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Density Matrix in Quantum Mechanics and Distinctness of Ensembles of Fixed Particle Number Having the Same Compressed Density Matrix

Gui‐Lu Long, Zhou, Y F, Jia-Qi Jin, Sun, Y, Hai-Woong Lee

Published Aug 27, 2005• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We clarify different definitions of the density matrix by proposing the use of different names, the full density matrix for a single-closed quantum system, the compressed density matrix for the averaged single molecule state from an ensemble of molecules, and the reduced density matrix for a part of an entangled quantum system, respectively. We show that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix can be physically distinguished by observing fluctuations of various observables. This is in contrast to a general belief that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix are identical. Explicit expression for the fluctuation of an observable in a specified ensemble is given. We have discussed the nature of nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing. We show that the conclusion that there is no quantum entanglement in the current nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing experiment is based on the unjustified belief that ensembles having the same compressed density matrix are identical physically. Related issues in quantum communication are also discussed.

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arXiv:quant-ph/0205069•Physical Review A•Feb 6, 2003•130 citations
We clarify different definitions of the density matrix by proposing the use of different names, the full density matrix for a single-closed quantum system, the compressed density matrix for the averaged single molecule state from an ensemble of molecules, and the reduced density matrix for a part of an entangled quantum system, respectively. We show that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix can be physically distinguished by observing fluctuations of various observables. This is in contrast to a general belief that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix are identical. Explicit expression for the fluctuation of an observable in a specified ensemble is given. We have discussed the nature of nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing. We show that the conclusion that there is no quantum entanglement in the current nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing experiment is based on the unjustified belief that ensembles having the same compressed density matrix are identical physically. Related issues in quantum communication are also discussed.
We clarify different definitions of the density matrix by proposing the use of different names, the full density matrix for a single-closed quantum system, the compressed density matrix for the averaged single molecule state from an ensemble of molecules, and the reduced density matrix for a part of an entangled quantum system, respectively. We show that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix can be physically distinguished by observing fluctuations of various observables. This is in contrast to a general belief that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix are identical. Explicit expression for the fluctuation of an observable in a specified ensemble is given. We have discussed the nature of nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing. We show that the conclusion that there is no quantum entanglement in the current nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computing experiment is based on the unjustified belief that ensembles having the same compressed density matrix are identical physically. Related issues in quantum communication are also discussed.
Density matrix is one important tool in quantum mechanics,and it has very broad applications.However there are different definitions about the density matrix,and they describe quite different systems.There has been some misunderstanding about the density matrix in the community,and these misunderstandings hinder the right application of the density matrix.In this article,we discuss the different definitions of density matrix. We suggest to use the full density matrix,compressed density matrix and the reduced density matrix to describe the state of a complete quantum system,the state of an averaged particle in an ensemble and the state of part of a composite system.We stress that contrary to the wide accepted understanding that ensembles with the same compressed density matrix are physically indistinguishable, they are distinguishable through the so-called ensemble measurement.As an application,we suggest that the present conclusion that the present-day nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computation does not have quantum entanglement is groundless.
We show that differently constructed ensembles having the same density matrix may be physically distinguished by observing fluctuations of some observables. An explicit expression for fluctuations of an observable in an ensemble is given. This result challenges Peres's fundamental postulate and seems to be contrary to the widely-spread belief that ensembles with the same density matrix are physically identical. This leads us to suggest that the current liquid NMR quantum computing is truly quantum-mechanical in nature.
The quantum nature of bulk ensemble NMR quantum computing --the center of recent heated debate, is addressed. Concepts of the mixed state and entanglement are examined, and the data in a 2 qubit liquid NMR quantum computation are analyzed. It is pointed out that the key problem in the current debate is the understanding of entanglement in a mixed state system. The following points are concluded in this Letter: 1)Density matrix describes the "state" of an average particle in an ensemble. It can not describe the state of an individual particle in an ensemble in detail; 2) Entanglement is a property of the wave function of a quantum particle(such as an molecule in a liquid NMR sample). Separability of the density matrix can not be used to measure the entanglement of mixed ensemble; 3)The evolution of states in bulk-ensemble NMR quantum computation is quantum mechanical; 4) The coefficient before the effective pure state density matrix, εεε, is an measure of the simultaneity of the molecules in an ensemble. It reflects the intensity of the NMR signal and has no significance in quantifying the entanglement in the bulk ensemble NMR system. We conclude that the liquid NMR quantum computation is genuine, not just classical simulations.
The quantum nature of bulk ensemble NMR quantum computing — the center of recent heated debate, is addressed. Concepts of the mixed state and entanglement are examined, and the data in a two-qubit liquid NMR quantum computation are analyzed. The main points in this paper are: i) Density matrix describes the "state" of an average particle in an ensemble. It does not describe the state of an individual particle in an ensemble; ii) Entanglement is a property of the wave function of a microscopic particle (such as a molecule in a liquid NMR sample), and separability of the density matrix cannot be used to measure the entanglement of mixed ensemble; iii) The state evolution in bulk-ensemble NMR quantum computation is quantum-mechanical; iv) The coefficient before the effective pure state density matrix, є, is a measure of the simultaneity of the molecules in an ensemble. It reflects the intensity of the NMR signal and has no significance in quantifying the entanglement in the bulk ensemble NMR system. The decomposition of the density matrix into product states is only an indication that the ensemble can be prepared by an ensemble with the particles unentangled. We conclude that effective-pure-state NMR quantum computation is genuine, not just classical simulations.
We consider entanglement in a system with a fixed number of identical particles. Since any operation should be symmetrized over all the identical particles and there is the precondition that the spatial wave functions overlap, the meaning of identical-particle entanglement is fundamentally different from that of distinguishable particles. The identical-particle counterpart of the Schmidt basis is shown to be the single-particle basis in which the one-particle reduced density matrix is diagonal. But it does not play a special role in the issue of entanglement, which depends on the single-particle basis chosen. The nonfactorization due to (anti)symmetrization is naturally excluded by using the (anti)symmetrized basis or, equivalently, the particle number representation. The natural degrees of freedom in quantifying the identical-particle entanglement in a chosen single-particle basis are occupation numbers of different single-particle basis states. The entanglement between effectively distinguishable spins is shown to be a special case of the occupation-number entanglement.