arXiv subjects

Mark M. Wilde

Publications and source records attributed to Mark M. Wilde.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Polar codes for private classical communication

We construct a new secret-key assisted polar coding scheme for private classical communication over a quantum or classical wiretap channel. The security of our scheme rests on an entropic uncertainty relation, in addition to the channel polarization effect. Our scheme achieves the symmetric private information rate by synthesizing "amplitude" and "phase" channels from an arbitrary quantum wiretap channel. We find that the secret-key consumption rate of the scheme vanishes for an arbitrary degradable quantum wiretap channel. Furthermore, we provide an additional sufficient condition for when the secret key rate vanishes, and we suspect that satisfying this condition implies that the scheme requires no secret key at all. Thus, this latter condition addresses an open question from the Mahdavifar-Vardy scheme for polar coding over a classical wiretap channel.

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arXiv2012

Classical communication over a quantum interference channel

Calculating the capacity of interference channels is a notorious open problem in classical information theory. Such channels have two senders and two receivers, and each sender would like to communicate with a partner receiver. The capacity of such channels is known exactly in the settings of "very strong" and "strong" interference, while the Han-Kobayashi coding strategy gives the best known achievable rate region in the general case. Here, we introduce and study the quantum interference channel, a natural generalization of the interference channel to the setting of quantum information theory. We restrict ourselves for the most part to channels with two classical inputs and two quantum outputs in order to simplify the presentation of our results (though generalizations of our results to channels with quantum inputs are straightforward). We are able to determine the exact classical capacity of this channel in the settings of "very strong" and "strong" interference, by exploiting Winter's successive decoding strategy and a novel two-sender quantum simultaneous decoder, respectively. We provide a proof that a Han-Kobayashi strategy is achievable with Holevo information rates, up to a conjecture regarding the existence of a three-sender quantum simultaneous decoder. This conjecture holds for a special class of quantum multiple access channels with average output states that commute, and we discuss some other variations of the conjecture that hold. Finally, we detail a connection between the quantum interference channel and prior work on the capacity of bipartite unitary gates.

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arXiv2011

Partial decode-forward for quantum relay channels

A relay channel is one in which a Source and Destination use an intermediate Relay station in order to improve communication rates. We propose the study of relay channels with classical inputs and quantum outputs and prove that a "partial decode and forward" strategy is achievable. We divide the channel uses into many blocks and build codes in a randomized, block-Markov manner within each block. The Relay performs a standard Holevo-Schumacher-Westmoreland quantum measurement on each block in order to decode part of the Source's message and then forwards this partial message in the next block. The Destination performs a novel "sliding-window" quantum measurement on two adjacent blocks in order to decode the Source's message. This strategy achieves non-trivial rates for classical communication over a quantum relay channel.

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arXiv2011

Trade-off coding for universal qudit cloners motivated by the Unruh effect

A "triple trade-off" capacity region of a noisy quantum channel provides a more complete description of its capabilities than does a single capacity formula. However, few full descriptions of a channel's ability have been given due to the difficult nature of the calculation of such regions---it may demand an optimization of information-theoretic quantities over an infinite number of channel uses. This work analyzes the d-dimensional Unruh channel, a noisy quantum channel which emerges in relativistic quantum information theory. We show that this channel belongs to the class of quantum channels whose capacity region requires an optimization over a single channel use, and as such is tractable. We determine two triple-trade off regions, the quantum dynamic capacity region and the private dynamic capacity region, of the d-dimensional Unruh channel. Our results show that the set of achievable rate triples using this coding strategy is larger than the set achieved using a time-sharing strategy. Furthermore, we prove that the Unruh channel has a distinct structure made up of universal qudit cloning channels, thus providing a clear relationship between this relativistic channel and the process of stimulated emission present in quantum optical amplifiers.

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arXiv2011

Perfect state distinguishability and computational speedups with postselected closed timelike curves

Bennett and Schumacher's postselected quantum teleportation is a model of closed timelike curves (CTCs) that leads to results physically different from Deutsch's model. We show that even a single qubit passing through a postselected CTC (P-CTC) is sufficient to do any postselected quantum measurement, and we discuss an important difference between "Deutschian" CTCs (D-CTCs) and P-CTCs in which the future existence of a P-CTC might affect the present outcome of an experiment. Then, based on a suggestion of Bennett and Smith, we explicitly show how a party assisted by P-CTCs can distinguish a set of linearly independent quantum states, and we prove that it is not possible for such a party to distinguish a set of linearly dependent states. The power of P-CTCs is thus weaker than that of D-CTCs because the Holevo bound still applies to circuits using them regardless of their ability to conspire in violating the uncertainty principle. We then discuss how different notions of a quantum mixture that are indistinguishable in linear quantum mechanics lead to dramatically differing conclusions in a nonlinear quantum mechanics involving P-CTCs. Finally, we give explicit circuit constructions that can efficiently factor integers, efficiently solve any decision problem in the intersection of NP and coNP, and probabilistically solve any decision problem in NP. These circuits accomplish these tasks with just one qubit traveling back in time, and they exploit the ability of postselected closed timelike curves to create grandfather paradoxes for invalid answers.

