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On Quantum Fidelities and Channel Capacities

Howard Barnum, Emanuel H. Knill, Michael A. Nielsen

Published Jan 1, 2000• 142 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Abstract — We show the equivalence of two different notions of quantum channel capacity: that which uses the entanglement fidelity as its criterion for success in transmission, and that which uses the minimum fidelity of pure states in a subspace of the input Hilbert space as its criterion. As a corollary, any source with entropy less than the capacity may be transmitted with high entanglement fidelity. We also show that a restricted class of encodings is sufficient to transmit any quantum source which may be transmitted on a given channel. This enables us to simplify a known upper bound for the channel capacity. It also enables us to show that the availability of an auxiliary classical channel from encoder to decoder does not increase the quantum capacity.

Related papers

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We study collective state preparation and channel encoding in fermionic systems under parity superselection and composition governed by the canonical anticommutation relations. For a two-mode Gaussian state $τ$, we obtain the exact entanglement of formation, $E_{\mathrm F}^{\mathrm{phys}}(τ^{\otimes m})=\lceil m/2\rceil\log2$ for every $m\geq1$. Two copies have the same formation value as one, violating additivity and strong superadditivity, while regularization halves the single-copy value. For an associated Gaussian channel, we determine the minimum output entropy and Holevo information at every blocklength and prove nonadditivity of both. Together, these results give exact answers to the fermionic counterparts of the four additivity questions associated with Shor and Hastings. One physical use carries no classical information, whereas two uses transmit one bit perfectly. The unassisted classical and zero-error classical capacities both equal one half bit per mode. A sharp finite-block bound gives a strong converse: the decoding success probability vanishes at every rate above capacity. These optimizations cover all physical pure-state decompositions and channel inputs, with Gaussian ensembles and classical codes attaining the optima. The formation and minimum output entropy formulas hold for every Rényi order $α\in(0,\infty]$. We also determine the unassisted quantum and zero-error quantum capacities, both equal to one half logical qubit per mode, and prove a strong converse: entanglement fidelity vanishes at every rate above capacity. For a noisy Gaussian family, we determine the one- and two-copy formation values and prove strict nonadditivity at full rank. For $τ$, Bell violation under local parity-preserving measurements first appears at three copies.

