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Daniel McNulty

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel McNulty.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Characterising extremal decoherence by quantum measurement incompatibility

Decoherence, when viewed in the Heisenberg picture, can turn incompatible measurements into jointly measurable ones. This provides an observable-level description of emergent classicality in terms of the incompatibility destroyed by a noise channel. The corresponding loss of incompatibility can be captured by the channel's \emph{compatibility region}---the observables in a probe class that become jointly measurable with every noisy observable. The geometry and volume of this region provide a refined operational way to compare noise channels. We apply this framework to decoherence channels, each of which acts by Schur multiplication with extreme points of the convex set of unit-diagonal positive semidefinite matrices. Restricting to extremals eliminates convex mixing and reveals subtle phase-dependent decoherence effects thar are not captured by damping rates or conventional coherence quantifiers. Such channels have a rigid dilation structure described by a rank-one operator frame, which reduces joint measurability to a positivity test, making the compatibility region analytically tractable, and its volume computable from the frame's Gram matrix. If the frame can be normalised to a minimal informationally complete (MIC) POVM, the compatibility region acquires a geometric interpretation in the associated probability representation of the quantum state space, familiar with Qbism. Among maximal-rank extremals, those associated with symmetric informationally complete (SIC) POVMs maximise the compatibility volume and hence destroy the greatest amount of incompatibility, providing an operational characterisation of the special role of SICs in terms of joint measurability. This leads to a new formulation of the well-known SIC existence problem as a joint measurability question for noisy mutually unbiased bases.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2025

A Graph-Theoretic Approach to Quantum Measurement Incompatibility

Measurement incompatibility--the impossibility of jointly measuring certain quantum observables--is a fundamental resource for quantum information processing. We develop a graph-theoretic framework for quantifying this resource for large families of binary measurements, including Pauli observables on multi-qubit systems and $k$-body Majorana observables on $n$-mode fermionic systems. To each set of observables we associate an anti-commutativity graph, whose vertices represent observables and whose edges indicate pairs that anti-commute. In this representation, the incompatibility robustness--the minimal amount of classical noise required to render the set jointly measurable--becomes a graph invariant. We derive general bounds on this invariant in terms of the Lov\'asz number, clique number, and fractional chromatic number, and show that the Lov\'asz number yields the correct asymptotic scaling for $k$-body Majorana observables. For line graphs $L(G)$, which naturally arise in the characterisation of exactly solvable spin models, we obtain spectral bounds on the robustness expressed through the energy and skew-energy of the underlying graph $G$. These bounds become tight for highly symmetric graphs, leading to closed formulas for several graph families. Finally, we identify structural conditions under which the robustness is determined by a simple function of the graph's maximum degree and the number of vertices and edges, and show that such extremal cases occur only when combinatorial structures such as Hadamard, conference or weighing matrices exist.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Mutually Unbiased Bases in Composite Dimensions -- A Review

Maximal sets of mutually unbiased bases are useful throughout quantum physics, both in a foundational context and for applications. To date, it remains unknown if complete sets of mutually unbiased bases exist in Hilbert spaces of dimensions different from a prime power, i.e. in composite dimensions such as six or ten. Fourteen mathematically equivalent formulations of the existence problem are presented. We comprehensively summarise analytic, computer-aided and numerical results relevant to the case of composite dimensions. Known modifications of the existence problem are reviewed and potential solution strategies are outlined.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

A Simple and Efficient Joint Measurement Strategy for Estimating Fermionic Observables and Hamiltonians

We propose a simple scheme to estimate fermionic observables and Hamiltonians relevant in quantum chemistry and correlated fermionic systems. Our approach is based on implementing a measurement that jointly measures noisy versions of any product of two or four Majorana operators in an $N$ mode fermionic system. To realize our measurement we use: (i) a randomization over a set of unitaries that realize products of Majorana fermion operators; (ii) a unitary, sampled at random from a constant-size set of suitably chosen fermionic Gaussian unitaries; (iii) a measurement of fermionic occupation numbers; (iv) suitable post-processing. Our scheme can estimate expectation values of all quadratic and quartic Majorana monomials to $\epsilon$ precision using $\mathcal{O}(N \log(N)/\epsilon^2)$ and $\mathcal{O}(N^2 \log(N)/\epsilon^2)$ measurement rounds respectively, matching the performance offered by fermionic classical shadows. In certain settings, such as a rectangular lattice of qubits which encode an $N$ mode fermionic system via the Jordan-Wigner transformation, our scheme can be implemented in circuit depth $\mathcal{O}(N^{1/2})$ with $\mathcal{O}(N^{3/2})$ two-qubit gates, offering an improvement over fermionic and matchgate classical shadows that require depth $\mathcal{O}(N)$ and $\mathcal{O}(N^2)$ two-qubit gates. By benchmarking our method on exemplary molecular Hamiltonians and observing performances comparable to fermionic classical shadows, we demonstrate a novel, competitive alternative to existing strategies.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2024

