We consider a mixed continuous-variable bosonic quantum system and present inequalities which must be satisfied between principal values of the covariances of a complete set of observables of the whole system and the principal values of the covariances of a complete set of observables of a subsystem. We use several classical results for the proof: the Courant-Fischer-Weyl min-max theorem for Hermitian operators and its consequence, the Cauchy interlacing theorem, and prove their analogues in the symplectic setting. For the case of passive transformations of Gaussian mixed states we also prove that the obtained inequalities are, in a sense, the best possible. The obtained mathematical results are applied to the system of n uncorrelated thermal modes of the electromagnetic field. Finally, we present the results of numerical simulations of the problem, suggesting avenues of further research.
We consider a mixed continuous-variable bosonic quantum system and present inequalities which must be satisfied between principal values of the covariances of a complete set of observables of the whole system and the principal values of the covariances of a complete set of observables of a subsystem. We use several classical results for the proof: the Courant-Fischer-Weyl min-max theorem for Hermitian operators and its consequence, the Cauchy interlacing theorem, and prove their analogues in the symplectic setting. For the case of passive transformations of Gaussian mixed states we also prove that the obtained inequalities are, in a sense, the best possible. The obtained mathematical results are applied to the system of n uncorrelated thermal modes of the electromagnetic field. Finally, we present the results of numerical simulations of the problem, suggesting avenues of further research.
Abstract: The quantum marginal problem asks what local spectra are consistent with a given spectrum of a joint state of a composite quantum system. This setting, also referred to as the question of the compatibility of local spectra, has several applications in quantum information theory. Here, we introduce the analogue of this statement for Gaussian states for any number of modes, and solve it in generality, for pure and mixed states, both concerning necessary and sufficient conditions. Formally, our result can be viewed as an analogue of the Sing-Thompson Theorem (respectively Horn’s Lemma), characterizing the relationship between main diagonal elements and singular values of a complex matrix: We find necessary and sufficient conditions for vectors (d1,...,dn) and (c1,..., cn) to be the symplectic eigenvalues and symplectic main diagonal elements of a strictly positive real matrix, respectively. More physically speaking, this result determines what local temperatures or entropies are consistent with a pure or mixed Gaussian state of several modes. We find that this result implies a solution to the problem of sharing of entanglement in pure Gaussian states and allows for estimating the global entropy of non-Gaussian states based on local measurements. Implications to the actual preparation of multi-mode continuous-variable entangled states are discussed. We compare the findings with the marginal problem for qubits, the solution of which for pure states has a strikingly similar and in fact simple form. 1.
We present a novel approach to the separability problem for Gaussian quantum states of bosonic continuous variable systems. We derive a simplified necessary and sufficient separability criterion for arbitrary Gaussian states of m versus n modes, which relies on convex optimisation over marginal covariance matrices on one subsystem only. We further revisit the currently known results stating the equivalence between separability and positive partial transposition (PPT) for specific classes of Gaussian states. Using techniques based on matrix analysis, such as Schur complements and matrix means, we then provide a unified treatment and compact proofs of all these results. In particular, we recover the PPT-separability equivalence for: (i) Gaussian states of 1 versus n modes; and (ii) isotropic Gaussian states. In passing, we also retrieve (iii) the recently established equivalence between separability of a Gaussian state and and its complete Gaussian extendability. Our techniques are then applied to progress beyond the state of the art. We prove that: (iv) Gaussian states that are invariant under partial transposition are necessarily separable; (v) the PPT criterion is necessary and sufficient for separability for Gaussian states of m versus n modes that are symmetric under the exchange of any two modes belonging to one of the parties; and (vi) Gaussian states which remain PPT under passive optical operations can not be entangled by them either. This is not a foregone conclusion per se (since Gaussian bound entangled states do exist) and settles a question that had been left unanswered in the existing literature on the subject. This paper, enjoyable by both the quantum optics and the matrix analysis communities, overall delivers technical and conceptual advances which are likely to be useful for further applications in continuous variable quantum information theory, beyond the separability problem.
