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arXiv:2607.02408 · Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Copying Quantum States

Hans Maassen, Burkhard Kümmerer

quant-phSubmitted Jul 2, 2026• Announced Jul 3, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

The no-broadcasting theorem in quantum information says that a set of states on a quantum system admits a common broadcasting (copying) operation if and only if their density matrices belong to a commuting family. We discuss and prove this theorem, as well as the closely related no-cloning theorem in the context of quantum probability theory, i.e. in the category of (finite dimensional) C-star-algebras with unital completely positive maps.

Journal reference
Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics (2024)
DOI
10.1007/S13226-024-00634
Comments
15 pages, appeared in the Indian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics (2024), a vulume dedicated to the memory of K.R. Parthasarathy

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The no-broadcasting theorem in quantum information says that a set of states on a quantum system admits a common broadcasting (copying) operation if and only if their density matrices belong to a commuting family. We discuss and prove this theorem, as well as the closely related no-cloning theorem in the context of quantum probability theory, i.e. in the category of (finite dimensional) C-star-algebras with unital completely positive maps.
We prove generic versions of the no-cloning and no-broadcasting theorems, applicable to essentially {\em any} non-classical finite-dimensional probabilistic model that satisfies a no-signaling criterion. This includes quantum theory as well as models supporting ``super-quantum'' correlations that violate the Bell inequalities to a larger extent than quantum theory. The proof of our no-broadcasting theorem is significantly more natural and more self-contained than others we have seen: we show that a set of states is broadcastable if, and only if, it is contained in a simplex whose vertices are cloneable, and therefore distinguishable by a single measurement. This necessary and sufficient condition generalizes the quantum requirement that a broadcastable set of states commute.
The no-cloning theorem is a basic limitative result for quantum mechanics, with particular significance for quantum information. It says that there is no unitary operation that makes perfect copies of an unknown (pure) quantum state. We re-examine this foundational result from the perspective of the categorical formulation of quantum mechanics recently introduced by the author and Bob Coecke. We formulate and prove a novel version of the result, as an incompatibility between having a “natural” copying operation and the structural features required for modeling quantum entanglement coexisting in the same category. This formulation is strikingly similar to a well-known limitative result in categorical logic, Joyal's lemma, which shows that a “Boolean cartesian closed category” trivializes and hence provides a major roadblock to the computational interpretation of classical logic. This shows a heretofore unsuspected connection between limitative results in proof theory and no-go theorems in quantum mechanics. The argument is of a robust, topological character and uses the graphical calculus for monoidal categories to advantage. 1.1 Introduction The no-cloning theorem (Dieks 1982; Wootters and Zurek 1982) is a basic limitative result for quantum mechanics, with particular significance for quantum information. It says that there is no unitary operation that makes perfect copies of an unknown (pure) quantum state. A stronger form of this result is the no-broadcasting theorem (Barnum et al. 1996), which applies to mixed states. There is also a no-deleting theorem (Pati and Braunstein 2000).
Abstract No-broadcasting theorem is one of the most fundamental results in quantum information theory; it guarantees that the simplest attacks on any quantum protocol, based on eavesdropping and copying of quantum information, are impossible. Due to the fundamental importance of the no-broadcasting theorem, it is essential to understand the exact boundaries of this limitation. We generalize the standard definition of broadcasting by restricting the set of states which we want to broadcast and restricting the sets of measurements which we use to test the broadcasting. We show that in some of the investigated cases broadcasting is equivalent to commutativity, while in other cases commutativity is not necessary.
This paper discusses the no-cloning theorem in a logicoalgebraic approach. In this approach, an orthoalgebra is considered as a general structure for propositions in a physical theory. We proved that an orthoalgebra admits cloning operation if and only if it is a Boolean algebra. That is, only classical theory admits the cloning of states. If unsharp propositions are to be included in the theory, then a notion of effect algebra is considered. We proved that an atomic Archimedean effect algebra admitting cloning operation is a Boolean algebra. This paper also presents a partial result, indicating a relation between the cloning on effect algebras and hidden variables.
Quantum theory can be regarded as a noncommutative generalization of classical probability. From this point of view, one expects quantum dynamics to be analogous to classical conditional probabilities. In this paper, a variant of the well-known isomorphism between completely positive maps and bipartite density operators is derived, which makes this connection much more explicit. This isomorphism is given an operational interpretation in terms of statistical correlations between ensemble preparation procedures and outcomes of measurements. Finally, the isomorphism is applied to elucidate the connection between no-cloning and no-broadcasting theorems and the monogamy of entanglement, and a simplified proof of the no-broadcasting theorem is obtained as a by-product.
The quantum no-broadcasting theorem states that it is impossible to produce perfect copies of an arbitrary quantum state, even if the copies are allowed to be correlated. Here we show that, although quantum broadcasting cannot be achieved by any physical process, it can be achieved by a virtual process, described by a Hermitian-preserving trace-preserving map. This virtual process is canonical: it is the only map that broadcasts all quantum states, is covariant under unitary evolution, is invariant under permutations of the copies, and reduces to the classical broadcasting map when subjected to decoherence. We show that the optimal physical approximation to the canonical broadcasting map is the optimal universal quantum cloning, and we also show that virtual broadcasting can be achieved by a virtual measure-and-prepare protocol, where a virtual measurement is performed, and, depending on the outcomes, two copies of a virtual quantum state are generated. Finally, we use canonical virtual broadcasting to prove a uniqueness result for quantum states over time.