Due to their great importance, both from the fundamental and from the practical points of view, it is imperative that the various facets of the concepts of information and entanglement are explored systematically in connection with diverse physical systems and processes. These concepts are at the core of the emerging field of the Physics of Information. In this Thesis I investigate some aspects of the dynamics of information in both classical and quantum mechanical systems and then move on to explore entanglement in fermion systems by searching for novel ways to classify and quantify entanglement in fermionic systems. In Chapter 1 a brief review of the different information and entropic measures as well as of the main evolution equations of classical dynamical and quantum mechanical systems is given. The conservation of information as a fundamental principle both at the classical and quantum levels, and the implications of Landauer's theorem are discussed in brief. An alternative and more intuitive proof of the no-broadcasting theorem is also provided. Chapter 2 is a background chapter on quantum entanglement, where the differences between the concept of entanglement in systems consisting of distinguishable subsystems and the corresponding concept in systems of identical fermions are emphasized. Different measures of entanglement and relevant techniques such as majorization, are introduced. To illustrate some of the concepts reviewed here I discuss the entanglement properties of an exactly soluble many-body model which was studied in paper (E) of the publication list corresponding to the present Thesis. An alternative approach to the characterization of quantum correlations, based on perturbations under local measurements, is also briefly reviewed. The use of uncertainty relations as entanglement indicators in composite systems having distinguishable subsystems is then examined in some detail. Chapter 3 is based on papers (A) and (B) of the list of publications. Extended Landauer-like principles are developed, based amongst others on the conservation of information of divergenceless dynamical systems. Conservation of information within the framework of general probabilistic theories, which include the classical and quantum mechanical probabilities as particular instances, is explored. Furthermore, Zurek's information transfer theorem and the no-deleting theorem are generalized. Chapter 4 is based on articles (C) and (D) mentioned in the publication list, and investigates several separability criteria for fermions. Criteria for the detection of entanglement are developed based either on the violation of appropriate uncertainty relations or on inequalities involving entropic measures. Chapter 5 introduces an approach for the characterization of quantum correlations (going beyond entanglement) in fermion systems based upon the state disturbances generated by the measurement of local observables. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions drawn in the previous chapters. The work leading up to this Thesis has resulted in five publications in peer reviewed science research journals.
Due to their great importance, both from the fundamental and from the practical points of view, it is imperative that the various facets of the concepts of information and entanglement are explored systematically in connection with diverse physical systems and processes. These concepts are at the core of the emerging field of the Physics of Information. In this Thesis I investigate some aspects of the dynamics of information in both classical and quantum mechanical systems and then move on to explore entanglement in fermion systems by searching for novel ways to classify and quantify entanglement in fermionic systems. In Chapter 1 a brief review of the different information and entropic measures as well as of the main evolution equations of classical dynamical and quantum mechanical systems is given. The conservation of information as a fundamental principle both at the classical and quantum levels, and the implications of Landauer's theorem are discussed in brief. An alternative and more intuitive proof of the no-broadcasting theorem is also provided. Chapter 2 is a background chapter on quantum entanglement, where the differences between the concept of entanglement in systems consisting of distinguishable subsystems and the corresponding concept in systems of identical fermions are emphasized. Different measures of entanglement and relevant techniques such as majorization, are introduced. To illustrate some of the concepts reviewed here I discuss the entanglement properties of an exactly soluble many-body model which was studied in paper (E) of the publication list corresponding to the present Thesis. An alternative approach to the characterization of quantum correlations, based on perturbations under local measurements, is also briefly reviewed. The use of uncertainty relations as entanglement indicators in composite systems having distinguishable subsystems is then examined in some detail. Chapter 3 is based on papers (A) and (B) of the list of publications. Extended Landauer-like principles are developed, based amongst others on the conservation of information of divergenceless dynamical systems. Conservation of information within the framework of general probabilistic theories, which include the classical and quantum mechanical probabilities as particular instances, is explored. Furthermore, Zurek's information transfer theorem and the no-deleting theorem are generalized. Chapter 4 is based on articles (C) and (D) mentioned in the publication list, and investigates several separability criteria for fermions. Criteria for the detection of entanglement are developed based either on the violation of appropriate uncertainty relations or on inequalities involving entropic measures. Chapter 5 introduces an approach for the characterization of quantum correlations (going beyond entanglement) in fermion systems based upon the state disturbances generated by the measurement of local observables. Chapter 6 summarizes the conclusions drawn in the previous chapters. The work leading up to this Thesis has resulted in five publications in peer reviewed science research journals.
