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arXiv:quant-ph/0412193 · Physical Review A

Multiparticle entanglement manipulation under positive partial transpose preserving operations

Satoshi Ishizaka, Martin Bodo Plenio

Published May 4, 2005• 40 citations
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Abstract

We consider the transformation of multipartite states in the single-copy setting under positive-partial-transpose-preserving operations (PPT operations) and obtain both qualitative and quantitative results. First, for some pure-state transformations that are impossible under local operations and classical communication (LOCC), we demonstrate that they become possible with a surprisingly large success probability under PPT operations. Furthermore, we clarify the convertibility of arbitrary multipartite pure states under PPT operations and show that a drastic simplification in the classification of pure-state entanglement occurs when the set of operations is switched from LOCC to PPT operations. Indeed, the infinitely many types of LOCC-incomparable entanglement are reduced to only one type under the action of PPT operations. This is a clear manifestation of the increased power afforded by the use of PPT-bound entanglement. In addition, we further enlarge the set of operations to clarify the effect of another type of bound entanglement, multipartite unlockable bound entanglement, and show that a further simplification occurs. As compared to pure states a more complicated situation emerges in mixed-state settings. While single-copy distillation becomes possible under PPT operations for some mixed states it remains impossible for other mixed states.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.71.052303

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We consider the transformation of multipartite states in the single-copy setting under positive-partial-transpose-preserving operations (PPT operations) and obtain both qualitative and quantitative results. First, for some pure-state transformations that are impossible under local operations and classical communication (LOCC), we demonstrate that they become possible with a surprisingly large success probability under PPT operations. Furthermore, we clarify the convertibility of arbitrary multipartite pure states under PPT operations and show that a drastic simplification in the classification of pure-state entanglement occurs when the set of operations is switched from LOCC to PPT operations. Indeed, the infinitely many types of LOCC-incomparable entanglement are reduced to only one type under the action of PPT operations. This is a clear manifestation of the increased power afforded by the use of PPT-bound entanglement. In addition, we further enlarge the set of operations to clarify the effect of another type of bound entanglement, multipartite unlockable bound entanglement, and show that a further simplification occurs. As compared to pure states a more complicated situation emerges in mixed-state settings. While single-copy distillation becomes possible under PPT operations for some mixed states it remains impossible for other mixed states.
We demonstrate the irreversibility of asymptotic entanglement manipulation under quantum operations that completely preserve the positivity of partial transpose (PPT), resolving a major open problem in quantum information theory. Our key tool is a new efficiently computable additive lower bound for the asymptotic relative entropy of entanglement with respect to PPT states, which can be used to evaluate the entanglement cost under local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We find that for any rank-two mixed state supporting on the 3⊗3 antisymmetric subspace, the amount of distillable entanglement by PPT operations is strictly smaller than one entanglement bit (ebit) while its entanglement cost under PPT operations is exactly one ebit. As a by-product, we find that for this class of states, both the Rains's bound and its regularization are strictly less than the asymptotic relative entropy of entanglement. So, in general, there is no unique entanglement measure for the manipulation of entanglement by PPT operations. We further show a computable sufficient condition for the irreversibility of entanglement distillation by LOCC (or PPT) operations.
Motivated by the desire to better understand the class of quantum operations on bipartite systems that completely preserve positivity of partial transpose (PPT operations) and its relation to the class LOCC (local operations and classical communication), we present some results on deterministic bipartite pure-state transformations by PPT operations. Restricting our attention to the case in which we start with a rank K\mathit{K}K maximally entangled state, we give a necessary condition for transforming it into a given pure state, which we show is also sufficient when K\mathit{K}K is 2 and the final state has Schmidt rank 3. We show that it is sufficient for all K\mathit{K}K and all final states provided a conjecture about a certain family of semidefinite programs is true. We also demonstrate that the phenomenon of catalysis can occur under PPT operations and that, unlike LOCC catalysis, a maximally entangled state can be a catalyst. Finally, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the possibility of transforming a rank K\mathit{K}K maximally entangled state to an arbitrary pure state by PPT operations assisted by some maximally entangled catalyst.
I show that two distant parties can transform pure entangled states to arbitrary pure states by stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC) at the single copy level, if they share bound entangled states. This is the effect of bound entanglement since this entanglement processing is impossible by SLOCC alone. A similar effect of bound entanglement exists in three qubits where two incomparable entangled states of GHZ (Greenberger, Horne, and Zeilinger) and W can be interconverted. In general, multipartite settings composed by N distant parties, all N-partite pure entangled states are interconvertible by SLOCC with the assistance of bound entangled states with positive partial transpose.
We demonstrate that even under positive partial transpose preserving operations in an asymptotic setting GHZ and W states are not reversibly interconvertible. We investigate the structure of minimal reversible entanglement generating set (MREGS) for tri-partite states under positive partial transpose (ppt) preserving operations. We demonstrate that the set consisting of W and EPR states alone cannot be an MREGS. In this context we prove the surprising result that the relative entropy of entanglement can be strictly sub-additive for certain pure tri-partite states which is crucial to keep open the possibility that the set of GHZ-state and EPR states together constitute an MREGS under ppt-preserving operations.
I show that bound entanglement strongly influences the quantum entanglement processing of pure states: If N distant parties share appropriate bound entangled states with positive partial transpose, all N‐partite pure entangled states become inter‐convertible by stochastic local operations and classical communication (SLOCC) at the single copy level. This implies that the Schmidt rank of a bipartite pure entangled state can be increased, and that two incomparable tripartite entanglement of the GHZ and W type can be inter‐converted by the assistance of bound entanglement. Further, I propose the simplest experimental scheme for the demonstration of the corresponding bound‐entanglement‐assisted SLOCC. This scheme does not need quantum gates and is feasible for the current experimental technology of linear optics.
Quantum catalysts can overcome otherwise impossible quantum state transformations without being consumed, and allowing them to become correlated with the output makes this assistance substantially more powerful. This raises a fundamental question for entanglement theory: which limitations on state manipulation remain when such correlated catalysts are freely available? We answer this question in the positive-partial-transpose (PPT) resource theory, which allows a substantially broader class of operations than local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We identify general conditions under which regularized relative-entropy measures become strongly superadditive, and use them to construct monotones that constrain correlated catalytic PPT transformations without any knowledge of the catalyst. In particular, we prove that the regularized PPT relative entropy is fully additive and strongly superadditive, resolving an open problem in entanglement theory. Most importantly, these constraints show that even arbitrary correlated catalysts cannot restore asymptotic reversibility: for an explicit state, the optimal entanglement distillation rate remains strictly smaller than the entanglement cost. Thus, substantial catalytic assistance does not remove some of the fundamental limitations of mixed-state entanglement manipulation.