Two or more quantum systems are said to be in an entangled or non-factorisable state if their joint (supposedly pure) wave-function is not expressible as a product of individual wave functions but is instead a superposition of product states. It is only when the systems are in a factorisable state that they can be considered to be separated (in the sense of Bell). We show that whenever two quantum systems interact with each other, it is impossible that all factorisable states remain factorisable during the interaction unless the full Hamiltonian does not couple these systems so to say unless they do not really interact. We also present certain conditions under which particular factorisable states remain factorisable although they represent a bipartite system whose components mutually interact and pay a particular attention to the case where the two particles interact mutually through an action at a distance in the three dimensional space.
We show that the general Heisenberg Hamiltonian with non-uniform couplings can be characterised by mapping the entanglement it generates as a function of time. Identification of the Hamiltonian in this way is possible as the coefficients of each operator control the oscillation frequencies of the entanglement function. The number of measurements required to achieve a given precision in the Hamiltonian parameters is determined and an efficient measurement strategy designed. We derive the relationship between the number of measurements, the resulting precision and the ultimate discrete error pro…
In this paper we develop a mathematical framework for the characterisation of separability and entanglement of formation (EoF) of general bipartite states. These characterisations are of the variational kind, meaning that separability and EoF are given in terms of a function which is to be minimized over the manifold of unitary matrices. A major benefit of such a characterisation is that it directly leads to a numerical procedure for calculating EoF. We present an efficient minimisation algorithm and an apply it to the bound entangled 3X3 Horodecki states; we show that their EoF is very low an…
Entanglement shared among multiple parties presents complex challenges for the characterisation of different types of entanglement. One of the most fundamental insights is the fact that some mixed states can feature entanglement across every possible cut of a multipartite system yet can be produced via a mixture of states separable with respect to different partitions. To distinguish states that genuinely cannot be produced from mixing such partition-separable states, the term genuine multipartite entanglement was coined. All these considerations originate in a paradigm where only a single cop…
The research field of quantum entanglement theory is comparatively new. While a basic understanding of the most simple systems in question (i.e. bipartite systems) has been established over the past few decades, multipartite entanglement still holds many unsolved questions and intriguing riddles. In particular, it is completely unclear how several concepts from the bipartite case can be generalised in a meaningful way to multipartite scenarios. In this work, the main issues of multipartite entanglement detection, characterisation and classification are discussed. The differences and similariti…
We report the creation of a wide range of quantum states with controllable degrees of entanglement and entropy using an optical two-qubit source based on spontaneous parametric downconversion. The states are characterised using measures of entanglement and entropy determined from tomographically determined density matrices. The Tangle-Entropy plane is introduced as a graphical representation of these states, and the theoretic upper bound for the maximum amount of entanglement possible for a given entropy is presented. Such a combination of general quantum state creation and accurate characteri…
Quantum technologies are enjoying an unprecedented popularity, and some applications are already in the market. This thesis studies two phenomena that are behind a lot of quantum technologies: entanglement and nonlocality. We focus on multipartite systems, and ask what configurations of those systems are more useful than others. 'Usefulness' takes on different meanings depending on the context, but, roughly speaking, we aim for more entanglement or more nonlocality. Chapter 2 develops a resource theory of entanglement with a unique multipartite maximally entangled state. Chapter 3 shows that a…
We report the first quantum entanglement experiment in South Africa. The spatial modes of the entangled photon pair are investigated with their potential for high-dimensional entanglement. The generation, measurement and characterisation of the entangled states are examined in detail, where we show high-dimensional entanglement in a Hilbert space of dimension 25. We highlight the experimental challenges contained within each step and provide practical techniques for future experiments in the quantum regime.
Geometric quantum mechanics aims to express the physical properties of quantum systems in terms of geometrical features preferentially selected in the space of pure states. Geometric characterisations are given here for systems of one, two, and three spin-1/2 particles, drawing attention to the classification of quantum states into entanglement types.