Quantum information theory (QIT) is an emerging field of physics which aims to develop new methods of dealing with information by harnessing the power of quantum mechanics. Besides its potential to revolutionize the techniques of information processing and communication, it also provides novel approaches to better comprehend the foundations of quantum mechanics. Among many important problems in QIT, manipulation and dynamical characterization of correlations present in quantum systems stand out due to their relevance for the practical applications of the theory. This thesis intends to explore such correlations of quantum and classical nature from various perspectives. In particular, our discussions involve the investigation of local transformations among a class of entangled states and the examination of correlation measures in some physical models. We first examine the classification of the flip (0-1) and exchange symmetric (FES) states under local quantum operations. We study the optimal local one-shot conversions of FES states to determine the entanglement transformations that relate multiqubit FES states with the maximum possible probability of success. Next, we investigate the exchange symmetry properties of certain symmetric states when the qubits evolve according to a dephasing model which is also invariant under swap operation. We find that there exist states which do not preserve the exchange symmetry with unit probability during the time evolution, leading to the spontaneous breaking of exchange symmetry. Later, we turn our attention to the dynamics of quantum and classical correlations for qubit-qutrit systems in independent and global dephasing environments. In these cases, we demonstrate several interesting phenomena such as the transition from classical to quantum decoherence. Lastly, we investigate the thermal quantum and total correlations in the one-dimensional anisotropic XY model in transverse field. We discuss the ability of different measures to estimate the critical point of the quantum phase transition at finite temperature. We also consider the relation between correlations and the factorized ground state in this model. Furthermore, we study the effect of temperature on long-range correlations.
Due to its great importance, both from the fundamental and from the practical points of view, it is imperative that the concept of entanglement is explored. In this thesis I investigate the connection between information measures, entanglement and the “speed” of quantum evolution. In Chapter 1 a brief review of the different information and entanglement measures as well as of the concept of “speed” of quantum evolution is given. An illustration of the quantum no-cloning theorem in connection with closed timelike curves is also provided. The work leading up to this thesis has resulted in the following three publications and in one conference proceeding: (A) C. Zander and A.R. Plastino, “Composite systems with extensive Sq (power-law) entropies”, Physica A 364, (2006) pp. 145-156 (B) S. Curilef, C. Zander and A.R. Plastino, “Two particles in a double well: illustrating the connection between entanglement and the speed of quantum evolution”, Eur. J. Phys. 27, (2006) pp. 1193-1203 (C) C. Zander, A.R. Plastino, A. Plastino and M. Casas, “Entanglement and the speed of evolution of multi-partite quantum systems”, J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 (11), (2007) pp. 2861-2872 (D) A.R. Plastino and C. Zander, “Would Closed Timelike Curves Help to Do Quantum Cloning?”, AIP Conference Proceedings: A century of relativity physics, ERE 841, (2005) pp. 570-573. Chapter 2 is based on (A) and is an application of the Sq (powerlaw) entropy. A family of models for the probability occupancy of phase space exhibiting an extensive behaviour of Sq and allowing for an explicit analysis of the thermodynamic limit is proposed. Chapter 3 is based on (B). The connection between entanglement and the speed of quantum evolution as measured by the time needed to reach an orthogonal state is discussed in the case of two quantum particles moving in a one-dimensional double well. This illustration is meant to be incorporated into the teaching of quantum entanglement. Chapter 4 is based on (C). The role of entanglement in time evolution is investigated in the cases of two-, three- and N-qubit systems. A clear correlation is seen between entanglement and the speed of evolution. States saturating the speed bound are explored in detail. Chapter 5 summarizes the conclusions drawn in the previous chapters.