quant-pharXiv:2610.06758•Oct 6, 2026•0 citations
Abstract — We show the equivalence of two different notions of quantum channel capacity: that which uses the entanglement fidelity as its criterion for success in transmission, and that which uses the minimum fidelity of pure states in a subspace of the input Hilbert space as its criterion. As a corollary, any source with entropy less than the capacity may be transmitted with high entanglement fidelity. We also show that a restricted class of encodings is sufficient to transmit any quantum source which may be transmitted on a given channel. This enables us to simplify a known upper bound for the channel capacity. It also enables us to show that the availability of an auxiliary classical channel from encoder to decoder does not increase the quantum capacity.
For the discrete memoryless quantum channel, we show the equivalence of two different notions of quantum channel capacity: that which uses the entanglement fidelity as its criterion for success in transmission, and that which uses the minimum fidelity of pure states in a subspace of the input Hilbert space as its criterion. As a corollary, any source with entropy rate less than the capacity may be transmitted with high entanglement fidelity. We also show that a restricted class of encodings is sufficient to transmit any quantum source which may be transmitted on a given channel. This enables us to simplify a known upper bound for the channel capacity. It also enables us to show that the availability of an auxiliary classical channel from encoder to decoder does not increase the quantum capacity.
We analyze different aspects of multiparty communication over quantum memoryless channels and generalize some of the key results known from bipartite channels to the multiparty scenario. In particular, we introduce multiparty versions of subspace and entanglement transmission fidelities. We also provide alternative, local, versions of fidelities and show their equivalence to the global ones in context of capacity regions defined. An equivalence of two different capacity notions with respect to two types of fidelities is proven. In analogy to the bipartite case it is shown, via sufficiency of isometric encoding theorem, that additional classical forward side channel does not increase capacity region of any quantum channel with kkk senders and mmm receivers which represents a compact unit of general quantum networks theory. The result proves that recently provided capacity region of a multiple access channel [M. Horodecki et al., Nature 436, 673 (2005); J. Yard et al., e-print quant-ph/0501045], is optimal also in a scenario of an additional support of forward classical communication.
The capacity of a quantum channel for transmission of classical information depends in principle on whether product states or entangled states are used at the input, and whether product or entangled measurements are used at the output. We show that when product measurements are used, the capacity of the channel is achieved with product input states, so that entangled inputs do not increase capacity. We show that this result continues to hold if sequential measurements are allowed, whereby the choice of successive measurements may depend on the results of previous measurements. We also present a new simplified expression which gives an upper bound for the Shannon capacity of a channel, and which bears a striking resemblance to the well-known Holevo bound.
The capacity of a quantum channel for transmission of classical information depends in principle on whether product states or entangled states are used at the input, and whether product or entangled measurements are used at the output. We show that when product measurements are used, the capacity of the channel is achieved with product input states, so that entangled inputs do not increase capacity. We show that this result continues to hold if sequential measurements are allowed, whereby the choice of successive measurements may depend on the results of previous measurements. We also present a new simplified expression which gives an upper bound for the Shannon capacity of a channel, and which bears a striking resemblance to the well-known Holevo bound.
We discuss the capacity of quantum channels for information transmission and storage. Quantum channels have dual uses: they can be used to transmit known quantum states which code for classical information, and they can be used in a purely quantum manner, for transmitting or storing quantum entanglement. We propose here a definition of the von Neumann capacity of quantum channels, which is a quantum-mechanical extension of the Shannon capacity and reverts to it in the classical limit. As such, the von Neumann capacity assumes the role of a classical or quantum capacity depending on the usage of the channel. In analogy to the classical construction, this capacity is defined as the maximum von Neumann mutual entropy processed by the channel, a measure which reduces to the capacity for classical information transmission through quantum channels (the ``Kholevo capacity'') when known quantum states are sent. The quantum mutual entropy fulfills all basic requirements for a measure of information, and observes quantum data-processing inequalities. We also derive a quantum Fano inequality relating the quantum loss of the channel to the fidelity of the quantum code. The quantities introduced are calculated explicitly for the quantum depolarizing channel. The von Neumann capacity is interpreted within the context of superdense coding, and an extended Hamming bound is derived that is consistent with that capacity.
We study collective state preparation and channel encoding in fermionic systems under parity superselection and composition governed by the canonical anticommutation relations. For a two-mode Gaussian state τττ, we obtain the exact entanglement of formation, EFphys(τ⊗m)=⌈m/2⌉log⁡2E_{\mathrm F}^{\mathrm{phys}}(τ^{\otimes m})=\lceil m/2\rceil\log2EFphys​(τ⊗m)=⌈m/2⌉log2 for every m≥1m\geq1m≥1. Two copies have the same formation value as one, violating additivity and strong superadditivity, while regularization halves the single-copy value. For an associated Gaussian channel, we determine the minimum output entropy and Holevo information at every blocklength and prove nonadditivity of both. Together, these results give exact answers to the fermionic counterparts of the four additivity questions associated with Shor and Hastings. One physical use carries no classical information, whereas two uses transmit one bit perfectly. The unassisted classical and zero-error classical capacities both equal one half bit per mode. A sharp finite-block bound gives a strong converse: the decoding success probability vanishes at every rate above capacity. These optimizations cover all physical pure-state decompositions and channel inputs, with Gaussian ensembles and classical codes attaining the optima. The formation and minimum output entropy formulas hold for every Rényi order α∈(0,∞]α\in(0,\infty]α∈(0,∞]. We also determine the unassisted quantum and zero-error quantum capacities, both equal to one half logical qubit per mode, and prove a strong converse: entanglement fidelity vanishes at every rate above capacity. For a noisy Gaussian family, we determine the one- and two-copy formation values and prove strict nonadditivity at full rank. For τττ, Bell violation under local parity-preserving measurements first appears at three copies.