Local Operations enhancing the entanglement of bipartite quantum states are of great interest in quantum information processing. Subject of this paper are local selective operations acting on single copies of states. Such operations can lead to larger entanglement with respect to a certain measure as studies before by the Horodeckis and A. Kent et al. (PRA 60,PRL 81 and 83). We present a complete characterisation of all local operations yielding optimal entanglement for pairs of qubits, extending former results of A. Kent et al. We introduce a new technique for the classification of states acc…
We present a numerically efficient method for the characterisation of a quantum process subject to dissipation and noise. The master equation evolution of a maximally entangled state of the quantum system and a non-evolving ancilla system is simulated by Monte-Carlo wave-functions. We show how each stochastic state vectors provides quantities that are readily combined into an average process χ-matrix. Our method significantly reduces the computational complexity in comparison with standard characterisation methods. It also readily provides an upper bound on the trace distance between the ideal…
We provide quantitative bounds on the characterisation of multiparticle separable states by states that have locally symmetric extensions. The bounds are derived from two-particle bounds and relate to recent studies on quantum versions of de Finetti's theorem. We discuss algorithmic applications of our results, in particular a quasipolynomial-time algorithm to decide whether a multiparticle quantum state is separable or entangled (for constant number of particles and constant error in the LOCC or Frobenius norm). Our results provide a theoretical justification for the use of the Search for Sym…
This thesis establishes a number of connections between foundational issues in quantum theory, and some quantum information applications. It starts with a review of quantum contextuality and non-locality, multipartite entanglement characterisation, and of a few quantum information protocols. Quantum non-locality and contextuality are shown to be essential for different implementations of quantum information protocols known as quantum random access codes and quantum communication complexity protocols. I derive sufficient experimental conditions for tests of these quantum properties. I also disc…
Two Kerr-squeezed optical beams can be combined in a beamsplitter to produce non-Gaussian continuous-variable entangled states. We characterize the non-Gaussian nature of the output by calculating the third-order cumulant of quadrature variables, and predict the level of entanglement that could be generated by evaluating the Duan-Simon and Reid Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen criteria. These states have the advantage over Gaussian states and non-Gaussian measurement schemes in that the well known, efficient and proven technology of homodyne detection may be used for their characterisation. A physical …
We develop an original approach for the quantitative characterisation of the entanglement properties of, possibly mixed, bi- and multipartite quantum states of arbitrary finite dimension. Particular emphasis is given to the derivation of reliable estimates which allow for an efficient evaluation of a specific entanglement measure, concurrence, for further implementation in the monitoring of the time evolution of multipartite entanglement under incoherent environment coupling. The flexibility of the technical machinery established here is illustrated by its implementation for different, realist…
Entanglement sudden death in spatially separated two-mode Gaussian states coupled to local thermal and squeezed thermal baths is studied by mapping the problem to that of the quantum-to-classical transition. Using Simon's criterion concerning the characterisation of classicality in Gaussian states, the time to ESD is calculated by analysing the covariance matrices of the system. The results for the two-mode system at T=0 and T>0 for the two types of bath states are generalised to $n$-modes, and are shown to be similar in nature to the results for the general discrete $n$-qubit system.
Holography is a cornerstone characterisation and imaging technique that can be applied to the full electromagnetic spectrum, from X-rays to radio waves or even particles such as neutrons. The key property in all these holographic approaches is coherence that is required to extract the phase information through interference with a reference beam - without this, holography is not possible. Here we introduce a holographic imaging approach that operates on intrinsically incoherent and unpolarised beams, so that no phase information can be extracted from a classical interference measurement. Instea…
Encoding quantum information in continuous variables (CV)---as the quadrature of electromagnetic fields---is a powerful approach to quantum information science and technology. CV entanglement---light beams in Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) states---is a key resource for quantum information protocols; and enables hybridisation between CV and single photon discrete variable (DV) qubit systems. However, CV systems are currently limited by their implementation in free-space optical networks: increased complexity, low loss, high-precision alignment and stability, as well as hybridisation, demand an …
One of the great challenges of quantum foundations and quantum information theory is the characterisation of the relationship between entanglement and the violation of Bell inequalities. It is well known that in specific scenarios these two can behave differently, from local hidden-variable models for entangled quantum states in restricted Bell scenarios, to maximal violations of Bell inequalities not concurring with maximal entanglement. In this paper we put forward a simple proof that there exist quantum states, whose entanglement content, as measured by the Schmidt number, cannot be device-…
The achievement of quantum supremacy boosted the need for a robust medium of quantum information. In this task, higher-dimensional qudits show remarkable noise tolerance and enhanced security for quantum key distribution applications. However, to exploit the advantages of such states, we need a thorough characterisation of their entanglement. Here, we propose a measure of entanglement which can be computed either for pure and mixed states of a $M$-qudit hybrid system. The entanglement measure is based on a distance deriving from an adapted application of the Fubini-Study metric. This measure i…
There has been a long-standing and sometimes passionate debate between physicists over whether a dynamical framework for quantum systems should incorporate not completely positive (NCP) maps in addition to completely positive (CP) maps. Despite the reasonableness of the arguments for complete positivity, we argue that NCP maps should be allowed, with a qualification: these should be understood, not as reflecting 'not completely positive' evolution, but as linear extensions, to a system's entire state space, of CP maps that are only partially defined. Beyond the domain of definition of a partia…
We review a recently introduced unified approach to the analytical quantification of correlations in Gaussian states of bosonic scalar fields by means of Renyi-2 entropy. This allows us to obtain handy formulae for classical, quantum, total correlations, as well as bipartite and multipartite entanglement. We apply our techniques to the study of correlations between two modes of a scalar field as described by observers in different states of motion. When one or both observers are in uniform acceleration, the quantum and classical correlations are degraded differently by the Unruh effect, depend…
Entanglement or entanglement generating interactions permit to achieve the maximum allowed speed in the dynamical evolution of a composite system, when the energy resources are distributed among subsystems. The cases of pre-existing entanglement and of entanglement-building interactions are separately addressed. The role of classical correlations is also discussed.
