Wave-particle duality as the defining characteristic of quantum objects is a typical example of the principle of complementarity. The wave-particle-entanglement (WPE) complementarity, initially developed for two-qubit systems, is an extended form of complementarity that combines wave-particle duality with a previously missing ingredient, quantum entanglement. For two-qubit systems in mixed states, the WPE complementarity was further completed by adding yet another piece that characterizes ignorance, forming the wave-particle-entanglement-ignorance (WPEI) complementarity. A general formulation of the WPEI complementarity can not only shed new light on fundamental problems in quantum mechanics, but can also have a wide range of experimental and practical applications in quantum-mechanical settings. The purpose of this study is to establish the WPEI complementarity for general multi-dimensional bipartite systems in pure or mixed states, and extend its range of applications to incorporate hierarchical and infinite-dimensional bipartite systems. The general formulation is facilitated by well-motivated generalizations of the relevant quantities. When faced with different directions of extensions to take, our guiding principle is that the formulated complementarity should be as simple and powerful as possible. We find that the generalized form of the WPEI complementarity contains unequal-weight averages reflecting the difference in the subsystem dimensions, and that the tangle, instead of the squared concurrence, serves as a more suitable entanglement measure in the general scenario. Two examples, a finite-dimensional bipartite system in mixed states and an infinite-dimensional bipartite system in pure states, are studied in detail to illustrate the general formalism. We also discuss our results in connection with some previous work. The WPEI complementarity for general finite-dimensional bipartite systems may be tested in multi-beam interference experiments, while the second example we studied may facilitate future experimental investigations on complementarity in infinite-dimensional bipartite systems.
Wave-particle duality as the defining characteristic of quantum objects is a typical example of the principle of complementarity. The wave-particle-entanglement (WPE) complementarity, initially developed for two-qubit systems, is an extended form of complementarity that combines wave-particle duality with a previously missing ingredient, quantum entanglement. For two-qubit systems in mixed states, the WPE complementarity was further completed by adding yet another piece that characterizes ignorance, forming the wave-particle-entanglement-ignorance (WPEI) complementarity. A general formulation of the WPEI complementarity can not only shed new light on fundamental problems in quantum mechanics, but can also have a wide range of experimental and practical applications in quantum-mechanical settings. The purpose of this study is to establish the WPEI complementarity for general multi-dimensional bipartite systems in pure or mixed states, and extend its range of applications to incorporate hierarchical and infinite-dimensional bipartite systems. The general formulation is facilitated by well-motivated generalizations of the relevant quantities. When faced with different directions of extensions to take, our guiding principle is that the formulated complementarity should be as simple and powerful as possible. We find that the generalized form of the WPEI complementarity contains unequal-weight averages reflecting the difference in the subsystem dimensions, and that the tangle, instead of the squared concurrence, serves as a more suitable entanglement measure in the general scenario. Two examples, a finite-dimensional bipartite system in mixed states and an infinite-dimensional bipartite system in pure states, are studied in detail to illustrate the general formalism. We also discuss our results in connection with some previous work. The WPEI complementarity for general finite-dimensional bipartite systems may be tested in multi-beam interference experiments, while the second example we studied may facilitate future experimental investigations on complementarity in infinite-dimensional bipartite systems.
We introduce a complete set of complementary quantities in bipartite, two-dimensional systems. Complementarity then relates the quantitative entanglement measure concurrence which is a bipartite property to the single-particle quantum properties predictability and visibility, for the most general quantum state of two qubits. Consequently, from an interferometric point of view, the usual wave-particle duality relation must be extended to a ``triality'' relation containing, in addition, the quantitative entanglement measure concurrence, which has no classical counterpart and manifests a genuine quantum aspect of bipartite systems. A generalized duality relation, that also governs possible violations of the Bell's inequality, arises between single- and bipartite properties.
