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Graph representation of quantum states

Bibhas Adhikari, Satyabrata Adhikari, Subhashish Banerjee

Published May 12, 2012• 1 citation
OpenAlex

Abstract

In this work we propose graphical representation of quantum states. Pure states require weighted digraphs with complex weights, while mixed states need, in general, edge weighted digraphs with loops; constructions which, to the best of our knowledge, are new in the theory of graphs. Both the combinatorial as well as the signless Laplacian are used for graph representation of quantum states. We also provide some interesting analogies between physical processes and graph representations. Entanglement between two qubits is approached by the development of graph operations that simulate quantum operations, resulting in the generation of Bell and Werner states. As a biproduct, the study also leads to separability criteria using graph operations. This paves the way for a study of genuine multipartite correlations using graph operations.

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In this work we propose graphical representation of quantum states. Pure states require weighted digraphs with complex weights, while mixed states need, in general, edge weighted digraphs with loops; constructions which, to the best of our knowledge, are new in the theory of graphs. Both the combinatorial as well as the signless Laplacian are used for graph representation of quantum states. We also provide some interesting analogies between physical processes and graph representations. Entanglement between two qubits is approached by the development of graph operations that simulate quantum operations, resulting in the generation of Bell and Werner states. As a biproduct, the study also leads to separability criteria using graph operations. This paves the way for a study of genuine multipartite correlations using graph operations.
Representing graphs as quantum states is becoming an increasingly important approach to study entanglement of mixed states, alternate to the standard linear algebraic density matrix-based approach of study. In this paper, we propose a general weighted directed graph framework for investigating properties of a large class of quantum states which are defined by three types of Laplacian matrices associated with such graphs. We generalize the standard framework of defining density matrices from simple connected graphs to density matrices using both combinatorial and signless Laplacian matrices associated with weighted directed graphs with complex edge weights and with/without self-loops. We also introduce a new notion of Laplacian matrix, which we call signed Laplacian matrix associated with such graphs. We produce necessary and/or sufficient conditions for such graphs to correspond to pure and mixed quantum states. Using these criteria, we finally determine the graphs whose corresponding density matrices represent entangled pure states which are well known and important for quantum computation applications. We observe that all these entangled pure states share a common combinatorial structure.
In this paper we give a method to associate a graph with an arbitrary density matrix referred to a standard orthonormal basis in the Hilbert space of a finite dimensional quantum system. We study related issues such as classification of pure and mixed states, Von Neumann entropy, separability of multipartite quantum states and quantum operations in terms of the graphs associated with quantum states. In order to address the separability and entanglement questions using graphs, we introduce a modified tensor product of weighted graphs, and establish its algebraic properties. In particular, we show that Werner's definition (Werner 1989 Phys. Rev. A 40 4277) of a separable state can be written in terms of graphs, for the states in a real or complex Hilbert space. We generalize the separability criterion (degree criterion) due to Braunstein et al (2006 Phys. Rev. A 73 012320) to a class of weighted graphs with real weights. We have given some criteria for the Laplacian associated with a weighted graph to be positive semidefinite.
Borrowing ideas from the relation between simply laced Lie algebras and Dynkin diagrams, a weighted graph theory representation of quantum information is addressed. In this way, the density matrix of a quantum state can be interpreted as a signless Laplacian matrix of an associated graph. Using similarities with root systems of simply laced Lie algebras, one-qubit theory is analyzed in some details and is found to be linked to a non-oriented weighted graph having two vertices. Moreover, this one-qubit theory is generalized to n-qubits. In this representation, quantum gates correspond to graph weight operations preserving the probability condition. A speculation from string theory, via D-brane quivers, is also given.
This work is at the interface of graph theory and quantum mechanics. Quantum correlations epitomize the usefulness of quantum mechanics. Quantum discord is an interesting facet of bipartite quantum correlations. Earlier, it was shown that every combinatorial graph corresponds to quantum states whose characteristics are reflected in the structure of the underlined graph. A number of combinatorial relations between quantum discord and simple graphs were studied. To extend the scope of these studies, we need to generalize the earlier concepts applicable to simple graphs to weighted graphs, corresponding to a diverse class of quantum states. To this effect, we determine the class of quantum states whose density matrix representation can be derived from graph Laplacian matrices associated with a weighted directed graph and call them graph Laplacian quantum states. We find the graph theoretic conditions for zero and nonzero quantum discord for these states. We apply these results on some important pure two qubit states, as well as a number of mixed quantum states, such as the Werner, Isotropic, and [Formula: see text]-states. We also consider graph Laplacian states corresponding to simple graphs as a special case.
In this paper we determine the class of quantum states whose density matrix representation can be derived from graph Laplacian matrices associated with a weighted directed graph and we call them graph Laplacian quantum states. Then we obtain structural properties of these graphs such that the corresponding graph Laplacian states have zero quantum discord by investigating structural properties of clustered graphs which provide a family of commuting normal matrices formed by the blocks of its Laplacian matrices. We apply these results on some important mixed quantum states, such as the Werner, Isotropic, and XXX-states.
Using the signed Laplacian matrix, and weighted and hybrid graphs, we present additional ways to interpret graphs as grid states. Hybrid graphs offer the most general interpretation. Existing graphical methods that characterize entanglement properties of grid states are adapted to these interpretations. These additional classes of grid states are shown to exhibit rich entanglement properties, including bound entanglement. Further, we introduce graphical techniques to construct bound-entangled states in a modular fashion. We also extend the grid states model to hypergraphs. Our work, on one hand, opens up possibilities for constructing additional families of mixed quantum states in the grid state model. On the other hand, it can serve as an instrument for investigating entanglement problems from a graph theory perspective.