Optimal Fermionic Joint Measurements for Estimating Non-Commuting Majorana Observables

An important class of fermionic observables, relevant in tasks such as fermionic partial tomography and estimating energy levels of chemical Hamiltonians, are the binary measurements obtained from the product of anti-commuting Majorana operators. In this work, we investigate efficient estimation strategies of these observables based on a joint measurement which, after classical post-processing, yields all sufficiently unsharp (noisy) Majorana observables of even-degree. By exploiting the symmetry properties of the Majorana observables, as described by the braid group, we show that the incompatibility robustness, i.e., the minimal classical noise necessary for joint measurability, relates to the spectral properties of the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) model. In particular, we show that for an $n$ mode fermionic system, the incompatibility robustness of all degree-$2k$ Majorana observables satisfies $\Theta(n^{-k/2})$ for $k\leq 5$. Furthermore, we present a joint measurement scheme achieving the asymptotically optimal noise, implemented by a small number of fermionic Gaussian unitaries and sampling from the set of all Majorana monomials. Our joint measurement, which can be performed via a randomization over projective measurements, provides rigorous performance guarantees for estimating fermionic observables comparable with fermionic classical shadows.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

How many mutually unbiased bases are needed to detect bound entangled states?

From a practical perspective it is advantageous to develop methods that verify entanglement in quantum states with as few measurements as possible. In this paper we investigate the minimal number of mutually unbiased bases (MUBs) needed to detect bound entanglement in bipartite $(d\times d)$-dimensional states, i.e. entangled states that are positive under partial transposition. In particular, we show that a class of entanglement witnesses composed of mutually unbiased bases can detect bound entanglement if the number of measurements is greater than $d/2+1$. This is a substantial improvement over other detection methods, requiring significantly fewer resources than either full quantum state tomography or measuring a complete set of $d+1$ MUBs. Our approach is based on a partial characterisation of the (non-)decomposability of entanglement witnesses. We show that non-decomposability is a universal property of MUBs, which holds regardless of the choice of complementary observables, and we find that both the number of measurements and the structure of the witness play an important role in the detection of bound entanglement.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2023

Estimating Quantum Hamiltonians via Joint Measurements of Noisy Non-Commuting Observables

Estimation of expectation values of incompatible observables is an essential practical task in quantum computing, especially for approximating energies of chemical and other many-body quantum systems. In this work we introduce a method for this purpose based on performing a single joint measurement that can be implemented locally and whose marginals yield noisy (unsharp) versions of the target set of non-commuting Pauli observables. We derive bounds on the number of experimental repetitions required to estimate energies up to a certain precision. We compare this strategy to the classical shadow formalism and show that our method yields the same performance as the locally biased classical shadow protocol. We also highlight some general connections between the two approaches by showing that classical shadows can be used to construct joint measurements and vice versa. Finally, we adapt the joint measurement strategy to minimise the sample complexity when the implementation of measurements is assumed noisy. This can provide significant efficiency improvements compared to known generalisations of classical shadows to noisy scenarios.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2022

Amount of quantum coherence needed for measurement incompatibility

A pair of quantum observables diagonal in the same "incoherent" basis can be measured jointly, so some coherence is obviously required for measurement incompatibility. Here we first observe that coherence in a single observable is linked to the diagonal elements of any observable jointly measurable with it, leading to a general criterion for the coherence needed for incompatibility. Specialising to the case where the second observable is incoherent (diagonal), we develop a concrete method for solving incompatibility problems, tractable even in large systems by analytical bounds, without resorting to numerical optimisation. We verify the consistency of our method by a quick proof of the known noise bound for mutually unbiased bases, and apply it to study emergent classicality in the spin-boson model of an N-qubit open quantum system. Finally, we formulate our theory in an operational resource-theoretic setting involving "genuinely incoherent operations" used previously in the literature, and show that if the coherence is insufficient to sustain incompatibility, the associated joint measurements have sequential implementations via incoherent instruments.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2019

Laser radio transmitter

Since the days of Hertz, radio transmitters have evolved from rudimentary circuits emitting around 50 MHz to modern ubiquitous Wi-Fi devices operating at gigahertz radio bands. As wireless data traffic continues to increase there is a need for new communication technologies capable of high-frequency operation for high-speed data transfer. Here we give a proof of concept of a new compact radio frequency transmitter based on a semiconductor laser frequency comb. In this laser, the beating among the coherent modes oscillating inside the cavity generates a radio frequency current, which couples to the electrodes of the device. We show that redesigning the top contact of the laser allows one to exploit the internal oscillatory current to drive an integrated dipole antenna, which radiates into free space. In addition, direct modulation of the laser current permits encoding a signal in the radiated radio frequency carrier. Working in the opposite direction, the antenna can receive an external radio frequency signal, couple it to the active region and injection lock the laser. These results pave the way to new applications and functionality in optical frequency combs, such as wireless radio communication and wireless synchronization to a reference source.

