We consider entanglement witnesses arising from positive linear maps which generate exposed extremal rays. We show that every entangled state can be detected by one of these witnesses, and this witness detects a unique set of entangled states among those. Therefore, they provide a minimal set of witnesses to detect any kind of entanglement in a sense. Furthermore, if those maps are indecomposable then they detect large classes of entangled states with positive partial transposes which have nonempty relative interiors in the cone generated by all PPT states. We also provide a one-parameter family of indecomposable positive linear maps which generate exposed extremal rays. This gives the first examples of such maps in three-dimensional matrix algebra.
Entanglement witnesses are observables which when measured, detect entanglement in a measured composed system. It is shown what kind of relations between eigenvectors of an observable should be fulfilled, to allow an observable to be an entanglement witness. Some restrictions on the signature of entaglement witnesses, based on an algebraic-geometrical theorem will be given. The set of entanglement witnesses is linearly isomorphic to the set of maps between matrix algebras which are positive, but not completely positive. A translation of the results to the language of positive maps is also given. The properties of entanglement witnesses and positive maps express as special cases of general theorems for
k-Schmidt witnesses and
k-positive maps. The results are therefore presented in a general framework.