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The structure of degradable quantum channels

Toby S. Cubitt, Mary Beth Ruskai, Graeme Smith

Published Jan 1, 2008• 76 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Degradable quantum channels are among the only channels whose quantum and private classical capacities are known. As such, determining the structure of these channels is a pressing open question in quantum information theory. We give a comprehensive review of what is currently known about the structure of degradable quantum channels, including a number of new results as well as alternate proofs of some known results. In the case of qubits, we provide a complete characterization of all degradable channels with two dimensional output, give a new proof that a qubit channel with two Kraus operators is either degradable or anti-degradable and present a complete description of anti-degradable unital qubit channels with a new proof. For higher output dimensions we explore the relationship between the output and environment dimensions (dB and dE respectively) of degradable channels. For several broad classes of channels we show that they can be modeled with a environment that is “small ” in the sense dE ≤ dB. Such channels include

Related papers

The structure of degradable quantum channels

Toby S. Cubitt, Mary Beth Ruskai, Graeme Smith

Degradable quantum channels are among the only channels whose quantum and private classical capacities are known. As such, determining the structure of these channels is a pressing open question in quantum information theory. We give a comprehensive review of what is currently known about the structure of degradable quantum channels, including a number of new results as well as alternate proofs of some known results. In the case of qubits, we provide a complete characterization of all degradable channels with two dimensional output, give a new proof that a qubit channel with two Kraus operators is either degradable or anti-degradable, and present a complete description of anti-degradable unital qubit channels with a new proof. For higher output dimensions we explore the relationship between the output and environment dimensions (dB and dE, respectively) of degradable channels. For several broad classes of channels we show that they can be modeled with an environment that is “small” in the sense of ΦC. Such channels include all those with qubit or qutrit output, those that map some pure state to an output with full rank, and all those which can be represented using simultaneously diagonal Kraus operators, even in a non-orthogonal basis. Perhaps surprisingly, we also present examples of degradable channels with “large” environments, in the sense that the minimal dimension dE>dB. Indeed, one can have dE>14dB2. These examples can also be used to give a negative answer to the question of whether additivity of the coherent information is helpful for establishing additivity for the Holevo capacity of a pair of channels. In the case of channels with diagonal Kraus operators, we describe the subclasses that are complements of entanglement breaking channels. We also obtain a number of results for channels in the convex hull of conjugations with generalized Pauli matrices. However, a number of open questions remain about these channels and the more general case of random unitary channels.

arXiv:0802.1360•Journal of Mathematical Physics•Oct 1, 2008•111 citations

The private classical capacity of a partially degradable quantum channel

László Gyöngyösi

For a partially degradable (PD) channel, the channel output state can be used to simulate the degraded environment state. The quantum capacity of a PD channel has been proven to be additive. Here, we show that the private classical capacity of arbitrary dimensional PD channels is equal to the quantum capacity of the channel, and it also single-letterizes. We prove that higher rates of private classical communication can be achieved over a PD channel in comparison to standard degradable channels.

arXiv:1305.5970•Physica Scripta•Dec 1, 2014•11 citations

Approximate degradable quantum channels

David Sutter, Volkher B. Scholz, Renato Renner

Degradable quantum channels are an important class of completely positive trace-preserving maps. Among other properties, they offer a single-letter formula for the quantum and the private classical capacity and are characterized by the fact that the complementary channel can be obtained from the channel by applying a degrading map. In this work we introduce the concept of approximate degradable channels, which satisfy this condition up to some finite ε ≥ 0. That is, there exists a degrading map which upon composition with the channel is ε-close in the diamond norm to the complementary channel. We show that for any fixed channel the smallest such ε can be efficiently determined via a semidefinite program. Moreover, these approximate degradable channels also approximately inherit all other properties of degradable channels. As an application, we derive improved upper bounds to the quantum and private classical capacity for certain channels of interest in quantum communication.

IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT)•Jun 1, 2015•13 citations

Approximate Degradable Quantum Channels

David Sutter, Volkher B. Scholz, Andreas Winter +1 more

Degradable quantum channels are an important class of completely positive trace-preserving maps. Among other properties, they offer a single-letter formula for the quantum and the private classical capacity and are characterized by the fact that a complementary channel can be obtained from the channel by applying a degrading channel. In this paper, we introduce the concept of approximate degradable channels, which satisfy this condition up to some finite ε ≥ 0. That is, there exists a degrading channel which upon composition with the channel is ε-close in the diamond norm to the complementary channel. We show that for any fixed channel the smallest such ε can be efficiently determined via a semidefinite program. Moreover, these approximate degradable channels also approximately inherit all other properties of degradable channels. As an application, we derive improved upper bounds to the quantum and private classical capacity for certain channels of interest in quantum communication.

arXiv:1412.0980•IEEE Transactions on Information Theory•Sep 19, 2017•73 citations

One-mode bosonic Gaussian channels: a full weak-degradability classification

Filippo Caruso, Vittorio Giovannetti, Alexander Semenovich Holevo

A complete degradability analysis of one-mode bosonic Gaussian channels is presented. We show that apart from the class of channels which are unitarily equivalent to the channels with additive classical noise, these maps can be characterized in terms of weak- and/or anti-degradability. Furthermore a new set of channels which have null quantum capacity is identified. This is done by exploiting the composition rules of one-mode Gaussian maps and the fact that anti-degradable channels cannot be used to transfer quantum information.

