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arXiv:2605.29436

Total, quantum, and classical measures of anticoherence for mixed spin states

Jérôme Denis, Tara Lacaille, John Martin, Eduardo Serrano-Ensástiga

quant-phSubmitted May 28, 2026• Announced May 29, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Anticoherent spin states have isotropic low-order spin moments and are relevant to direction-independent metrology and quantum reference-frame alignment. In contrast to pure states, for mixed states such isotropy may originate either from genuine quantum correlations or from classical statistical mixing. We introduce an axiomatic framework for mixed-state $t$-anticoherence based on the symmetric qubit embedding. We distinguish total $t$-anticoherence, non-decreasing under SU(2)-covariant channels, from quantum $t$-anticoherence, defined as a resource monotone relative to a chosen total measure and constrained to coincide with it on pure states. This yields a classical contribution as their difference. We construct total measures based on reduced-state purity, Hilbert-Schmidt distance, and cumulative multipoles, and we discuss fidelity-based total candidates. We construct quantum counterparts via convex-roof extensions of pure-state functionals tied to bipartite entanglement in the symmetric sector. We provide explicit mixed-state examples, identify states with maximal quantum anticoherence supported on anticoherent subspaces, study robustness under particle loss for different types of states, and characterize the trade-off between purity and the maximal achievable anticoherence order.

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19 pages, 3 figures, 1 table