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arXiv2011

Addressing the clumsiness loophole in a Leggett-Garg test of macrorealism

The rise of quantum information theory has lent new relevance to experimental tests for non-classicality, particularly in controversial cases such as adiabatic quantum computing superconducting circuits. The Leggett-Garg inequality is a "Bell inequality in time" designed to indicate whether a single quantum system behaves in a macrorealistic fashion. Unfortunately, a violation of the inequality can only show that the system is either (i) non-macrorealistic or (ii) macrorealistic but subjected to a measurement technique that happens to disturb the system. The "clumsiness" loophole (ii) provides reliable refuge for the stubborn macrorealist, who can invoke it to brand recent experimental and theoretical work on the Leggett-Garg test inconclusive. Here, we present a revised Leggett-Garg protocol that permits one to conclude that a system is either (i) non-macrorealistic or (ii) macrorealistic but with the property that two seemingly non-invasive measurements can somehow collude and strongly disturb the system. By providing an explicit check of the invasiveness of the measurements, the protocol replaces the clumsiness loophole with a significantly smaller "collusion" loophole.

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arXiv2011

Sequential, successive, and simultaneous decoders for entanglement-assisted classical communication

Bennett et al. showed that allowing shared entanglement between a sender and receiver before communication begins dramatically simplifies the theory of quantum channels, and these results suggest that it would be worthwhile to study other scenarios for entanglement-assisted classical communication. In this vein, the present paper makes several contributions to the theory of entanglement-assisted classical communication. First, we rephrase the Giovannetti-Lloyd-Maccone sequential decoding argument as a more general "packing lemma" and show that it gives an alternate way of achieving the entanglement-assisted classical capacity. Next, we show that a similar sequential decoder can achieve the Hsieh-Devetak-Winter region for entanglement-assisted classical communication over a multiple access channel. Third, we prove the existence of a quantum simultaneous decoder for entanglement-assisted classical communication over a multiple access channel with two senders. This result implies a solution of the quantum simultaneous decoding conjecture for unassisted classical communication over quantum multiple access channels with two senders, but the three-sender case still remains open (Sen recently and independently solved this unassisted two-sender case with a different technique). We then leverage this result to recover the known regions for unassisted and assisted quantum communication over a quantum multiple access channel, though our proof exploits a coherent quantum simultaneous decoder. Finally, we determine an achievable rate region for communication over an entanglement-assisted bosonic multiple access channel and compare it with the Yen-Shapiro outer bound for unassisted communication over the same channel.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

Quantum interference channels

The discrete memoryless interference channel is modelled as a conditional probability distribution with two outputs depending on two inputs and has widespread applications in practical communication scenarios. In this paper, we introduce and study the quantum interference channel, a generalization of a two-input, two-output memoryless channel to the setting of quantum Shannon theory. We discuss three different coding strategies and obtain corresponding achievable rate regions for quantum interference channels. We calculate the capacity regions in the special cases of "very strong" and "strong" interference. The achievability proof in the case of "strong" interference exploits a novel quantum simultaneous decoder for two-sender quantum multiple access channels. We formulate a conjecture regarding the existence of a quantum simultaneous decoder in the three-sender case and use it to state the rates achievable by a quantum Han-Kobayashi strategy.

