squared norm of the correlation matrix ttt can be expressed exclusively in terms of the global and reduced state purities. We then derive a correlation matrix-based necessary condition for kkk-separability of arbitrary finite-dimensional quantum states and show, in the case of nnn qubits, how it is related to a necessary criterion for Bell nonlocality in scenarios with two dichotomic measurements per party. For sufficiently large systems the purity-based formulation of the kkk-separability criterion always yields an exponential advantage over the direct evaluation of the ttt-matrix norm, allowing for a more efficient practical verification of multipartite entanglement and nonlocality via simple experimental schemes based on purity measurements. Our results shed some further light on the intimate and intricate relation between correlations, entropies, uncertainties, and the entanglement certification and detection problem.
We formulate an entanglement criterion using Peres-Horodecki positive partial transpose operations combined with the Schr\"odinger-Robertson uncertainty relation. We show that any pure entangled bipartite and tripartite state can be detected by experimentally measuring mean values and variances of specific observables. Those observables must satisfy a specific condition in order to be used, and we show their general form in the $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ (two qubits) dimension case. The criterion is applied on a variety of physical systems including bipartite and multipartite mixed states and reveals itself to be stronger than the Bell inequalities and other criteria. The criterion also work on continuous variable cat states and angular momentum states of the radiation field.
We derive a family of necessary separability criteria for finite-dimensional systems based on inequalities for variances of observables. We show that every pure bipartite entangled state violates some of these inequalities. Furthermore, a family of bound entangled states and true multipartite entangled states can be detected. The inequalities also allow us to distinguish between different classes of true tripartite entanglement for qubits. We formulate an equivalent criterion in terms of covariance matrices. This allows us to apply criteria known from the regime of continuous variables to finite-dimensional systems.
This thesis deals with methods of the detection of entanglement.After recalling some facts and definitions concerning entanglement and separability, we investigate two methods of the detection of entanglement.In the first part of this thesis we consider so-called entanglement witnesses, mainly in view of the detection of multipartite entanglement.Entanglement witnesses are observables for which a negative expectation value indicates entanglement.We first present a simple method to construct these witnesses.Since witnesses are nonlocal observables, they are not easy to measure in a real experiment.However, as we will show, one can circumvent this problem by decomposing the witness into several local observables which can be measured separately.We calculate the local decompositions for several interesting witnesses for two, three and four qubits.Local decompositions can be optimized in the number of measurement settings which are needed for an experimental implementation.We present a method to prove that a given local decomposition is optimal and discuss with this the optimality of our decompositions.Then we present another method of designing witnesses which are by construction measurable with local measurements.Finally, we shortly report on experiments where some of the witnesses derived in this part have been used to detect three-and four-partite entanglement of polarized photons.The second part of this thesis deals with separability criteria which are written in terms of uncertainty relations.There are two different formulations of uncertainty relations since one can measure the uncertainty of an observable by its variance as well as by entropic quantities.We show that both formulations are useful tools for the derivation of separability criteria for finite-dimensional systems and investigate the resulting criteria.Our results in this part exhibit also some more fundamental properties of entanglement: We show how known separability criteria for infinitedimensional systems can be translated to finite-dimensional systems.Furthermore, we prove that any entropic uncertainty relation on one part of the system gives rise to a separability criterion on the composite system.
After introducing the partially separable concept, we proved the equivalence between the partial separability of a given mmm-partite subsystem with mmm qubits and the purity of states of this mmm-partite subsystem for a pure state in multipartite systems with arbitrary finite n(>m)n(>m)n(>m) qubits. Furthermore, we give out the operational realizations (corollaries) of our theorem, which are the sufficient and necessary criterions of partial separability of states and can be used to classification of states. Our results are helpful to understand and describe quantum entanglement in multipartite systems.
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A conceptually simpler proof of the separability criterion for two-qubit systems, which is referred to as “Hefei inequality” in literature, is presented. This inequality gives a necessary and sufficient separability criterion for any mixed two-qubit system unlike the Bell-CHSH inequality that cannot test the mixed-states such as the Werner state when regarded as a separability criterion. The original derivation of this inequality emphasized the uncertainty relation of complementary observables, but we show that the uncertainty relation does not play any role in the actual derivation and the Peres–Hodrodecki condition is solely responsible for the inequality. Our derivation, which contains technically novel aspects such as an analogy to the Dirac equation, sheds light on this inequality and on the fundamental issue to what extent the uncertainty relation can provide a test of entanglement. This separability criterion is illustrated for an exact treatment of the Werner state.