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Anticoherent spin states have isotropic low-order spin moments and are relevant to direction-independent metrology and quantum reference-frame alignment. In contrast to pure states, for mixed states such isotropy may originate either from genuine quantum correlations or from classical statistical mixing. We introduce an axiomatic framework for mixed-state ttt-anticoherence based on the symmetric qubit embedding. We distinguish total ttt-anticoherence, non-decreasing under SU(2)-covariant channels, from quantum ttt-anticoherence, defined as a resource monotone relative to a chosen total measure and constrained to coincide with it on pure states. This yields a classical contribution as their difference. We construct total measures based on reduced-state purity, Hilbert-Schmidt distance, and cumulative multipoles, and we discuss fidelity-based total candidates. We construct quantum counterparts via convex-roof extensions of pure-state functionals tied to bipartite entanglement in the symmetric sector. We provide explicit mixed-state examples, identify states with maximal quantum anticoherence supported on anticoherent subspaces, study robustness under particle loss for different types of states, and characterize the trade-off between purity and the maximal achievable anticoherence order.
The efficiency of a quantum metrology protocol can be significantly diminished by the interaction of the system with its environment, leading to a loss of purity and, as a result, a mixed state for the probing system. An example is the measurement of a magnetic field through the rotation of a spin that is subject to decoherence due to its coupling to a surrounding spin or bosonic bath. In this work we define mixed optimal quantum rotosensors (OQRs) as mixed spin-jjj states that achieve maximum sensitivity to estimate infinitesimal rotations, when the rotation axis is unknown. We study two scenarios, where the probe states saturate the averaged fidelity or the averaged quantum Cram\'er-Rao bound, the latter giving the ultimate sensitivity. We find that mixed OQRs can achieve sensitivity equal to that of pure states and are obtained by mixing states from linear subspaces of anticoherent states. We present several examples of mixed OQRs and their associated anticoherent subspaces. We also show that OQRs maximize entanglement in a specific sense, preserving the known relation between entanglement and optimal rotation sensitivity for pure states, even in the context of mixed states. Our results highlight the interconnection between quantum metrology of rotations, anticoherence, and entanglement in mixed spin states.
The set of pure spin states with vanishing spin expectation value can be regarded as the set of the less coherent pure spin states. This set can be divided into a finite number of nested subsets on the basis of higher order moments of the spin operators. This subdivision relies on the notion of anticoherent spin state to order ttt: A spin state is said to be anticoherent to order ttt if the moment of order kkk of the spin components along any directions are equal for k=1,2,...,tk=1,2,...,tk=1,2,...,t. Most spin states are neither coherent nor anticoherent, but can be arbitrary close to one or the other. In order to quantify the degree of anticoherence of pure spin states, we introduce the notion of anticoherence measures. By relying on the mapping between spin-jjj states and symmetric states of 2j2j2j spin 1/21/21/2 (Majorana representation), we present a systematic way of constructing anticoherence measures to any order. We briefly discuss their connection with measures of quantum coherence. Finally, we illustrate our measures on various spin states and use them to investigate the problem of the existence of anticoherent spin states with degenerated Majorana points.
Quantum entanglement of pure states of a bipartite system is defined as the amount of local or marginal (i.e. referring to the subsystems) entropy. For mixed states this identification vanishes, since the global loss of information about the state makes it impossible to distinguish between quantum and classical correlations. Here we show how the joint knowledge of the global and marginal degrees of information of a quantum state, quantified by the purities or, in general, by information entropies, provides an accurate characterization of its entanglement. In particular, for Gaussian states of continuous variable systems, we classify the entanglement of two-mode states according to their degree of total and partial mixedness, comparing the different roles played by the purity and the generalized p-entropies in quantifying the mixedness and bounding the entanglement. We prove the existence of strict upper and lower bounds on the entanglement and the existence of extremally (maximally and minimally) entangled states at fixed global and marginal degrees of information. This results allow for a powerful, operative method to measure mixed-state entanglement without the full tomographic reconstruction of the state. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing extension of our analysis to the quantification of multipartite entanglement in highly symmetric Gaussian states of arbitrary 1 × N-mode partitions.
Abstract. Quantum entanglement of pure states of a bipartite system is defined as the amount of local or marginal (i.e. referring to the subsystems) entropy. For mixed states this identification vanishes, since the global loss of information about the state makes it impossible to distinguish between quantum and classical correlations. Here we show how the joint knowledge of the global and marginal degrees of information of a quantum state, quantified by the purities or in general by information entropies, provides an accurate characterization of its entanglement. In particular, for Gaussian states of continuous variable systems, we classify the entanglement of two–mode states according to their degree of total and partial mixedness, comparing the different roles played by the purity and the generalized p−entropies in quantifying the mixedness and bounding the entanglement. We prove the existence of strict upper and lower bounds on the entanglement and the existence of extremally (maximally and minimally) entangled states at fixed global and marginal degrees of information. This results allow for a powerful, operative method to measure mixedstate entanglement without the full tomographic reconstruction of the state. Finally, we briefly discuss the ongoing extension of our analysis to the quantification of multipartite entanglement in highly symmetric Gaussian states of arbitrary 1 × N-mode partitions. 1.
Quantification is one of the primary goals of quantum coherence resource theory. Here, we put forward two coherence measures, analytically prove their validity in the pure-state regime following the axiomatic definition of a legitimate pure-state coherence measure (PSCM), and provide their general normalized forms. We further discuss their extensions in the domain of mixed states with the assistance of the convex roof of coherence, and top coherence (quantification in terms of pure state coherence) and define their classes (coherence \emph{monotone} or \emph{measure}); in this regard, we thoroughly investigate the top coherence class. For the quantitative demonstration, we pick up different laser pulse-two-qubit interaction scenarios and compare the evolutions of these two coherence measures along with l1l_{1}l1​-norm of coherence and relative entropy of coherence; this study also signifies the importance of coherence in probing an atomic or molecular system.
In quantum physics, several concepts have been developed to capture the distinctive characteristics of quantum states that have no classical equivalent. Among the most important are non-locality, entanglement and non-classicality, the latter generally identi- fied with the negativity of quasi-probability distributions in phase space. More recently, the idea of anticoherence, defined by the isotropy of spin states resulting from quantum superpositions, has emerged as another distinctive feature of quantum states. Although these different forms of “quantumness” are becoming increasingly central to the understanding and development of quantum foundations and quantum technologies, and are becoming experimentally accessible, their fundamental nature and interconnec- tions are still only partially understood. The aim of this thesis is two-fold. First, we study and characterise the quantum nature of spin states through entanglement, non-classicality and anticoherence, with a particular focus on the relationships between these concepts. Second, we propose and analyse experimental protocols for estimating the entanglement of multiqubit states and for generating maximally entangled anticoherent states, thereby paving the way for their use in future quantum applications.