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arXiv2011

Examples of minimal-memory, non-catastrophic quantum convolutional encoders

One of the most important open questions in the theory of quantum convolutional coding is to determine a minimal-memory, non-catastrophic, polynomial-depth convolutional encoder for an arbitrary quantum convolutional code. Here, we present a technique that finds quantum convolutional encoders with such desirable properties for several example quantum convolutional codes (an exposition of our technique in full generality will appear elsewhere). We first show how to encode the well-studied Forney-Grassl-Guha (FGG) code with an encoder that exploits just one memory qubit (the former Grassl-Roetteler encoder requires 15 memory qubits). We then show how our technique can find an online decoder corresponding to this encoder, and we also detail the operation of our technique on a different example of a quantum convolutional code. Finally, the reduction in memory for the FGG encoder makes it feasible to simulate the performance of a quantum turbo code employing it, and we present the results of such simulations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2011

The free space optical interference channel

Semiclassical models for multiple-user optical communication cannot assess the ultimate limits on reliable communication as permitted by the laws of physics. In all optical communications settings that have been analyzed within a quantum framework so far, the gaps between the quantum limit to the capacity and the Shannon limit for structured receivers become most significant in the low photon-number regime. Here, we present a quantum treatment of a multiple-transmitter multiple-receiver multi-spatial-mode free-space interference channel with diffraction-limited loss and a thermal background. We consider the performance of a laser-light (coherent state) encoding in conjunction with various detection strategies such as homodyne, heterodyne, and joint detection. Joint detection outperforms both homodyne and heterodyne detection whenever the channel exhibits "very strong" interference. We determine the capacity region for homodyne or heterodyne detection when the channel has "strong" interference, and we conjecture the existence of a joint detection strategy that outperforms the former two strategies in this case. Finally, we determine the Han-Kobayashi achievable rate regions for both homodyne and heterodyne detection and compare them to a region achievable by a conjectured joint detection strategy. In these latter cases, we determine achievable rate regions if the receivers employ a recently discovered min-entropy quantum simultaneous decoder.

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arXiv2010

Minimal memory requirements for pearl-necklace encoders of quantum convolutional codes

One of the major goals in quantum information processing is to reduce the overhead associated with the practical implementation of quantum protocols, and often, routines for quantum error correction account for most of this overhead. A particular technique for quantum error correction that may be useful for protecting a stream of quantum information is quantum convolutional coding. The encoder for a quantum convolutional code has a representation as a convolutional encoder or as a "pearl-necklace" encoder. In the pearl-necklace representation, it has not been particularly clear in the research literature how much quantum memory such an encoder would require for implementation. Here, we offer an algorithm that answers this question. The algorithm first constructs a weighted, directed acyclic graph where each vertex of the graph corresponds to a gate string in the pearl-necklace encoder, and each path through the graph represents a path through non-commuting gates in the encoder. We show that the weight of the longest path through the graph is equal to the minimal amount of memory needed to implement the encoder. A dynamic programming search through this graph determines the longest path. The running time for the construction of the graph and search through it is quadratic in the number of gate strings in the pearl-necklace encoder.

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arXiv2010

Identifying the quantum correlations in light-harvesting complexes

One of the major efforts in the quantum biological program is to subject biological systems to standard tests or measures of quantumness. These tests and measures should elucidate if non-trivial quantum effects may be present in biological systems. Two such measures of quantum correlations are the quantum discord and the relative entropy of entanglement. Here, we show that the relative entropy of entanglement admits a simple analytic form when dynamics and accessible degrees of freedom are restricted to a zero- and single-excitation subspace. We also simulate and calculate the amount of quantum discord that is present in the Fenna-Matthews-Olson protein complex during the transfer of an excitation from a chlorosome antenna to a reaction center. We find that the single-excitation quantum discord and relative entropy of entanglement are equal for all of our numerical simulations, but a proof of their general equality for this setting evades us for now. Also, some of our simulations demonstrate that the relative entropy of entanglement without the single-excitation restriction is much lower than the quantum discord. The first picosecond of dynamics is the relevant timescale for the transfer of the excitation, according to some sources in the literature. Our simulation results indicate that quantum correlations contribute a significant fraction of the total correlation during this first picosecond in many cases, at both cryogenic and physiological temperature.

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arXiv2010

Leggett-Garg inequalities and the geometry of the cut polytope

The Bell and Leggett-Garg tests offer operational ways to demonstrate that non-classical behavior manifests itself in quantum systems, and experimentalists have implemented these protocols to show that classical worldviews such as local realism and macrorealism are false, respectively. Previous theoretical research has exposed important connections between more general Bell inequalities and polyhedral combinatorics. We show here that general Leggett-Garg inequalities are closely related to the cut polytope of the complete graph, a geometric object well-studied in combinatorics. Building on that connection, we offer a family of Leggett-Garg inequalities that are not trivial combinations of the most basic Leggett-Garg inequalities. We then show that violations of macrorealism can occur in surprising ways, by giving an example of a quantum system that violates the new "pentagon" Leggett-Garg inequality but does not violate any of the basic "triangle" Leggett-Garg inequalities.