arXiv:quant-ph/0609013•New Journal of Physics•Dec 8, 2006•146 citations

The Structure and Quantum Capacity of a Partially Degradable Quantum Channel

László Gyöngyösi

The quantum capacity of degradable quantum channels has been proven to be additive. On the other hand, there is no general rule for the behavior of quantum capacity for antidegradable quantum channels. We introduce the set of partially degradable (PD) quantum channels to answer the question of additivity of quantum capacity for a well-separable subset of antidegradable channels. A quantum channel is PD if the channel output can be used to simulate the degraded environment state. The PD channels could exist both in the degradable, antidegradable and conjugate degradable family. We define the term partial simulation, which is a clear benefit that arises from the structure of the complementary channel of a PD channel. We prove that the quantum capacity of an arbitrary dimensional PD channel is additive. We also demonstrate that better quantum data rates can be achieved over a PD channel in comparison with standard (non-PD) channels. Our results indicate that the partial degradability property can be exploited and yet still hold many benefits for quantum communications.

arXiv:1304.5666•IEEE Access•Jan 1, 2014•16 citations
Degradable quantum channels are among the only channels whose quantum and private classical capacities are known. As such, determining the structure of these channels is a pressing open question in quantum information theory. We give a comprehensive review of what is currently known about the structure of degradable quantum channels, including a number of new results as well as alternate proofs of some known results. In the case of qubits, we provide a complete characterization of all degradable channels with two dimensional output, give a new proof that a qubit channel with two Kraus operators is either degradable or anti-degradable and present a complete description of anti-degradable unital qubit channels with a new proof. For higher output dimensions we explore the relationship between the output and environment dimensions (dB and dE respectively) of degradable channels. For several broad classes of channels we show that they can be modeled with a environment that is “small ” in the sense dE ≤ dB. Such channels include
Degradable quantum channels are among the only channels whose quantum and private classical capacities are known. As such, determining the structure of these channels is a pressing open question in quantum information theory. We give a comprehensive review of what is currently known about the structure of degradable quantum channels, including a number of new results as well as alternate proofs of some known results. In the case of qubits, we provide a complete characterization of all degradable channels with two dimensional output, give a new proof that a qubit channel with two Kraus operators is either degradable or anti-degradable, and present a complete description of anti-degradable unital qubit channels with a new proof. For higher output dimensions we explore the relationship between the output and environment dimensions (dB and dE, respectively) of degradable channels. For several broad classes of channels we show that they can be modeled with an environment that is “small” in the sense of ΦC. Such channels include all those with qubit or qutrit output, those that map some pure state to an output with full rank, and all those which can be represented using simultaneously diagonal Kraus operators, even in a non-orthogonal basis. Perhaps surprisingly, we also present examples of degradable channels with “large” environments, in the sense that the minimal dimension dE>dB. Indeed, one can have dE>14dB2. These examples can also be used to give a negative answer to the question of whether additivity of the coherent information is helpful for establishing additivity for the Holevo capacity of a pair of channels. In the case of channels with diagonal Kraus operators, we describe the subclasses that are complements of entanglement breaking channels. We also obtain a number of results for channels in the convex hull of conjugations with generalized Pauli matrices. However, a number of open questions remain about these channels and the more general case of random unitary channels.
Degradable quantum channels are an important class of completely positive trace-preserving maps. Among other properties, they offer a single-letter formula for the quantum and the private classical capacity and are characterized by the fact that the complementary channel can be obtained from the channel by applying a degrading map. In this work we introduce the concept of approximate degradable channels, which satisfy this condition up to some finite ε ≥ 0. That is, there exists a degrading map which upon composition with the channel is ε-close in the diamond norm to the complementary channel. We show that for any fixed channel the smallest such ε can be efficiently determined via a semidefinite program. Moreover, these approximate degradable channels also approximately inherit all other properties of degradable channels. As an application, we derive improved upper bounds to the quantum and private classical capacity for certain channels of interest in quantum communication.
Degradable quantum channels are an important class of completely positive trace-preserving maps. Among other properties, they offer a single-letter formula for the quantum and the private classical capacity and are characterized by the fact that a complementary channel can be obtained from the channel by applying a degrading channel. In this paper, we introduce the concept of approximate degradable channels, which satisfy this condition up to some finite ε ≥ 0. That is, there exists a degrading channel which upon composition with the channel is ε-close in the diamond norm to the complementary channel. We show that for any fixed channel the smallest such ε can be efficiently determined via a semidefinite program. Moreover, these approximate degradable channels also approximately inherit all other properties of degradable channels. As an application, we derive improved upper bounds to the quantum and private classical capacity for certain channels of interest in quantum communication.
A complete degradability analysis of one-mode bosonic Gaussian channels is presented. We show that apart from the class of channels which are unitarily equivalent to the channels with additive classical noise, these maps can be characterized in terms of weak- and/or anti-degradability. Furthermore a new set of channels which have null quantum capacity is identified. This is done by exploiting the composition rules of one-mode Gaussian maps and the fact that anti-degradable channels cannot be used to transfer quantum information.
The quantum capacity of degradable quantum channels has been proven to be additive. On the other hand, there is no general rule for the behavior of quantum capacity for antidegradable quantum channels. We introduce the set of partially degradable (PD) quantum channels to answer the question of additivity of quantum capacity for a well-separable subset of antidegradable channels. A quantum channel is PD if the channel output can be used to simulate the degraded environment state. The PD channels could exist both in the degradable, antidegradable and conjugate degradable family. We define the term partial simulation, which is a clear benefit that arises from the structure of the complementary channel of a PD channel. We prove that the quantum capacity of an arbitrary dimensional PD channel is additive. We also demonstrate that better quantum data rates can be achieved over a PD channel in comparison with standard (non-PD) channels. Our results indicate that the partial degradability property can be exploited and yet still hold many benefits for quantum communications.