In this Thesis we use the notions of information entropy, statistical complexity and\nquantum entanglement, together with the methods of Classical and Quantum Information\nand the algebraic and asymptotic techniques of the theory of orthogonal polynomials and special functions of Applied Mathematics and Mathematical Physics, to study and quantify the multiple facets of the spatial delocalization of\nthe charge and matter distributions of the multidimensional quantum systems of bosonic\nand fermionic character. These facets, which determine both the uncertainty measures of\nthe systems and their physical and chemical properties, are manifested in the enormous\ndiversity of multidimensional geometries of the single-particle densities which characterize\nthe non-relativistic mechano-quantically allowed states of such systems, according to\nthe Density Functional Theories based on the Hohenberg-Kohn theorem and generalizations.\nThe aim of this Thesis is to contribute to the emergent informational representation\nof the quantum systems, which complements the standard representation\nbased on energetic concepts. The analytical determination of the entropy-,\ncomplexity- and entanglement-like measures and their associated uncertainty relations is a fundamental task (not yet solved except for the ground state and\na few low-lying excited states) even for the very small number of elementary quantummechanical\npotentials which are utilized to approach and model the self-consistent mean-\n eld of the physical systems (atoms, molecules,...), as this work shows. Basically, this\nis because the quantum manifestations of the multidimensional physical systems are\ngenerally inaccessible as the associated Schr odinger equation cannot be exactly solved\nexcept for a few cases where the quantum-mechanical potential has a known symmetry.
Quantum systems usually suffer from unavoidable interactions with the environment. In most experiments, it is virtually impossible to isolate the system under study from the environment. It is thus imperative to study and understand how quantum systems interact with their surroundings. In the present study, I consider the evolution of quantum entanglement in a two-qubit system interacting with an environment in a regime where the non-Markovian effects are important. The present thesis is organized as follows: Chapter one is a general introduction to the thesis. In chapter two, some preliminary concepts that will be used in the subsequent chapters will be introduced and defined. These concepts include qubits, density matrix, Quantum entanglement and Entropic measures in quantum information. Ways to detect or quantify entanglement in a quantum system will also be discussed in the section on quantum entanglement. Chapter three will be about open quantum systems in general: concepts like master equations, Markovian quantum systems and non-Markovian quantum systems will be briefly reviewed. Chapter four will deal with time dependent entanglement features of two-qubit and multi-qubit systems interacting with an environment, basically all the results obtained in my study will be presented there. Some general conclusions will be drawn in chapter five. Copyright
Information that is stored in quantum-mechanical systems can be easily lost because of the interaction with the environment in a process known as decoherence. Possible physical implementations of many processes in quantum information theory involve systems of identical particles, whence comprehension of the dynamics of entanglement induced by decoherence processes in identical-particle open systems becomes relevant. Here we study the effects and concomitant entanglement evolution arising from the interaction between a system of two identical fermions and the environment for two paradigmatic quantum channels. Entanglement measures are introduced to quantify the entanglement between the different parties, and a study of the dynamics of entanglement for some particular examples is carried out. Our analysis, which includes also the evolution of an entanglement indicator based on an entropic criteria, offers insights into the dynamics of entanglement in open systems of identical particles, involving the emergence of multipartite genuine entanglement. The results improve our understanding of the phenomenon of decoherence and will provide strategies to control it.
Is entanglement an exclusive feature of quantum systems, or is it common to all non-classical theories? And if this is the case, how strong is quantum mechanical entanglement as compared to that exhibited by other theories? The first part of this thesis deals with these questions by considering quantum theory as part of a wider landscape of physical theories, collectively called general probabilistic theories (GPTs). Among the other things, this manuscript contains a detailed introduction to the abstract state space formalism for GPTs. We start with a comprehensive review of the proof of a famous theorem by Ludwig that constitutes one of its cornerstones (Ch. 1). After explaining the basic rules of the game, we translate our questions into precise conjectures and present our progress toward a full solution (Ch. 2). In Ch. 3 we consider entanglement at the level of measurements instead of states, focusing on one of its main implications, i.e. data hiding. We determine the maximal data hiding strength that a quantum mechanical system can exhibit, and also the maximum value among all GPTs, finding that the former scales as the square root of the latter. In the second part of this manuscript we look into quantum entanglement. In Ch. 4 we discuss the entanglement transformation properties of a class of maps that model white noise acting either locally or globally on a bipartite system. In Ch. 5 we employ matrix analysis tools to develop a unified approach to Gaussian entanglement. The third part of this thesis concerns more general forms of non-classical correlations in bipartite continuous variable systems. In Ch. 6 we devise a general scheme that allows to consistently classify correlations of bipartite Gaussian states into classical and quantum ones. Finally, Ch. 7 explores some problems connected with a certain strong subadditivity matrix inequality.