We present a novel approach to the separability problem for Gaussian quantum states of bosonic continuous variable systems. We derive a simplified necessary and sufficient separability criterion for arbitrary Gaussian states of m versus n modes, which relies on convex optimisation over marginal covariance matrices on one subsystem only. We further revisit the currently known results stating the equivalence between separability and positive partial transposition (PPT) for specific classes of Gaussian states. Using techniques based on matrix analysis, such as Schur complements and matrix means, we then provide a unified treatment and compact proofs of all these results. In particular, we recover the PPT-separability equivalence for: (i) Gaussian states of 1 versus n modes; and (ii) isotropic Gaussian states. In passing, we also retrieve (iii) the recently established equivalence between separability of a Gaussian state and and its complete Gaussian extendability. Our techniques are then applied to progress beyond the state of the art. We prove that: (iv) Gaussian states that are invariant under partial transposition are necessarily separable; (v) the PPT criterion is necessary and sufficient for separability for Gaussian states of m versus n modes that are symmetric under the exchange of any two modes belonging to one of the parties; and (vi) Gaussian states which remain PPT under passive optical operations can not be entangled by them either. This is not a foregone conclusion per se (since Gaussian bound entangled states do exist) and settles a question that had been left unanswered in the existing literature on the subject. This paper, enjoyable by both the quantum optics and the matrix analysis communities, overall delivers technical and conceptual advances which are likely to be useful for further applications in continuous variable quantum information theory, beyond the separability problem.
In the framework of the theory of open systems based on completely positive quantum dynamical semigroups, we give a description of the dynamics of entanglement for a system consisting of two uncoupled modes interacting with a thermal environment. Using Peres-Simon necessary and sufficient criterion of separability for two-mode Gaussian states, we describe the evolution of entanglement in terms of the covariance matrix for a Gaussian input state. We determine the asymptotic Gaussian maximally entangled mixed states (GMEMS) and their corresponding asymptotic maximal logarithmic negativity, which characterizes the degree of entanglement. Using the symplectic eigenvalues of the asymptotic covariance matrix, the expressions of von Neumann entropy and mutual information of asymptotic GMEMS are obtained.
Werner and Wolf have proven in Phys. Rev. Lett. 86(16) (2001) a very elegant necessary and sufficient condition for a bosonic continuous variable bipartite Gaussian mixed quantum state to be separable. This condition is, however, difficult to implement in practice. In the present Letter, we propose a simpler condition which only involves the calculation of the symplectic matrix in the Williamson diagonalization of the covariance matrix of the state under consideration. The main tool in our construction is the observation, proved in previous work, that the Wigner transform is covariant only under symplectic or antisymplectic linear transformations. We also give a geometric interpretation of our condition in terms of the orthogonal projections of "quantum blobs"..
We review the theory of continuous-variable entanglement with special emphasis on foundational aspects, conceptual structures and mathematical methods. Much attention is devoted to the discussion of separability criteria and entanglement properties of Gaussian states, for their great practical relevance in applications to quantum optics and quantum information, as well as for the very clean framework that they allow for the study of the structure of nonlocal correlations. We give a self-contained introduction to phase-space and symplectic methods in the study of Gaussian states of infinite-dimensional bosonic systems. We review the most important results on the separability and distillability of Gaussian states and discuss the main properties of bipartite entanglement. These include the extremal entanglement, minimal and maximal, of two-mode mixed Gaussian states, the ordering of two-mode Gaussian states according to different measures of entanglement, the unitary (reversible) localization and the scaling of bipartite entanglement in multimode Gaussian states. We then discuss recent advances in the understanding of entanglement sharing in multimode Gaussian states, including the proof of the monogamy inequality of distributed entanglement for all Gaussian states. Multipartite entanglement of Gaussian states is reviewed by discussing its qualification by different classes of separability, and the main consequences of the monogamy inequality, such as the quantification of genuine tripartite entanglement in three-mode Gaussian states, the promiscuous nature of entanglement sharing in symmetric Gaussian states and the possible coexistence of unlimited bipartite and multipartite entanglement. We finally review recent advances and discuss possible perspectives on the qualification and quantification of entanglement in non-Gaussian states, a field of research that is to a large extent yet to be explored.