arXiv subjects

Michael Nathanson

Publications and source records attributed to Michael Nathanson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Graph Structures for Local Distinguishability of Quantum Product States

We consider the problem of distinguishing sets of quantum product states with local operations and classical communication (LOCC). Recent work has used graph theory to identify sets of product states distinguishable with one-way LOCC. We extend these efforts to full two-way LOCC, with the first significant analysis of the set of graphs corresponding to bipartite product states that can be distinguished with two-way protocols after finitely many steps. We derive basic closure properties of the set of distinguishable graphs and identify some classes of graphs that guarantee local distinguishability and some graphs that do not. We also include several examples and forward-looking comments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Chordal Graphs and Distinguishability of Quantum Product States

We investigate a graph-theoretic approach to the problem of distinguishing quantum product states in the fundamental quantum communication framework called local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We identify chordality as the key graph structure that drives distinguishability in one-way LOCC, and we derive a one-way LOCC characterization for chordal graphs that establishes a connection with the theory of matrix completions. We also derive minimality conditions on graph parameters that allow for the determination of indistinguishability of states. We present a number of applications and examples built on these results.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2021

Operator and Graph Theoretic Techniques for Distinguishing Quantum States via One-Way LOCC

We bring together in one place some of the main results and applications from our recent works in quantum information theory, in which we have brought techniques from operator theory, operator algebras, and graph theory for the first time to investigate the topic of distinguishability of sets of quantum states in quantum communication, with particular reference to the framework of one-way local quantum operations and classical communication (LOCC). We also derive a new graph-theoretic description of distinguishability in the case of a single qubit sender.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

One-Way LOCC Indistinguishable Lattice States via Operator Structures

Lattice states are a class of quantum states that naturally generalize the fundamental set of Bell states. We apply recent results from quantum error correction and from one-way local operations and classical communication (LOCC) theory, that are built on the structure theory of operator systems and operator algebras, to develop a technique for the construction of relatively small sets of lattice states not distinguishable by one-way LOCC schemes. We also present examples, show the construction extends to generalized Pauli states, and compare the construction to other recent work.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Vector Representations of Graphs and Distinguishing Quantum Product States with One-way LOCC

Distinguishing sets of quantum states shared by two parties using only local operations and classical communication measurements is a fundamental topic in quantum communication and quantum information theory. We introduce a graph-theoretic approach, based on the theory of vector representations of graphs, to the core problem of distinguishing product states with one-way LOCC. We establish a number of results that show how distinguishing such states can be framed in terms of properties of the underlying graphs associated with a set of vector product states. We also present a number of illustrative examples.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Capturing Nucleation at 4D Atomic Resolution

Nucleation plays a critical role in many physical and biological phenomena ranging from crystallization, melting and evaporation to the formation of clouds and the initiation of neurodegenerative diseases. However, nucleation is a challenging process to study in experiments especially in the early stage when several atoms/molecules start to form a new phase from its parent phase. Here, we advance atomic electron tomography to study early stage nucleation at 4D atomic resolution. Using FePt nanoparticles as a model system, we reveal that early stage nuclei are irregularly shaped, each has a core of one to few atoms with the maximum order parameter, and the order parameter gradient points from the core to the boundary of the nucleus. We capture the structure and dynamics of the same nuclei undergoing growth, fluctuation, dissolution, merging and/or division, which are regulated by the order parameter distribution and its gradient. These experimental observations differ from classical nucleation theory (CNT) and to explain them we propose the order parameter gradient (OPG) model. We show the OPG model generalizes CNT and energetically favours diffuse interfaces for small nuclei and sharp interfaces for large nuclei. We further corroborate this model using molecular dynamics simulations of heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation in liquid-solid phase transitions of Pt. We anticipate that the OPG model is applicable to different nucleation processes and our experimental method opens the door to study the structure and dynamics of materials with 4D atomic resolution.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2018

Quantum Error Correction and One-Way LOCC State Distinguishability

We explore the intersection of studies in quantum error correction and quantum local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We consider one-way LOCC measurement protocols as quantum channels and investigate their error correction properties, emphasizing an operator theory approach to the subject, and we obtain new applications to one-way LOCC state distinguishability as well as new derivations of some established results. We also derive conditions on when states that arise through the stabilizer formalism for quantum error correction are distinguishable under one-way LOCC.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Optimal resource states for local state discrimination

