We study the problem of distinguishing quantum states using local operations and classical communication (LOCC). A question of fundamental interest is whether there exist sets of k ≤ d orthogonal m...
We study the problem of distinguishing quantum states using local operations and classical communication (LOCC). A question of fundamental interest is whether there exist sets of k≤d orthogonal maximally entangled states in $\complex^{d}\otimes\complex^{d}$ that are not perfectly distinguishable by LOCC. A recent result by Yu, Duan, and Ying [Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 020506 (2012)] gives an affirmative answer for the case k=d. We give, for the first time, a proof that such sets of states indeed exist even in the case k<d. Our result is constructive and holds for an even wider class of operations known as positive-partial-transpose measurements (PPT). The proof uses the characterization of the PPT-distinguishability problem as a semidefinite program.
In this paper, we mainly study the local indistinguishability of mutually orthogonal bipartite maximally entangled states. We construct sets of fewer than d orthogonal maximally entangled states which are not distinguished by one-way local operations and classical communication (LOCC) in the Hilbert space of $d\ensuremath{\bigotimes}d$. The proof, based on the Fourier transform of an additive group, is very simple but quite effective. Simultaneously, our results give a general unified upper bound for the minimum number of one-way LOCC indistinguishable maximally entangled states. This improves previous results which only showed sets of $N\ensuremath{\ge}d\ensuremath{-}2$ such states. Finally, our results also show that previous conjectures in Zhang et al. [Z.-C. Zhang, Q.-Y. Wen, F. Gao, G.-J. Tian, and T.-Q. Cao, Quant. Info. Proc. 13, 795 (2014)] are indeed correct.
There exist sets of multipartite orthogonal states which can not be distinguished by local operation and classical communication (LOCC). The simplest example is the set of four Bell states. The problem of characterizing a set in terms of distinguishability is a hard problem in general. For maximally entangled states, some results are known. Local cloning of entangled states by supplying necessary entanglement in the blank state is another idea that was introduced very recently. Interestingly there are sets of orthogonal entangled states which can be distinguished locally but can not be copied by local operation (even if necessary entanglement is supplied in the blank state) contrary to the fact that happens in the case of global operation.
For general quantum systems, many sets of locally indistinguishable orthogonal quantum states have been constructed so far. However, it is interesting how much entanglement resources are sufficient and/or necessary to distinguish these states by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). Here we first present a method to locally distinguish a set of orthogonal product states in $5\ensuremath{\bigotimes}5$ by using two copies of $2\ensuremath{\bigotimes}2$ maximally entangled states. Then we generalize the distinguishing method for a class of orthogonal product states in $d\ensuremath{\bigotimes}d$ (d is odd). Furthermore, for a class of nonlocality of orthogonal product states in $d\ensuremath{\bigotimes}d$ ($d\ensuremath{\ge}5$), we prove that these states can be distinguished by LOCC with two copies of $2\ensuremath{\bigotimes}2$ maximally entangled states. Finally, for some multipartite orthogonal product states, we also present a similar method to locally distinguish these states with multiple copies of $2\ensuremath{\bigotimes}2$ maximally entangled states. These results also reveal the phenomenon of less nonlocality with more entanglement.
In this work, we construct small sets of bipartite orthogonal pure states that cannot be perfectly distinguished by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We mention that not all the states within the constructed sets are necessarily entangled. However, such a set contains at least one entangled state which cannot be conclusively identified by LOCC (with nonzero probability). Then, we show that the states of any such set can be perfectly distinguished by LOCC using a minimal-dimensional entangled resource state. Clearly, here the entangled resource state provides an advantage irrespective of the dimension of the given set. Using this result, we also prove that any pure entangled state is useful as a resource to distinguish the states of any present set unambiguously with nonzero probability under LOCC. These sets exist in all two-qudit Hilbert spaces. Furthermore, it is possible to decrease the average entanglement content of such a set or to increase the cardinality of the set without changing certain properties of the same.
Abstract It is an interesting topic how much entanglement resources are necessary to distinguish locally indistinguishable orthogonal quantum states by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). Using only one ebit of entanglement some locally indistinguishable orthogonal product bases can be distinguished by LOCC [2019 Phys. Rev. A 99 012343]. However, it is still an open question whether one ebit of entanglement is sufficient for distinguishing a locally indistinguishable set of orthogonal maximally entangled states. We focus on the generalized Bell states (GBSs), and firstly find that any four GBSs in a 4 ⊗ 4 quantum system are always distinguished by one-way LOCC using one ebit of entanglement. Then we consider a general case, i.e., d ⊗ d quantum system ( d is even), and show that the set L of any GBSs can be distinguished by one-way LOCC using one ebit of entanglement if S A \ S L is nonempty, where S A is the admissible solutions set of L and S L is the genuinely nonadmissible solutions set of L . This criterion is very simple and convenient since only some congruence equations are calculated. Finally, we find a curious and counterintuitive case, i.e., in a 3 ⊗ 3 quantum system there exist four GBSs which cannot be distinguished by one-way LOCC using one ebit of entanglement, although the dimension of the subsystem is less than four. These results can help us better understand the role of entanglement as a resource in local state discrimination problems.