Quantum coherence and other non-classical features are widely discussed in chemical dynamics, yet it remains difficult to quantify when such resources are operationally relevant for a given process and observable. While quantum resource theories provide a comprehensive framework for comparing free and resourceful settings, existing approaches typically rely on resource monotones or on performance bounds under free operations, and do not directly quantify the maximal influence a chosen resource can exert on a fixed chemical dynamics. Here, we introduce task specific, process level quantifiers that upper bound the largest change a quantum resource can induce in a target figure of merit. Central is a resource impact functional $\mathcal{C}_M(Λ)$ , defined by comparing a state with its paired resource-free counterpart under the same quantum channel $Λ$ , which admits an operational interpretation in binary hypothesis testing. We derive variation and time bounds that constrain how rapidly a resource can modify a target signal, providing resource-aware analogues of quantum speed limits. Moreover, we show that open system dynamics can be decomposed into free and resourceful components such that only the resourceful component contributes to $\mathcal{C}_M(Λ)$ , thereby isolating the parts of a generator responsible for resource-induced changes in the observable. We illustrate the framework exemplary for energy transfer in a donor-acceptor dimer in two analytically solvable regimes. Our results provide a general toolbox for diagnosing and benchmarking quantum resource effects in molecular processes.Quantum coherence and other non-classical features are widely discussed in chemical dynamics, yet it remains difficult to quantify when such resources are operationally relevant for a given process and observable. While quantum resource theories provide a comprehensive framework for comparing free and resourceful settings, existing approaches typically rely on resource monotones or on performance bounds under free operations, and do not directly quantify the maximal influence a chosen resource can exert on a fixed chemical dynamics. Here, we introduce task specific, process level quantifiers that upper bound the largest change a quantum resource can induce in a target figure of merit. Central is a resource impact functional $\mathcal{C}_M(Λ)$, defined by comparing a state with its paired resource-free counterpart under the same quantum channel $Λ$, which admits an operational interpretation in binary hypothesis testing. We derive variation and time bounds that constrain how rapidly a resource can modify a target signal, providing resource-aware analogues of quantum speed limits. Moreover, we show that open system dynamics can be decomposed into free and resourceful components such that only the resourceful component contributes to $\mathcal{C}_M(Λ)$, thereby isolating the parts of a generator responsible for resource-induced changes in the observable. We illustrate the framework exemplary for energy transfer in a donor-acceptor dimer in two analytically solvable regimes. Our results provide a general toolbox for diagnosing and benchmarking quantum resource effects in molecular processes.

quant-pharXiv:2603.06833Mar 10, 20260 citations

Operational bounds and diagnostics for coherence in energy transfer

Julia Liebert, Gregory D. Scholes

Excitation energy transfer in light-harvesting aggregates is highly efficient, yet whether quantum coherence plays an operational role in transport remains debated. A central challenge is that coherence is usually inferred from spectroscopic signatures, whereas transport performance is assessed through specific observables and depends on both the open system dynamics and the initial state preparation. Here we develop a resource theoretic approach that quantifies the maximum change that initial site-basis coherence can induce in a chosen readout under fixed reduced dynamics. The central quantity is the resource impact functional, which yields state independent, readout specific bounds on coherence-induced changes in signals and transport figures of merit. We apply the framework to two models. For a donor-acceptor dimer, we analyse coherence sensitivity across coupling and bath-timescale regimes and bound trapping efficiency and average transfer time in terms of the impact functional. For a multi-site chain with terminal trapping, we derive rigorous criteria that distinguish population placement from sensitivity to initial state site-basis coherence. These include upper bounds on the largest advantage over incoherent preparations, necessary delocalization requirements for achieving a prescribed improvement, and a simple pairwise sufficient condition that can be checked from local information. For quasi-local reduced dynamics, we further obtain a Lieb-Robinson-type bound that constrains when coherence prepared in a distant region can influence a localized readout at finite times. Together, these results provide operational diagnostics and rigorous bounds for benchmarking coherence effects and for identifying regimes in which they are necessarily negligible or potentially relevant in excitonic transport models.Excitation energy transfer in light-harvesting aggregates is highly efficient, yet whether quantum coherence plays an operational role in transport remains debated. A central challenge is that coherence is usually inferred from spectroscopic signatures, whereas transport performance is assessed through specific observables and depends on both the open system dynamics and the initial state preparation. Here we develop a resource theoretic approach that quantifies the maximum change that initial site-basis coherence can induce in a chosen readout under fixed reduced dynamics. The central quantity is the resource impact functional, which yields state independent, readout specific bounds on coherence-induced changes in signals and transport figures of merit. We apply the framework to two models. For a donor-acceptor dimer, we analyse coherence sensitivity across coupling and bath-timescale regimes and bound trapping efficiency and average transfer time in terms of the impact functional. For a multi-site chain with terminal trapping, we derive rigorous criteria that distinguish population placement from sensitivity to initial state site-basis coherence. These include upper bounds on the largest advantage over incoherent preparations, necessary delocalization requirements for achieving a prescribed improvement, and a simple pairwise sufficient condition that can be checked from local information. For quasi-local reduced dynamics, we further obtain a Lieb-Robinson-type bound that constrains when coherence prepared in a distant region can influence a localized readout at finite times. Together, these results provide operational diagnostics and rigorous bounds for benchmarking coherence effects and for identifying regimes in which they are necessarily negligible or potentially relevant in excitonic transport models.

