A fundamental problem in quantum information is to explore the roles of different quantum correlations in a quantum information procedure. Recent work [Phys. Rev. Lett., 107 (2011) 080401] shows that the protocol for assisted optimal state discrimination (AOSD) may be implemented successfully without entanglement, but with another correlation, quantum dissonance. However, both the original work and the extension to discrimination of
d states [Phys. Rev. A, 85 (2012) 022328] have only proved that entanglement can be absent in the case with equal a \emph{priori} probabilities. By improving the protocol in [Sci. Rep., 3 (2013) 2134], we investigate this topic in a simple case to discriminate three nonorthogonal states of a qutrit, with positive real overlaps. In our procedure, the entanglement between the qutrit and an auxiliary qubit is found to be completely unnecessary. This result shows that the quantum dissonance may play as a key role in optimal state discrimination assisted by a qubit for more general cases.
It is shown that the dissonance, a quantum correlation which is equal to quantum discord for separable state, is required for assisted optimal state discrimination. We find that only one side discord is required in the optimal process of assisted state discrimination, while another side discord and entanglement is not necessary. We confirm that the quantum discord, which is asymmetric depending on local measurements, is a resource for assisted state discrimination. With the absence of entanglement, we give the necessary and sufficient condition for vanishing one side discord in assisted state discrimination for a class of
d nonorthogonal states. As a by-product, we find that the positive-partial-transposition condition is the necessary and sufficient condition for the separability of a class of $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}d$ states.