Abstract The link between quantum state discrimination and the no-signaling principle is applied to discriminating geometrically uniform states. Specifically, the original discrimination problem is converted to constructing the complementary matrix with predetermined off-diagonal entries. Two such constructions are given explicitly, and therefore three upper bounds on the success probability are derived. Those upper bounds are then employed to estimate the robustness of coherence, where we establish a larger class of states with equal robustness of coherence and l 1 -norm of coherence, and provide the exact answer of the robustness of coherence for any states that are diagonalized by Hadamard matrices.
Abstract The link between quantum state discrimination and the no-signaling principle is applied to discriminating geometrically uniform states. Specifically, the original discrimination problem is converted to constructing the complementary matrix with predetermined off-diagonal entries. Two such constructions are given explicitly, and therefore three upper bounds on the success probability are derived. Those upper bounds are then employed to estimate the robustness of coherence, where we establish a larger class of states with equal robustness of coherence and l 1 -norm of coherence, and provide the exact answer of the robustness of coherence for any states that are diagonalized by Hadamard matrices.
Abstract The operational meaning of coherence measure lies at the very heart of the coherence theory. In this paper, we provide an operational interpretation for geometric coherence, by proving that the geometric coherence of a quantum state is equal to the minimum error probability to discriminate a set of pure states with von Neumann measurement. On the other hand, we also show that a task to ambiguously discriminate a set of linearly independent pure states can be regarded as a problem of calculating geometric coherence. That is, we reveal an equivalence relation between ambiguous quantum state discrimination and geometric coherence. Based on this equivalence, moreover, we improve the upper bound for geometric coherence and give the explicit expression of geometric coherence for a class of states. Besides, we establish a complementarity relation of geometric coherence and path distinguishability, with which the relationship between l 1 -norm of coherence and geometric coherence is obtained. Finally, with geometric coherence, we study multiple copies of quantum state discrimination and give an example to show how to discriminate two pure states.
Abstract—In this paper, we consider the problem of unambiguous discrimination between a set of linearly independent pure quantum states. We show that the design of the optimal measurement that minimizes the probability of an inconclusive result can be formulated as a semidefinite programming problem. Based on this formulation, we develop a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for an optimal quantum measurement. We show that the optimal measurement can be computed very efficiently in polynomial time by exploiting the many well-known algorithms for solving semidefinite programs, which are guaranteed to converge to the global optimum. Using the general conditions for optimality, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions so that the measurement that results in an equal probability of an inconclusive result for each one of the quantum states is optimal. We refer to this measurement as the equal-probability measurement (EPM). We then show that for any state set, the prior probabilities of the states can be chosen such that the EPM is optimal. Finally, we consider state sets with strong symmetry properties and equal prior probabilities for which the EPM is optimal. We first consider geometrically uniform (GU) state sets that are defined over a group of unitary matrices and are generated by a single generating vector. We then consider compound GU state sets which are generated by a group of unitary matrices using multiple generating vectors, where the generating vectors satisfy a certain (weighted) norm constraint. Index Terms—Compound geometrically uniform (CGU) quantum states, equal-probability measurement (EPM), geometrically uniform (GU) quantum states, quantum detection, semidefinite programming, unambiguous discrimination. I.
We provide a bound on the minimum error when discriminating among quantum states, using the no-signaling principle. The bound is general in that it depends on neither dimensions nor specific structures of given quantum states to be discriminated among. We show that the bound is tight for the minimum-error state discrimination between symmetric (both pure and mixed) qubit states. Moreover, the bound can be applied to a set of quantum states for which the minimum-error state discrimination is not known yet. Finally, our results strengthen the quantitative connection between two no-go theorems, the no-signaling principle, and the no perfect state estimation.
We consider discrimination of geometrically uniform states, and analytically solve this problem for qubits. For qutrits, we obtain the exact solution to the optimal measurement when the defining unitary matrix for the geometrically uniform states is degenerate. We also show that if the unitary is nondegenerate then the optimal measurement for discriminating geometrically uniform qubits or qutrits can always be expressed as a rank-1 operator, which converts the original discrimination problem into an optimization of a sum of trigonometric functions with two real variables in the case of qutrits. Additionally, a geometrical interpretation of the optimal measurement for discriminating geometrically uniform qubits is given via the Bloch sphere representation.
We analyze the problem of finding sets of quantum states that can be deterministically discriminated. From a geometric point of view, this problem is equivalent to that of embedding a simplex of points whose distances are maximal with respect to the Bures distance (or trace distance). We derive upper and lower bounds for the trace distance and for the fidelity between two quantum states, which imply bounds for the Bures distance between the unitary orbits of both states. We thus show that, when analyzing minimal and maximal distances between states of fixed spectra, it is sufficient to consider diagonal states only. Hence when optimal discrimination is considered, given freedom up to unitary orbits, it is sufficient to consider diagonal states. This is illustrated geometrically in terms of Weyl chambers.
The discrimination of two mixed quantum states is a fundamental task in quantum state estimation and quantum information theory. In quantum state discrimination a quantum system is assumed to be in one of two possible – in general mixed – non-orthogonal quantum states. The discrimination then consists of a measurement strategy that allows to decide in which state the system was before the measurement. In unambiguous state discrimination the aim is to make this decision without errors, but it is allowed to give an inconclusive answer.
Especially interesting are measurement strategies that minimize the probability of an inconclusive answer. A starting point for the analysis of this optimization problem was a result by Eldar et al. [Phys. Rev. A 69, 062318 (2004)], which provides non-operational necessary and sufficient conditions for a given measurement strategy to be optimal. These conditions are reconsidered and simplified in such a way that they become operational. The simplified conditions are the basis for further central results: It is shown that the optimal measurement strategy is unique, a statement that is e.g. of importance for the complexity analysis of optimal measurement devices. The optimal measurement strategy is derived for the case, where one of the possible input states has at most rank two, which was an open problem for many years. Furthermore, using the optimality criterion it is shown that there always exists a threshold probability for each state, such that below this probability it is optimal to exclude this state from the discrimination strategy.
If the two states subject to discrimination can be brought to a diagonal structure with (2×2)-dimensional blocks, then the unambiguous discrimination of these states can be reduced to the unambiguous discrimination of pure states.
A criterion is presented that allows to identify the presence of such a structure for two self-adjoint operators. This criterion consists of the evaluation of three commutators and allows an explicit construction of the (2×2)-dimensional blocks.
As an important application of unambiguous state discrimination, unambiguous
state comparison, i.e., the question whether two states are identical or not, is generalized and optimal measurements for this problem are constructed.
If for a certain family of states, a physical device maps the input state to an output state, such that a second device can be built that yields back the original input state, such a map is called reversible on this family. With respect to state discrimination, such reversible maps are particularly interesting, if the output states are pure. A complete characterization of all families that allow such a reversible and purifying map is provided. If the states are mapped to pure states, but the map itself is not reversible, upper and lower bounds are analyzed for the “deviation from perfect faithfulness”, a quantity which measures the deviation from a reversible mapping.