quant-pharXiv:2603.09748Mar 11, 20260 citations

Operational bounds and diagnostics for coherence in energy transfer

Julia Liebert, Gregory D. Scholes

Excitation energy transfer in light-harvesting aggregates is highly efficient, yet whether quantum coherence plays an operational role in transport remains debated. A central challenge is that coherence is usually inferred from spectroscopic signatures, whereas transport performance is assessed through specific observables and depends on both the open system dynamics and the initial state preparation. Here, we develop a resource theoretic approach that quantifies the maximum change that initial site-basis coherence can induce in a chosen readout under fixed reduced dynamics. The central quantity is the resource impact functional, which yields state independent, readout specific bounds on coherence-induced changes in signals and transport figures of merit. We apply the framework to two models. For a donor-acceptor dimer, we analyze coherence sensitivity across coupling and bath-timescale regimes and bound trapping efficiency and average transfer time in terms of the impact functional. For a multi-site chain with terminal trapping, we derive rigorous criteria that distinguish population placement from sensitivity to initial state site-basis coherence. These include upper bounds on the largest advantage over incoherent preparations, necessary delocalization requirements for achieving a prescribed improvement, and a simple pairwise sufficient condition that can be checked from local information. For quasi-local reduced dynamics, we further obtain a Lieb-Robinson-type bound that constrains when coherence prepared in a distant region can influence a localized readout at finite times. Together, these results provide operational diagnostics and rigorous bounds for benchmarking coherence effects and for identifying regimes in which they are necessarily negligible or potentially relevant in excitonic transport models.Excitation energy transfer in light-harvesting aggregates is highly efficient, yet whether quantum coherence plays an operational role in transport remains debated. A central challenge is that coherence is usually inferred from spectroscopic signatures, whereas transport performance is assessed through specific observables and depends on both the open system dynamics and the initial state preparation. Here, we develop a resource theoretic approach that quantifies the maximum change that initial site-basis coherence can induce in a chosen readout under fixed reduced dynamics. The central quantity is the resource impact functional, which yields state independent, readout specific bounds on coherence-induced changes in signals and transport figures of merit. We apply the framework to two models. For a donor-acceptor dimer, we analyze coherence sensitivity across coupling and bath-timescale regimes and bound trapping efficiency and average transfer time in terms of the impact functional. For a multi-site chain with terminal trapping, we derive rigorous criteria that distinguish population placement from sensitivity to initial state site-basis coherence. These include upper bounds on the largest advantage over incoherent preparations, necessary delocalization requirements for achieving a prescribed improvement, and a simple pairwise sufficient condition that can be checked from local information. For quasi-local reduced dynamics, we further obtain a Lieb-Robinson-type bound that constrains when coherence prepared in a distant region can influence a localized readout at finite times. Together, these results provide operational diagnostics and rigorous bounds for benchmarking coherence effects and for identifying regimes in which they are necessarily negligible or potentially relevant in excitonic transport models.

The Journal of Chemical PhysicsJun 9, 20261 citation

Quantum dynamical resource theory under resource non-increasing framework

Si‐ren Yang, Chang‐shui Yu

We define the resource non-increasing (RNI) framework to study the dynamical resource theory. With this definition, we propose several potential quantification candidates under various free operation sets. For explicit demonstrations, we quantify the quantum dynamical coherence in the scenarios with and without post-selective measurements. Correspondingly, we show that the maximally incoherent operations (MIO) and the incoherent operations (IO) in the static coherence resource theory are free in the sense of dynamical coherence. We also provide operational meanings for the measures by the quantum discrimination tasks. Moreover, for the dynamical total coherence, we also present convenient measures and give the analytic calculation for the amplitude damping channel.We define the resource non-increasing (RNI) framework to study the dynamical resource theory. With this definition, we propose several potential quantification candidates under various free operation sets. For explicit demonstrations, we quantify the quantum dynamical coherence in the scenarios with and without post-selective measurements. Correspondingly, we show that the maximally incoherent operations (MIO) and the incoherent operations (IO) in the static coherence resource theory are free in the sense of dynamical coherence. We also provide operational meanings for the measures by the quantum discrimination tasks. Moreover, for the dynamical total coherence, we also present convenient measures and give the analytic calculation for the amplitude damping channel.

