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arXiv:quant-ph/0001053 · Physical Review A

Positive maps that are not completely positive

Sixia Yu

Published Jul 20, 2000• 19 citations
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Abstract

The concept of the half density matrix is proposed. It unifies the quantum states that are described by density matrices and physical processes that are described by completely positive maps. With the help of the half-density-matrix representation of the Hermitian linear map, we show that every positive map that is not completely positive is a difference of two completely positive maps. A necessary and sufficient condition for a positive map that is not completely positive is also presented, which is illustrated by some examples.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.62.024302

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arXiv:quant-ph/0109158•Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General•Apr 24, 2003•18 citations
The concept of the half density matrix is proposed. It unifies the quantum states that are described by density matrices and physical processes that are described by completely positive maps. With the help of the half-density-matrix representation of the Hermitian linear map, we show that every positive map that is not completely positive is a difference of two completely positive maps. A necessary and sufficient condition for a positive map that is not completely positive is also presented, which is illustrated by some examples.
Linear maps of matrices describing the evolution of density matrices for a quantum system initially entangled with another are identified and found to be not always completely positive. They can even map a positive matrix to a matrix that is not positive, unless we restrict the domain on which the map acts. Nevertheless, their form is similar to that of completely positive maps. Only some minus signs are inserted in the operator-sum representation. Each map is the difference of two completely positive maps. The maps are first obtained as maps of mean values and then as maps of basis matrices. These forms also prove to be useful. An example for two entangled qubits is worked out in detail. The relation to earlier work is discussed.
The positive and not completely positive maps of density matrices, which are contractive maps, are discussed as elements of a semigroup. A new kind of positive map (the purification map), which is nonlinear map, is introduced. The density matrices are considered as vectors, linear maps among matrices are represented by superoperators given in the form of higher dimensional matrices. Probability representation of spin states (spin tomography) is reviewed and U ( N )-tomogram of spin states is presented. Properties of the tomograms as probability distribution functions are studied. Notion of tomographic purity of spin states is introduced. Entanglement and separability of density matrices are expressed in terms of properties of the tomographic joint probability distributions of random spin projections which depend also on unitary group parameters. A new positivity criterion for hermitian matrices is formulated. An entanglement criterion is given in terms of a function depending on unitary group paramete rs and semigroup of positive map parameters. The function is constructed as sum of moduli of U ( N )- tomographic symbols of the hermitian matrix obtained after action on the density matrix of composite system by a positive but not completely positive map of the subsystem density matrix. Some two-qubit and two-qutritt states are considered as examples of entangled states. The connection with the star-product quantisation is discussed. The structure of the set of density matrices and their relation to unitary group and Lie algebra of the unitary group are studied. Nonlinear quantum evolution of state vector obtained by means of applying purification rule of density matrices evolving via dynamical maps is considered. Some connection of positive maps and entanglement with random matrices is discussed and used.
The positive and not completely positive maps of density matrices, which are contractive maps, are discussed as elements of a semigroup. A new kind of positive map (the purification map), which is nonlinear map, is introduced. The density matrices are considered as vectors, linear maps among matrices are represented by superoperators given in the form of higher dimensional matrices. Probability representation of spin states (spin tomography) is reviewed and U(N)-tomogram of spin states is presented. Properties of the tomograms as probability distribution functions are studied. Notion of tomographic purity of spin states is introduced. Entanglement and separability of density matrices are expressed in terms of properties of the tomographic joint probability distributions of random spin projections which depend also on unitary group parameters. A new positivity criterion for hermitian matrices is formulated. An entanglement criterion is given in terms of a function depending on unitary group parameters and semigroup of positive map parameters. The function is constructed as sum of moduli of U(N)-tomographic symbols of the hermitian matrix obtained after action on the density matrix of composite system by a positive but not completely positive map of the subsystem density matrix. Some two-qubit and two-qutritt states are considered as examples of entangled states. The connection with the star-product quantisation is discussed. The structure of the set of density matrices and their relation to unitary group and Lie algebra of the unitary group are studied. Nonlinear quantum evolution of state vector obtained by means of applying purification rule of density matrices evolving via dynamical maps is considered. Some connection of positive maps and entanglement with random matrices is discussed and used.
Using the known possibility to associate the completely positive maps with density matrices and recent results on expressing the density matrices with sets of classical probability distributions of dichotomic random variables we construct the probability representation of the completely positive maps. In this representation, any completely positive map of qubit state density matrix is identified with the set of classical coin probability distributions. Examples of the maps of qubit states are studied in detail. The evolution equation of quantum states is written in the form of the classical-like kinetic equation for probability distributions identified with qubit state.
The most general evolution of the density matrix of a quantum system with a finite-dimensional state space is by stochastic maps which take a density matrix linearly into the set of density matrices. These dynamical stochastic maps form a linear convex set that may be viewed as supermatrices. The property of Hermiticity of density matrices renders an associated supermatrix Hermitian and hence diagonalizable. The positivity of the density matrix does not make the associated supermatrix positive though. If the map itself is positive, it is called completely positive and it has a simple parametrization. This is extended to all positive (not completely positive) maps. A general dynamical map that does not preserve the norm of the density matrices it acts on can be thought of as the contraction of a norm-preserving map of an extended system. The reconstruction of such extended dynamics is also given.