physics.app-ph↗
arXiv2018

Linking Entanglement Detection and State Tomography via Quantum 2-Designs

We present an experimentally feasible and efficient method for detecting entangled states with measurements that extend naturally to a tomographically complete set. Our detection criterion is based on measurements from subsets of a quantum 2-design, e.g., mutually unbiased bases or symmetric informationally complete states, and has several advantages over standard entanglement witnesses. First, as more detectors in the measurement are applied, there is a higher chance of witnessing a larger set of entangled states, in such a way that the measurement setting converges to a complete setup for quantum state tomography. Secondly, our method is twice as effective as standard witnesses in the sense that both upper and lower bounds can be derived. Thirdly, the scheme can be readily applied to measurement-device-independent scenarios.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2016

Mutually Unbiased Product Bases for Multiple Qudits

We investigate the interplay between mutual unbiasedness and product bases for multiple qudits of possibly different dimensions. A product state of such a system is shown to be mutually unbiased to a product basis only if each of its factors is mutually unbiased to all the states which occur in the corresponding factors of the product basis. This result implies both a tight limit on the number of mutually unbiased product bases which the system can support and a complete classification of mutually unbiased product bases for multiple qubits or qutrits. In addition, only maximally entangled states can be mutually unbiased to a maximal set of mutually unbiased product bases.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2014

No-activation theorem for Gaussian nonclassical correlations by Gaussian operations

We study general quantum correlations of continuous variable Gaussian states and their interplay with entanglement. Specifically, we investigate the existence of a quantum protocol activating all nonclassical correlations between the subsystems of an input bipartite continuous variable system, into output entanglement between the system and a set of ancillae. For input Gaussian states, we prove that such an activation protocol cannot be accomplished with Gaussian operations, as the latter are unable to create any output entanglement from an initial separable yet nonclassical state in a worst-case scenario. We then construct a faithful non-Gaussian activation protocol, encompassing infinite-dimensional generalizations of controlled-NOT gates to generate entanglement between system and ancillae, in direct analogy with the finite-dimensional case. We finally calculate the negativity of quantumness, an operational measure of nonclassical correlations defined in terms of the performance of the activation protocol, for relevant classes of two-mode Gaussian states.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2014

Nonexistence of entangled continuous-variable Werner states with positive partial transpose

We address an open question about the existence of entangled continuous-variable (CV) Werner states with positive partial transpose (PPT). We prove that no such state exists by showing that all PPT CV Werner states are separable. The separability follows by observing that these CV Werner states can be approximated by truncating the states into a finite-dimensional convex mixture of product states. In addition, the constituents of the product states comprise a generalized non-Gaussian measurement which gives, rather surprisingly, a strictly tighter upper bound on quantum discord than photon counting. These results uncover the presence of only negative partial transpose entanglement and illustrate the complexity of more general non-classical correlations in this paradigmatic class of genuine non-Gaussian quantum states.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

Isolated Hadamard Matrices from Mutually Unbiased Product Bases

A new construction of complex Hadamard matrices of composite order d=pq, with primes p,q, is presented which is based on pairs of mutually unbiased bases containing only product states. For product dimensions d < 100, we illustrate the method by deriving many previously unknown complex Hadamard matrices. We obtain at least 12 new isolated matrices of Butson type, with orders ranging from 9 to 91.

math-ph↗
arXiv2012

On the Impossibility to Extend Triples of Mutually Unbiased Product Bases in Dimension Six

An analytic proof is given which shows that it is impossible to extend any triple of mutually unbiased (MU) product bases in dimension six by a single MU vector. Furthermore, the 16 states obtained by removing two orthogonal states from any MU product triple cannot figure in a (hypothetical) complete set of seven MU bases. These results follow from exploiting the structure of MU product bases in a novel fashion, and they are among the strongest ones obtained for MU bases in dimension six without recourse to computer algebra.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2012

All Mutually Unbiased Product Bases in Dimension Six

All mutually unbiased bases in dimension six consisting of product states only are constructed. Several continuous families of pairs and two triples of mutually unbiased product bases are found to exist but no quadruple. The exhaustive classification leads to a proof that a complete set of seven mutually unbiased bases, if it exists, cannot contain a triple of mutually unbiased product bases.

quant-ph↗