In a number of previous studies, we have investigated the use of the volume element of the Bures (minimal monotone) metric -- identically, one-fourth of the statistical distinguishability (SD) metric -- as a natural measure over the (n^2-1)-dimensional convex set of n x n density matrices. This has led us for the cases n = 4 and 6 to estimates of the prior (Bures/SD) probabilities that qubit-qubit and qubit-qutrit pairs are separable. Here, we extend this work from such bipartite systems to the tripartite "laboratory'' quantum systems possessing U x U x U symmetry recently constructed by Eggeling and Werner (Phys. Rev. A 63 [2001], 042324). We derive the associated SD metric tensors for the three-qubit and three-qutrit cases, and then obtain estimates of the various related Bures/SD probabilities using Monte Carlo methods.
In a number of previous studies, we have investigated the use of the volume element of the Bures (minimal monotone) metric -- identically, one-fourth of the statistical distinguishability (SD) metric -- as a natural measure over the (n^2-1)-dimensional convex set of n x n density matrices. This has led us for the cases n = 4 and 6 to estimates of the prior (Bures/SD) probabilities that qubit-qubit and qubit-qutrit pairs are separable. Here, we extend this work from such bipartite systems to the tripartite "laboratory'' quantum systems possessing U x U x U symmetry recently constructed by Eggeling and Werner (Phys. Rev. A 63 [2001], 042324). We derive the associated SD metric tensors for the three-qubit and three-qutrit cases, and then obtain estimates of the various related Bures/SD probabilities using Monte Carlo methods.
In a previous study (quant-ph/0207181), we formulated a conjecture that arbitrarily coupled qubits (describable by 4 x 4 density matrices) are separable with an a priori probability of 8/(11 π^2) = 0.0736881. For this purpose, we employed the normalized volume element of the Bures (minimal monotone) metric as a probability distribution over the fifteen-dimensional convex set of 4 x 4 density matrices. Here, we provide further/independent (quasi-Monte Carlo numerical integration) evidence of a stronger nature (giving an estimate of 0.0736858 vs. 0.0737012 previously) for this conjecture. Additionally, employing a certain ansatz, we estimate the probabilities of separability based on certain other monotone metrics of interest. However, we find ourselves, at this point, unable to convincingly conjecture exact simple formulas for these new (smaller) probabilities.
We extend to arbitrarily coupled pairs of qubits (two-state quantum systems) and qutrits (three-state quantum systems) our earlier study (Slater 2002 Quantum Inf. Process. 1 387), which was concerned with the simplest instance of entangled quantum systems, pairs of qubits. As in that analysis—again on the basis of numerical (quasi-Monte Carlo) integration results, but now in a still higher-dimensional space (35D versus 15D)—we examine a conjecture that the Bures/SD (statistical distinguishability) probability that arbitrarily paired qubits and qutrits are separable (unentangled) has a simple exact value, , where u = 2 20 × 3 3 × 5 × 7 and v = 19 × 23 × 29 × 31 × 37 × 41 × 43 (the product of consecutive primes). This is considerably less than the conjectured value of the Bures/SD probability, , in the qubit–qubit case. Both of these conjectures, in turn, rely upon ones to the effect that the SD volumes of separable states assume certain remarkable forms, involving 'primorial' numbers. We also estimate the SD area of the boundary of separable qubit–qutrit states, and provide preliminary calculations of the Bures/SD probability of separability in the general qubit–qubit–qubit and qutrit–qutrit cases.
We pursue a number of analytical directions, motivated to some extent initially by the possibility of developing a methodology for formally proving or disproving a certain conjecture of quantum-theoretical relevance (quant-ph/0308037). It asserts that the 15-dimensional volume occupied by the separable two-qubit density matrices is (\sqrt{2}-1)/3, as measured in terms of the statistical distinguishability metric (four times the Bures or minimal monotone metric). Somewhat disappointingly, however, the several various analyses that we report, though we hope of independent/autonomous interest, appear to provide small indication of how to definitively resolve the conjecture. Among our studies here are ones of: (1) the Bures volumes of the two-dimensional sections of Bloch vectors for a number of the Jakobczyk-Siennicki two-qubit scenarios; (2) the structure of certain convex polytopes of separable density matrices; and (3) the diagonalization of 15 x 15 Bures metric tensors.