We analyze the entanglement distribution and the two-qubit residual entanglement in multipartite systems. For a composite system consisting of two cavities interacting with independent reservoirs, it is revealed that the entanglement evolution is restricted by an entanglement monogamy relation derived here. Moreover, it is found that the initial cavity-cavity entanglement evolves completely to the genuine four-partite cavities-reservoirs entanglement in the time interval between the sudden death of cavity-cavity entanglement and the birth of reservoir-reservoir entanglement. In addition, we al…
We determine the entanglement capability of self-inverse Hamiltonian evolution, which reduces to the known result for Ising Hamiltonian, and identify optimal input states for yielding the maximal entanglement rate. We introduce the concept of the operator entanglement rate, and find that the maximal operator entanglement rate gives a lower bound on the entanglement capability of a general Hamiltonian.
We analyze the entanglement evolution of two cavity photons being affected by the dissipation of two individual reservoirs. Under an arbitrary local unitary operation on the initial state, it is shown that there is only one parameter which changes the entanglement dynamics. For the bipartite subsystems, we show that the entanglement of the cavity photons is correlated with that of the reservoirs, although the local operation can delay the time at which the photon entanglement disappears and advance the time at which the reservoir entanglement appears. Furthermore, via a new defined four-qubit …
We investigate the time evolution of the entanglement of assistance when one subsystem undergoes the action of local noisy channels. A general factorization law is presented for the evolution equation of entanglement of assistance. Our results demonstrate that the dynamics of the entanglement of assistance is determined by the action of a noisy channel on the pure maximally entangled state, in which the entanglement reduction turns out to be universal for all quantum states entering the channel. This single quantity will make it easy to characterize the entanglement dynamics of entanglement of…
Divisibility of dynamical maps turns out to be a fundamental notion in characterising Markovianity of quantum evolution, although the decision problem for divisibility itself is computationally intractable. In this work, we propose the operational characterisation of divisibility of dynamical maps by exploiting distinguishability of quantum channels. We prove that distinguishability for any pair of quantum channels does not increase under divisible maps, and then, in terms of channel distinguishability with entanglement between system and $k$-dimensional ancillas, provide the operational chara…
The notion of entanglement can be naturally extended from quantum-states to the level of general quantum evolutions. This is achieved by considering multi-partite unitary transformations as elements of a multi-partite Hilbert space and then extended to general quantum operations. We show some connection between this entanglement and the entangling capabilities of the quantum evolution.
Symmetries of the initial state of a quantum system and the quantum channels, which simultaneously affect parts of the system, can significantly simplify the description of the entanglement evolution. Using concurrence as the entanglement measure, we study the entanglement evolution of few qubit systems, when each of the qubits is affected by a local channel independently of the others. We show that, for low-rank density matrices of the final quantum state, such complex entanglement dynamics can be completely described by a combination of independent factors representing the evolution of entan…
We investigate the average bipartite entanglement, over all possible divisions of a multipartite system, as a useful measure of multipartite entanglement. We expose a connection between such measures and quantum-error-correcting codes by deriving a formula relating the weight distribution of the code to the average entanglement of encoded states. Multipartite entangling power of quantum evolutions is also investigated.
A complete analysis on the generation of spin entanglement from NRQED is presented. The results of entanglement are obtained with relativistic correction to the leading order of (v/c)^2. It is shown that to this order the degree of entanglement of a singlet state does not change under time evolution whereas the triplet state can change.