We study the problem of locally distinguishing pure quantum states using shared entanglement as a resource. For a given set of locally indistinguishable states, we define a resource state to be useful if it can enhance local distinguishability and optimal if it can distinguish the states as well as global measurements and is also minimal with respect to a partial ordering defined by entanglement and dimension. We present examples of useful resources and show that an entangled state need not be useful for distinguishing a given set of states. We obtain optimal resources with explicit local protocols to distinguish multipartite GHZ and Graph states; and also show that a maximally entangled state is an optimal resource under one-way LOCC to distinguish any bipartite orthonormal basis which contains at least one entangled state of full Schmidt rank.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Operator Structures and Quantum One-Way LOCC Conditions

We conduct the first detailed analysis in quantum information of recently derived operator relations from the study of quantum one-way local operations and classical communications (LOCC). We show how operator structures such as operator systems, operator algebras, and Hilbert C*-modules all naturally arise in this setting, and we make use of these structures to derive new results and new derivations of some established results in the study of LOCC. We also show that perfect distinguishability under one-way LOCC and under arbitrary operations is equivalent for several families of operators that appear jointly in matrix and operator theory and quantum information theory.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Entanglement as a resource for local state discrimination in multipartite systems

We explore the question of using an entangled state as a universal resource for implementing quantum measurements by local operations and classical communication (LOCC). We show that for most systems consisting of three or more subsystems, there is no entangled state from the same space that can enable all measurements by LOCC. This is in direct contrast to the bipartite case, where a maximally entangled state is an universal resource. Our results are obtained showing an equivalence between the problem of local state transformation and that of entanglement-assisted local unambiguous state discrimination.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2014

Three maximally entangled states can require two-way LOCC for local discrimination

We show that there exist sets of three mutually orthogonal $d$-dimensional maximally entangled states which cannot be perfectly distinguished using one-way local operations and classical communication (LOCC) for arbitrarily large values of $d$. This contrasts with several well-known families of maximally entangled states, for which any three states can be perfectly distinguished. We then show that two-way LOCC is sufficient to distinguish these examples. We also show that any three mutually orthogonal $d$-dimensional maximally entangled states can be perfectly distinguished using measurements with a positive partial transpose (PPT) and can be distinguished with one-way LOCC with high probability. These results circle around the question of whether there exist three maximally entangled states which cannot be distinguished using the full power of LOCC; we discuss possible approaches to answer this question.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Tight bounds on the distinguishability of quantum states under separable measurements

One of the many interesting features of quantum nonlocality is that the states of a multipartite quantum system cannot always be distinguished as well by local measurements as they can when all quantum measurements are allowed. In this work, we characterize the distinguishability of sets of multipartite quantum states when restricted to separable measurements -- those which contain the class of local measurements but nevertheless are free of entanglement between the component systems. We consider two quantities: The separable fidelity -- a truly quantum quantity -- which measures how well we can "clone" the input state, and the classical probability of success, which simply gives the optimal probability of identifying the state correctly. We obtain lower and upper bounds on the separable fidelity and give several examples in the bipartite and multipartite settings where these bounds are optimal. Moreover the optimal values in these cases can be attained by local measurements. We further show that for distinguishing orthogonal states under separable measurements, a strategy that maximizes the probability of success is also optimal for separable fidelity. We point out that the equality of fidelity and success probability does not depend on an using optimal strategy, only on the orthogonality of the states. To illustrate this, we present an example where two sets (one consisting of orthogonal states, and the other non-orthogonal states) are shown to have the same separable fidelity even though the success probabilities are different.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2013