arXiv:2203.06561Chinese Physics BNov 17, 20221 citation

Accessible bounds for general quantum resources

Thomas R Bromley, Marco Cianciaruso, Sofoklis Vourekas +2 more

Abstract The recent development of general quantum resource theories has given a sound basis for the quantification of useful quantum effects. Nevertheless, the evaluation of a resource measure can be highly non-trivial, involving an optimisation that is often intractable analytically or intensive numerically. In this paper, we describe a general framework that provides quantitative lower bounds to any resource quantifier that satisfies the essential property of monotonicity under the corresponding set of free operations. Our framework relies on projecting all quantum states onto a restricted subset using a fixed resource non-increasing operation. The resources of the resultant family can then be evaluated using a simplified optimisation, with the result providing lower bounds on the resource contents of any state. This approach also reduces the experimental overhead, requiring only the relevant statistics of the restricted family of states. We illustrate the application of our framework by focusing on the resource of multiqubit entanglement and outline applications to other quantum resources.Abstract The recent development of general quantum resource theories has given a sound basis for the quantification of useful quantum effects. Nevertheless, the evaluation of a resource measure can be highly non-trivial, involving an optimisation that is often intractable analytically or intensive numerically. In this paper, we describe a general framework that provides quantitative lower bounds to any resource quantifier that satisfies the essential property of monotonicity under the corresponding set of free operations. Our framework relies on projecting all quantum states onto a restricted subset using a fixed resource non-increasing operation. The resources of the resultant family can then be evaluated using a simplified optimisation, with the result providing lower bounds on the resource contents of any state. This approach also reduces the experimental overhead, requiring only the relevant statistics of the restricted family of states. We illustrate the application of our framework by focusing on the resource of multiqubit entanglement and outline applications to other quantum resources.

arXiv:1802.04066Journal of Physics A Mathematical and TheoreticalJun 8, 20189 citations

Entropic and Operational Characterizations of Dynamic Quantum Resources

Kaiyuan Ji, Eric Chitambar

Dynamic quantum resource theories study the manipulation of quantum channels by means of a restricted set of free superoperations. In this paper, we formulate general dynamic resource theories using a "top-down" framework, and we provide systematic characterizations for closed and convex resource theories from both information-theoretic and operational perspectives. Our results are summarized as follows. First, we propose and investigate a branch of resource-induced measures of uncertainty, called the free conditional min-entropy (FCME), generalizing the conditional min-entropy and its dynamic extension to scenarios where information processing is subject to variable operational restriction. We provide a complete set of entropic conditions in terms of the FCME for characterizing channel convertibility via free superoperations in any closed and convex resource theory. We also find that the resource global robustness of channels can be equivalently cast as a mutual-information-like quantity derived from the FCME, thereby offering the resource global robustness an information-theoretic interpretation. Apart from the entropic approach, we also study closed and convex resource theories in the contexts of various operational tasks. These tasks are formulated such that each of them induces a complete set of operationally meaningful resource monotones, and therefore they can be used to faithfully test free convertibility between channels. We also systematically study the quantitative relations between the operational advantage of channels in these tasks and the resource robustness measures of channels. In particular, we prove that every well-defined robustness-based measure can be operationally interpreted as some kind of advantage in a task called semiquantum partial preprocessing. Ultimately, our results provide both entropic and operational characterizations for general dynamic quantum resources with a closed and convex structure.Dynamic quantum resource theories study the manipulation of quantum channels by means of a restricted set of free superoperations. In this paper, we formulate general dynamic resource theories using a "top-down" framework, and we provide systematic characterizations for closed and convex resource theories from both information-theoretic and operational perspectives. Our results are summarized as follows. First, we propose and investigate a branch of resource-induced measures of uncertainty, called the free conditional min-entropy (FCME), generalizing the conditional min-entropy and its dynamic extension to scenarios where information processing is subject to variable operational restriction. We provide a complete set of entropic conditions in terms of the FCME for characterizing channel convertibility via free superoperations in any closed and convex resource theory. We also find that the resource global robustness of channels can be equivalently cast as a mutual-information-like quantity derived from the FCME, thereby offering the resource global robustness an information-theoretic interpretation. Apart from the entropic approach, we also study closed and convex resource theories in the contexts of various operational tasks. These tasks are formulated such that each of them induces a complete set of operationally meaningful resource monotones, and therefore they can be used to faithfully test free convertibility between channels. We also systematically study the quantitative relations between the operational advantage of channels in these tasks and the resource robustness measures of channels. In particular, we prove that every well-defined robustness-based measure can be operationally interpreted as some kind of advantage in a task called semiquantum partial preprocessing. Ultimately, our results provide both entropic and operational characterizations for general dynamic quantum resources with a closed and convex structure.

IEEE International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT)Jun 25, 20230 citations

\mathcal{C}_M(Λ)

, defined by comparing a state with its paired resource-free counterpart under the same quantum channel

Λ

, which admits an operational interpretation in binary hypothesis testing. We derive variation and time bounds that constrain how rapidly a resource can modify a target signal, providing resource-aware analogues of quantum speed limits. Moreover, we show that open system dynamics can be decomposed into free and resourceful components such that only the resourceful component contributes to

\mathcal{C}_M(Λ)

, thereby isolating the parts of a generator responsible for resource-induced changes in the observable. We illustrate the framework exemplary for energy transfer in a donor-acceptor dimer in two analytically solvable regimes. Our results provide a general toolbox for diagnosing and benchmarking quantum resource effects in molecular processes.