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Quantum Information and Computation

Optimal asymmetric quantum cloning for quantum information and computation

Alastair Kay, Ravishankar Ramanathan, Dagomir Kaszlikowski

Published Sep 1, 2013• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

While the no-cloning theorem, which forbids the perfect copying of quantum states, is well-known as one of the defining features of quantum mechanics, the question of how well the theory allows a state to be cloned is yet to be completely solved. In this paper, rigorous solutions to the problem of $M\rightarrow N$ asymmetric cloning of qudits are obtained in a number of interesting cases. The central result is the solution to the $1 \rightarrow N$ universal asymmetric qudit cloning problem for which the exact trade-off in the fidelities of the clones for every $N$ and $d$ is derived. Analogous results are proven for qubits when $M=N-1$. We also consider state-dependent $1 \rightarrow N$ qubit cloning, providing a general parametrization in terms of a Heisenberg star Hamiltonian. In all instances, we determine the feasibility of implementing the cloning economically, i.e., without an ancilla, and determine the dimension of the ancilla when an economic implementation is not possible.

DOI
10.26421/qic13.9-10-9

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While the no-cloning theorem, which forbids the perfect copying of quantum states, is well-known as one of the defining features of quantum mechanics, the question of how well the theory allows a state to be cloned is yet to be completely solved. In this paper, rigorous solutions to the problem of M→NM\rightarrow NM→N asymmetric cloning of qudits are obtained in a number of interesting cases. The central result is the solution to the 1→N1 \rightarrow N1→N universal asymmetric qudit cloning problem for which the exact trade-off in the fidelities of the clones for every NNN and ddd is derived. Analogous results are proven for qubits when M=N−1M=N-1M=N−1. We also consider state-dependent 1→N1 \rightarrow N1→N qubit cloning, providing a general parametrization in terms of a Heisenberg star Hamiltonian. In all instances, we determine the feasibility of implementing the cloning economically, i.e., without an ancilla, and determine the dimension of the ancilla when an economic implementation is not possible.
While the no-cloning theorem, which forbids the perfect copying of quantum states, is well-known as one of the defining features of quantum mechanics, the question of how well the theory allows a state to be cloned is yet to be completely solved. In this paper, rigorous solutions to the problem of M to N asymmetric cloning of qudits are obtained in a number of interesting cases. The central result is the solution to the 1 to N universal asymmetric qudit cloning problem for which the exact trade-off in the fidelities of the clones for every N and d is derived. Analogous results are proven for qubits when M=N-1. We also consider state-dependent 1 to N qubit cloning, providing a general parametrization in terms of a Heisenberg star Hamiltonian. In all instances, we determine the feasibility of implementing the cloning economically, i.e., without an ancilla, and determine the dimension of the ancilla when an economic implementation is not possible.
We study the problem of universal quantum cloning – taking several identical copies of a pure but unknown quantum state and producing further copies. While it is well known that it is impossible to perfectly reproduce the state, how well the copies can be cloned can be quantified using the fidelity. We examine how individual fidelities can be traded against each other, and how different fidelity measures can be incorporated. The broadly applicable formalism into which we transform the cloning problem is described as a series of quadratic constraints which are amenable to mathematical and computational scrutiny. As such, we reproduce all known results on optimal universal cloning, and push the recent results on asymmetric cloning much further, giving new trade-off relations between fidelities for broad classes of optimal cloning machines. We also provide substantial evidence that motivates why other parameter ranges (number of input copies) have not, and will not, yield to similar analysis.
We study the problem of universal quantum cloning -- taking several identical copies of a pure but unknown quantum state and producing further copies. While it is well known that it is impossible to perfectly reproduce the state, how well the copies can be cloned can be quantified using the fidelity. We examine how individual fidelities can be traded against each other, and how different fidelity measures can be incorporated. The broadly applicable formalism into which we transform the cloning problem is described as a series of quadratic constraints which are amenable to mathematical and computational scrutiny. As such, we reproduce all known results on optimal universal cloning, and push the recent results on asymmetric cloning much further, giving new trade-off relations between fidelities for broad classes of optimal cloning machines. We also provide substantial evidence that motivates why other parameter ranges (number of input copies) have not, and will not, yield to similar analysis.
While exact cloning of an unknown quantum state is prohibited by the linearity of quantum mechanics, approximate cloning is possible and has been used, e.g., to derive limits on the security of quantum communication protocols. In the case of asymmetric cloning, the information from the input state is distributed asymmetrically between the different output states. Here, we consider asymmetric phase-covariant cloning, where the goal is to optimally transfer the phase information from a single input qubit to different output qubits. We construct an optimal quantum cloning machine for two qubits that does not require ancilla qubits and implement it on an NMR quantum information processor.
In this paper, we considered asymmetric 1→n1\rightarrow n1→n cloning circuits generalized from the asymmetric 1→21\rightarrow 21→2 cloning circuit proposed by Bu\v{z}ek \textit{et al.} [Phys. Rev. A 56, 3446 (1997)]. The generalization is based on an information flux insight of the original cloning circuit. Specifically, the circuit separately and sequentially transfers the Z-type information and X-type information of the input state to the output copies with controlled-not gates. The initial input state of the clones defines the asymmetry among all output clones. Although the generalized circuits do not perform universally, the averaged fidelities over a uniform distribution of all possible input cloning states saturate the optimal fidelity tradeoff relations of universal asymmetric cloning.
The possibility of cloning a ddd-dimensional quantum system without an ancilla is explored, extending on the economical phase-covariant cloning machine for qubits found in Phys. Rev. A 60, 2764 (1999). We prove the impossibility of constructing an economical version of the optimal universal $1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2$ cloning machine in any dimension. We also show, using an ansatz on the generic form of cloning machines, that the ddd-dimensional $1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2$ phase-covariant cloner, which optimally clones all balanced superpositions with arbitrary phases, can be realized economically only in dimension d=2d=2d=2. The used ansatz is supported by numerical evidence up to d=7d=7d=7. An economical phase-covariant cloner can nevertheless be constructed for d>2d>2d>2, albeit with a slightly lower fidelity than that of the optimal cloner requiring an ancilla. Finally, using again an ansatz on cloning machines, we show that an economical version of the $1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2$ Fourier-covariant cloner, which optimally clones the computational basis and its Fourier transform, is also possible only in dimension d=2d=2d=2.