Minimum Vector Rank and Complement Critical Graphs

Given a graph G, a real orthogonal representation of G is a function from its set of vertices to R^d such that two vertices are mapped to orthogonal vectors if and only if they are not neighbors. The minimum vector rank of a graph is the smallest dimension d for which such a representation exists. This quantity is closely related to the minimum semidefinite rank of G, which has been widely studied. Considering the minimum vector rank as an analogue of the chromatic number, this work defines critical graphs as those for which the removal of any vertex decreases the minimum vector rank; and complement critical graphs as those for which the removal of any vertex decreases the minimum vector rank of either the graph or its complement. It establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for certain classes of graphs to be complement critical, in the process calculating their minimum vector rank. In addition, this work demonstrates that complement critical graphs form a sufficient set to prove the Graph Complement Conjecture, which remains open.

math.CO↗

arXiv2010

Testing for a pure state with local operations and classical communication

We examine the problem of using local operations and classical communication (LOCC) to distinguish a known pure state from an unknown (possibly mixed) state, bounding the error probability from above and below. We study the asymptotic rate of detecting multiple copies of the pure state and show that, if the overlap of the two states is great enough, then they can be distinguished asymptotically as well with LOCC as with global measurements; otherwise, the maximal Schmidt coefficient of the pure state is sufficient to determine the asymptotic error rate.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

Properties of Conjugate Channels with Applications to Additivity and Multiplicativity

Quantum channels can be described via a unitary coupling of system and environment, followed by a trace over the environment state space. Taking the trace instead over the system state space produces a different mapping which we call the conjugate channel. We explore the properties of conjugate channels and describe several different methods of construction. In general, conjugate channels map M_d to M_d' with d < d', and different constructions may differ by conjugation with a partial isometry. We show that a channel and its conjugate have the same minimal output entropy and maximal output p-norm. It then follows that the additivity and multiplicativity conjectures for these measures of optimal output purity hold for a product of channels if and only if they also hold for the product of their conjugates. This allows us to reduce these conjectures to the special case of maps taking M_d to M_d' with a minimal representation of dimension at most d. We find explicit expressions for the conjugates for a number of well-known examples, including entanglement-breaking channels, unital qubit channels, the depolarizing channel, and a subclass of random unitary channels. For the entanglement-breaking channels, channels this yields a new class of channels for which additivity and multiplicativity of optimal output purity can be established. For random unitary channels using the generalized Pauli matrices, we obtain a new formulation of the multiplicativity conjecture. The conjugate of the completely noisy channel plays a special role and suggests a mechanism for using noise to transmit information.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2005

Distinguishing Bipartitite Orthogonal States using LOCC: Best and Worst Cases

Two types of results are presented for distinguishing pure bipartite quantum states using Local Operations and Classical Communications. We examine sets of states that can be perfectly distinguished, in particular showing that any three orthogonal maximally entangled states in C^3 tensor C^3 form such a set. In cases where orthogonal states cannot be distinguished, we obtain upper bounds for the probability of error using LOCC taken over all sets of k orthogonal states in C^n tensor C^m. In the process of proving these bounds, we identify some sets of orthogonal states for which perfect distinguishability is not possible.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2004

Multiplicativity properties of entrywise positive maps

Multiplicativity of certain maximal p -> q norms of a tensor product of linear maps on matrix algebras is proved in situations in which the condition of complete positivity (CP) is either augmented by, or replaced by, the requirement that the entries of a matrix representative of the map are non-negative (EP). In particular, for integer t, multiplicativity holds for the maximal 2 -> 2t norm of a product of two maps, whenever one of the pair is EP; for the maximal 1 -> t norm for pairs of CP maps when one of them is also EP; and for the maximal 1 -> 2t norm for the product of an EP and a 2-positive map. Similar results are shown in the infinite-dimensional setting of convolution operators on L^2(R), with the pointwise positivity of an integral kernel replacing entrywise positivity of a matrix. These results apply in particular to Gaussian bosonic channels.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2004

On the existence of a common quadratic Lyapunov function for a rank one difference

Suppose that A and B are real stable matrices, and that their difference A-B is rank one. Then A and B have a common quadratic Lyapunov function if and only if the product AB has no real negative eigenvalue. This result is due to Shorten and Narendra, who showed that it follows as a consequence of the Kalman-Yacubovich-Popov solution of the Lur'e problem. Here we present a new and independent proof based on results from convex analysis and the theory of moments.

math.OC↗