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arXiv2010

Trade-off capacities of the quantum Hadamard channels

Coding theorems in quantum Shannon theory express the ultimate rates at which a sender can transmit information over a noisy quantum channel. More often than not, the known formulas expressing these transmission rates are intractable, requiring an optimization over an infinite number of uses of the channel. Researchers have rarely found quantum channels with a tractable classical or quantum capacity, but when such a finding occurs, it demonstrates a complete understanding of that channel's capabilities for transmitting classical or quantum information. Here, we show that the three-dimensional capacity region for entanglement-assisted transmission of classical and quantum information is tractable for the Hadamard class of channels. Examples of Hadamard channels include generalized dephasing channels, cloning channels, and the Unruh channel. The generalized dephasing channels and the cloning channels are natural processes that occur in quantum systems through the loss of quantum coherence or stimulated emission, respectively. The Unruh channel is a noisy process that occurs in relativistic quantum information theory as a result of the Unruh effect and bears a strong relationship to the cloning channels. We give exact formulas for the entanglement-assisted classical and quantum communication capacity regions of these channels. The coding strategy for each of these examples is superior to a naive time-sharing strategy, and we introduce a measure to determine this improvement.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Trading classical communication, quantum communication, and entanglement in quantum Shannon theory

We give trade-offs between classical communication, quantum communication, and entanglement for processing information in the Shannon-theoretic setting. We first prove a unit-resource capacity theorem that applies to the scenario where only the above three noiseless resources are available for consumption or generation. The optimal strategy mixes the three fundamental protocols of teleportation, super-dense coding, and entanglement distribution. We then provide an achievable rate region and a matching multi-letter converse for the direct static capacity theorem. This theorem applies to the scenario where a large number of copies of a noisy bipartite state are available (in addition to consumption or generation of the above three noiseless resources). Our coding strategy involves a protocol that we name the classically-assisted state redistribution protocol and the three fundamental protocols. We finally provide an achievable rate region and a matching mutli-letter converse for the direct dynamic capacity theorem. This theorem applies to the scenario where a large number of uses of a noisy quantum channel are available in addition to the consumption or generation of the three noiseless resources. Our coding strategy combines the classically-enhanced father protocol with the three fundamental unit protocols.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2010

Entanglement generation with a quantum channel and a shared state

We introduce a new protocol, the channel-state coding protocol, to quantum Shannon theory. This protocol generates entanglement between a sender and receiver by coding for a noisy quantum channel with the aid of a noisy shared state. The mother and father protocols arise as special cases of the channel-state coding protocol, where the channel is noiseless or the state is a noiseless maximally entangled state, respectively. The channel-state coding protocol paves the way for formulating entanglement-assisted quantum error-correcting codes that are robust to noise in shared entanglement. Finally, the channel-state coding protocol leads to a Smith-Yard superactivation, where we can generate entanglement using a zero-capacity erasure channel and a non-distillable bound entangled state.

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arXiv2010

Entanglement-Assisted Quantum Convolutional Coding

We show how to protect a stream of quantum information from decoherence induced by a noisy quantum communication channel. We exploit preshared entanglement and a convolutional coding structure to develop a theory of entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional coding. Our construction produces a Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional code from two arbitrary classical binary convolutional codes. The rate and error-correcting properties of the classical convolutional codes directly determine the corresponding properties of the resulting entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional code. We explain how to encode our CSS entanglement-assisted quantum convolutional codes starting from a stream of information qubits, ancilla qubits, and shared entangled bits.

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arXiv2010

Entanglement-assisted communication of classical and quantum information

We consider the problem of transmitting classical and quantum information reliably over an entanglement-assisted quantum channel. Our main result is a capacity theorem that gives a three-dimensional achievable rate region. Points in the region are rate triples, consisting of the classical communication rate, the quantum communication rate, and the entanglement consumption rate of a particular coding scheme. The crucial protocol in achieving the boundary points of the capacity region is a protocol that we name the classically-enhanced father protocol. The classically-enhanced father protocol is more general than other protocols in the family tree of quantum Shannon theoretic protocols, in the sense that several previously known quantum protocols are now child protocols of it. The classically-enhanced father protocol also shows an improvement over a time-sharing strategy for the case of a qubit dephasing channel--this result justifies the need for simultaneous coding of classical and quantum information over an entanglement-assisted quantum channel. Our capacity theorem is of a multi-letter nature (requiring a limit over many uses of the channel), but it reduces to a single-letter characterization for at least three channels: the completely depolarizing channel, the quantum erasure channel, and the qubit dephasing channel.

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