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arXiv:quant-ph/0507183 · Physical Review A

Quantification of complementarity in multiqubit systems

Xinhua Peng, Xiwen Zhu, Dieter Suter, Jiangfeng Du, Maili Liu, Kelin Gao

Published Nov 16, 2005• 56 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Complementarity was originally introduced as a qualitative concept for the discussion of properties of quantum mechanical objects that are classically incompatible. More recently, complementarity has become a quantitative relation between classically incompatible properties, such as the visibility of interference fringes and ``which-way'' information, but also between purely quantum mechanical properties, such as measures of entanglement. We discuss different complementarity relations for systems of two-, three-, or $n$ qubits. Using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, we have experimentally verified some of these complementarity relations in a two-qubit system.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.72.052109

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Complementarity was originally introduced as a qualitative concept for the discussion of properties of quantum mechanical objects that are classically incompatible. More recently, complementarity has become a quantitative relation between classically incompatible properties, such as the visibility of interference fringes and ``which-way'' information, but also between purely quantum mechanical properties, such as measures of entanglement. We discuss different complementarity relations for systems of two-, three-, or nnn qubits. Using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, we have experimentally verified some of these complementarity relations in a two-qubit system.
Local or nonlocal character of quantum states can be quantified and is subject to various bounds that can be formulated as complementarity relations. Here, we investigate the local vs nonlocal character of pure three-qubit states by a four-way interferometer. The complete entanglement in the system can be measured as the entanglement of a specific qubit with the subsystem consisting of the other two qubits. The quantitative complementarity relations are verified experimentally in an NMR quantum information processor.
Quantum complementarity is a fundamental feature of quantum systems and has captivated the physics research community for nearly a century, with significant advancements emerging in recent decades. This review traces the historical evolution of the concept of complementarity, beginning with Bohr's original formulation. It then explores its modern quantification through complementarity relations and its profound connection to the foundational postulates of quantum theory. Furthermore, it delves into key related developments, such as the operational definition of complementarity in the context of incompatible observables, its potential links with quantum uncertainty relations and contextuality, its various applications, and other pertinent topics. This review aims to serve physicists interested in quantum resources, quantum correlations, and the foundational principles of quantum mechanics.
We introduce a complete set of complementary quantities in bipartite, two-dimensional systems. Complementarity then relates the quantitative entanglement measure concurrence which is a bipartite property to the single-particle quantum properties predictability and visibility, for the most general quantum state of two qubits. Consequently, from an interferometric point of view, the usual wave-particle duality relation must be extended to a ``triality'' relation containing, in addition, the quantitative entanglement measure concurrence, which has no classical counterpart and manifests a genuine quantum aspect of bipartite systems. A generalized duality relation, that also governs possible violations of the Bell's inequality, arises between single- and bipartite properties.
We consider complementarity in a bipartite quantum system of arbitrary dimensions. Single-partite and bipartite properties turn out as mutually exclusive quantities. The single-partite properties can be related to a generalized predictability and visibility which compose two complementary realities for themselves. These properties combined become mutually exclusive to the genuine quantum mechanical bipartite correlations of the system which can be quantified with the generalized III concurrence that defines a proper entanglement measure. Consequently, the complementary relation quantifies entanglement in the bipartite system. The concept of complementarity determines entanglement as a property which mutually excludes any single-partite reality. As an application, we provide a proper definition of distinguishability in an nnn-port interferometer.
Bohr’s complementarity principle was introduced as a qualitative statement about quantum systems, which have properties that are equally real, but mutually exclusive. This principle, together with the uncertainty principle, is at the origin of Quantum Mechanics (QM), following the development of the theory since then. Another intriguing aspect of QM is entanglement, which is a type of correlation that is only possible within the mathematical formalism of QM. Its central importance in the Quantum foundations, as well as its important role in the fields of quantum information and quantum computation, has made the theory of entanglement achieve great progress in recent decades. In this dissertation we discuss the aspects and relations among complementarity relations, uncertainty, and entanglement. Such aspects are also investigated in relativistic scenarios, since the interest on how entanglement behaves in relativistic scenarios has grown more and more. First, by exploring the properties of the density operator, we obtain complementarity relations, using coherence measures well known in the literature. Next, we show that it is possible to obtain complete complementarity relations, i.e., relations that also take into account entanglement. For this, we explore the purity of a multipartite quantum system. In addition, we discuss the relation between complementarity and uncertainty of an observable, since it is possible to decompose uncertainty into its classical and quantum parts. We also obtain complementarity relations for uncertainty. Finally, we study the complete complementary relations and its Lorentz invariance. Although it is known that entanglement entropy does not remain invariant under Lorentz transformations, and neither does the measures that quantifies complementarity, we show that theses measures when taken together, in a complete complementarity relation, are Lorentz invariant.
We derive two complementarity relations that constrain the individual and bipartite properties that may simultaneously exist in a multi-qubit system. The first expression, valid for an arbitrary pure state of n qubits, demonstrates that the degree to which single particle properties are possessed by an individual member of the system is limited by the bipartite entanglement that exists between that qubit and the remainder of the system. This result implies that the phenomenon of entanglement sharing is one specific consequence of complementarity. The second expression, which holds for an arbitrary state of two qubits, pure or mixed, quantifies a tradeoff between the amounts of entanglement, separable uncertainty, and single particle properties that are encoded in the quantum state. The separable uncertainty is a natural measure of our ignorance about the properties possessed by individual subsystems, and may be used to completely characterize the relationship between entanglement and mixedness in two-qubit systems. The two-qubit complementarity relation yields a useful geometric picture in which the root mean square values of local subsystem properties act like coordinates in the space of density matrices, and suggests possible insights into the problem of interpreting quantum mechanics.