Paralleling our recent computationally-intensive work for the case N=4 (quant-ph/0308037), we undertake the task for N=6 of computing to high numerical accuracy, the formulas of Sommers and Zyczkowski (quant-ph/0304041) for the (N^2-1)-dimensional volume and (N^2-2)-dimensional hyperarea of the (separable and nonseparable) N x N density matrices, based on the Bures (minimal monotone) metric. At the same time, we estimate the unknown volumes and hyperareas based on a number of other monotone metrics of interest. Additionally, we estimate -- but with perhaps unavoidably diminished accuracy -- all these volume and hyperarea quantities, when restricted to the ``small'' subset of 6 x 6 density matrices that are separable (classically correlated) in nature. The ratios of separable to separable plus nonseparable volumes, then, yield corresponding estimates of the ``probabilities of separability''. We are particularly interested in exploring the possibility that a number of the various 35-dimensional volumes and 34-dimensional hyperareas, possess exact values -- which we had, in fact, conjectured to be the case for the qubit-qubit systems (N=4), with the ``silver mean'', sqrt{2}-1, appearing to play a fundamental role as regards the separable states.
Paralleling our recent computationally intensive (quasi-Monte Carlo) work for the case N=4 (e-print quant-ph/0308037), we undertake the task for N=6 of computing to high numerical accuracy, the formulas of Sommers and \ifmmode \dot{Z}\else \.{Z}\fi{}yczkowski (e-print quant-ph/0304041) for the $({N}^{2}\ensuremath{-}1)$-dimensional volume and $({N}^{2}\ensuremath{-}2)$-dimensional hyperarea of the (separable and nonseparable) $N\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}N$ density matrices, based on the Bures (minimal monotone) metric---and also their analogous formulas (e-print quant-ph/0302197) for the (nonmonotone) flat Hilbert-Schmidt metric. With the same seven 109 well-distributed (``low-discrepancy'') sample points, we estimate the unknown volumes and hyperareas based on five additional (monotone) metrics of interest, including the Kubo-Mori and Wigner-Yanase. Further, we estimate all of these seven volume and seven hyperarea (unknown) quantities when restricted to the separable density matrices. The ratios of separable volumes (hyperareas) to separable plus nonseparable volumes (hyperareas) yield estimates of the separability probabilities of generically rank-6 (rank-5) density matrices. The (rank-6) separability probabilities obtained based on the 35-dimensional volumes appear to be---independently of the metric (each of the seven inducing Haar measure) employed---twice as large as those (rank-5 ones) based on the 34-dimensional hyperareas. (An additional estimate---33.9982---of the ratio of the rank-6 Hilbert-Schmidt separability probability to the rank-4 one is quite clearly close to integral too.) The doubling relationship also appears to hold for the N=4 case for the Hilbert-Schmidt metric, but not the others. We fit simple exact formulas to our estimates of the Hilbert-Schmidt separable volumes and hyperareas in both the N=4 and N=6 cases.
We investigate the possibility of deriving analytical formulas for the 15-dimensional separable volumes, in terms of any of a number of metrics of interest (Hilbert-Schmidt [HS], Bures,...), of the two-qubit (four-level) systems. This would appear to require 15-fold symbolic integrations over a complicated convex body (defined by both separability and feasibility constraints). The associated 15-dimensional integrands -- in terms of the Tilma-Byrd-Sudarshan Euler-angle-based parameterization of the 4 x 4 density matrices ρ(math-ph/0202002) -- would be the products of 12-dimensional Haar measure μ_{Haar} (common to each metric) and 3-dimensional measures μ_{metric} (specific to each metric) over the 3d-simplex formed by the four eigenvalues of ρ. We attempt here to estimate/determine the 3-dimensional integrands (the products of the various [known] μ_{metric}'s and an unknown symmetric weighting function W) remaining after the (putative) 12-fold integration of μ_{Haar} over the twelve Euler angles. We do this by fitting W so that the conjectured HS separable volumes and hyperareas (quant-ph/0410238; cf. quant-ph/0609006) are reproduced. We further evaluate a number of possible choices of W by seeing how well they also yield the conjectured separable volumes for the Bures, Kubo-Mori, Wigner-Yanase and (arithmetic) average monotone metrics and the conjectured separable Bures hyperarea (quant-ph/0308037,Table VI). We, in fact, find two such exact (rather similar) choices that give these five conjectured (non-HS) values all within 5%. In addition to the above-mentioned Euler angle parameterization of ρ, we make extensive use of the Bloore parameterization (J. Phys. A 9 [1976], 2059) in a companion set of two-qubit separability analyses.