We derive two complementarity relations that constrain the individual and bipartite properties that may simultaneously exist in a multi-qubit system. The first expression, valid for an arbitrary pure state of n qubits, demonstrates that the degree to which single particle properties are possessed by an individual member of the system is limited by the bipartite entanglement that exists between that qubit and the remainder of the system. This result implies that the phenomenon of entanglement sharing is one specific consequence of complementarity. The second expression, which holds for an arbitrary state of two qubits, pure or mixed, quantifies a tradeoff between the amounts of entanglement, separable uncertainty, and single particle properties that are encoded in the quantum state. The separable uncertainty is a natural measure of our ignorance about the properties possessed by individual subsystems, and may be used to completely characterize the relationship between entanglement and mixedness in two-qubit systems. The two-qubit complementarity relation yields a useful geometric picture in which the root mean square values of local subsystem properties act like coordinates in the space of density matrices, and suggests possible insights into the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics.
One of the most remarkable features of quantum physics is that attributes of quantum objects, such as the wavelike and particlelike behaviors of single photons, can be complementary in the sense that they are equally real but cannot be observed simultaneously. Quantum measurements, serving as windows providing views into the abstract edifice of quantum theory, are basic tools for manifesting the intrinsic behaviors of quantum objects. However, a quantitative formulation of complementarity that highlights its manifestations in general measurement scenarios remains elusive. Here we develop a general framework for demonstrating quantum complementarity in the form of information exclusion relations (IERs), which incorporates the wave-particle duality relations as particular examples. Moreover, we explore the applications of our theory in entanglement detection and elucidate that our IERs lead to an extended form of entropic uncertainty relations, providing insights into the connection between quantum complementarity and the preparation uncertainty.
Abstract The wave-particle duality, as a manifestation of Bohr’s complementarity, is usually quantified in terms of path predictability and interference visibility. Various characterizations of the wave-particle duality have been proposed from an operational perspective, most of them are in forms of inequalities, and some of them are expressed in forms of equalities by incorporating entanglement or coherence. In this work, we shed different insights into the nature of the wave-particle duality by casting it into a form of information conservation in a multi-path interferometer, with uncertainty as a unified theme. More specifically, by employing the simple yet fundamental concept of variance, we establish a resolution of unity, which can be interpreted as a complementarity relation among wave feature, particle feature, and mixedness of a quantum state. This refines or reinterprets some conventional approaches to wave-particle duality, and highlights informational aspects of the issue. The key idea of our approach lies in that a quantum state, as a Hermitian operator, can also be naturally regarded as an observable, with measurement uncertainty (in a state) and state uncertainty (in a measurement) being exploited to quantify particle feature and wave feature of a quantum state, respectively. These two kinds of uncertainties, although both are defined via variance, have fundamentally different properties and capture different features of a state. Together with the mixedness, which is a kind of uncertainty intrinsic to a quantum state, they add up to unity, and thus lead to a characterization of the wave-particle-mixedness complementarity. This triality relation is further illustrated by examples and compared with some popular wave-particle duality or triality relations.
We experimentally verify the link existing between entanglement and the amount of wave-particle duality in a bipartite quantum system with superconducting qubits in the IBM Q quantum computer. We consider both pure and mixed states, and study the influence of state purity on the observation of the complementarity triality relation of Jakob and Bergou [arXiv:quant-ph/0302075; Opt. Commun. 283, 827 (2010)]. This work confirms the quantitative completion of local Bohr's complementarity principle by the nonlocal quantum entanglement typical of a truly bipartite quantum system.
Wave-particle duality, an important and fundamental concept established upon pure quantum systems, is central to the complementarity principle in quantum mechanics. However, due to the environment effects or even the entanglement between the quanton and the which-way detector (WWD), the quanton should be described by a mixed quantum state but not a pure quantum state. Although there are some attempts to clarify the complementarity principle for mixed quantum systems, it is still unclear how the mixedness affects the complementary relation. Here, we give a ternary complementary relation (TCR) among wave, particle and mixedness aspects for arbitrary multi-state systems, which are respectively quantified by the l1 measure for quantum coherence, the which-path predictability, and the linear entropy. In particular, we show how a WWD can transform entropy into predictability and coherence. Through modifying the POVM (positive-operator valued measure) measurement on WWD, our TCR can be simplified as the wave-mixedness and particle-mixedness duality relations. Beyond enclosing the wave-particle duality relation [PRL 116, 160406 (2016)], our TCR relates to the wave-particle-entanglement complementarity relation [PRL 98, 250501 (2008); Opt. Commun. 283, 827 (2010)].