Evolution of entanglement with the proceeding of quantum algorithms affects the outcome of the algorithm. Particularly, the performance of Grover's search algorithm gets worsened if the initial state of the algorithm is an entangled one. The success probability of search can be seen as an operational measure of entanglement. This paper demonstrates an entanglement measure based on the performance of Grover's search algorithm for three and five qubit systems. We also show that although the overall pattern shows growth of entanglement, its rise to a maximum and then consequent decay, the presenc…
We discuss entanglement evolution of a multi-qubit system when one of its qubits is subjected to a general noisy channel. For such a system, an evolution equation of entanglement for a lower bound for multi-qubit concurrence is derived. Using this evolution equation, the entanglement dynamics of an initially mixed three-qubit state composed of a GHZ and a W state is analyzed if one of the qubits is affected by a phase, an amplitude or a generalized amplitude damping channel.
Entanglement speeds up evolution of a pure bipartite spin state, in line with the time energy uncertainty. However if the state is mixed this is not necessarily the case. We provide a counter example and point to other factors affecting evolution in mixed states, including classical correlations and entropy.
We focus on characterizing entanglement of high dimensional bipartite states using various statistical correlators for two-qudit mixed states. The salient results obtained are as follows: (a) A scheme for determining the entanglement measure given by Negativity is explored by analytically relating it to the widely used statistical correlators viz. mutual predictability, mutual information and Pearson Correlation coefficient for different types of bipartite arbitrary dimensional mixed states. Importantly, this is demonstrated using only a pair of complementary observables pertaining to the mutu…
We define and study entanglement of continuous positive definite functions on products of compact groups. We formulate and prove an infinite-dimensional analog of Horodecki Theorem, giving a necessary and sufficient criterion for separability of such functions. The resulting characterisation is given in terms of mappings of the space of continuous functions, preserving positive definiteness. The relation between the developed group-theoretical formalism and the conventional one, given in terms of density matrices, is established through the non-commutative Fourier analysis.
Two noninteracting atoms, initially entangled in Bell states, are coupled to a one-mode cavity. Based on the reduced non-perturbative quantum master equation, the entanglement evolution of the two atoms with decay is investigated beyond rotating-wave approximation. It is shown that the counter-rotating wave terms have great influence on the disentanglement behavior. The phenomenon of entanglement sudden death and entanglement sudden birth will occur.
We show that the entanglement dynamics for a closed two-qubit system is part of a 10-dimensional complex linear differential equation defined on a supersphere, and the coefficients therein are completely determined by the Hamiltonian. We apply the result to investigate two physical examples of Josephson junction qubits and exchange Hamiltonians, deriving analytic solutions for the time evolution of entanglement. The Hamiltonian coefficients determines whether the entanglement is periodic. These results allow of investigating how to generate and manipulate entanglements efficiently, which are r…
We analyze the multipartite entanglement evolution of three-qubit mixed states composed of a GHZ state and a W state. For a composite system consisting of three cavities interacting with independent reservoirs, it is shown that the entanglement evolution is restricted by a set of monogamy relations. Furthermore, as quantified by the negativity, the entanglement dynamical property of the mixed entangled state of cavity photons is investigated. It is found that the three cavity photons can exhibit the phenomenon of entanglement sudden death (ESD). However, compared with the evolution of a genera…
Batle et al. [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 72}, 032337 (2005)] and Borrás et al. [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 74}, 022326 (2006)] studied the connection between entanglement and speed of quantum evolution for certain low-dimensional bipartite quantum states. However, their studies did not cover all possible cases. And the relation between entanglement and the maximum possible quantum evolution speed for these uncovered cases can very different from the ones that they have studied.
We study a dynamic process of disentanglement by considering the time evolution of bound entanglement for a quantum open system, two qutrits coupling to a common environment. Here, the initial quantum correlations of the two qutrits are characterized by the bound entanglement. In order to show the universality of the role of environment on bound entanglement, both bosonic and spin environments are considered. We found that the bound entanglement displays collapses and revivals, and it can be stable against small temperature and time change. The thermal fluctuation effects on bound entanglement…
We discuss a model for non-linear quantum evolution based on the idea of time displaced entanglement, produced by taking one member of an entangled pair on a round trip at relativistic speeds, thus inducing a time-shift between the pair. We show that decoherence of the entangled pair is predicted. For non-maximal entanglement this then implies the ability to induce a non-unitary, non-linear quantum evolution. Although exhibiting unusual characteristics, we show that these evolutions cannot be dismissed on the basis of entropic or causal arguments.
We discuss time displaced entanglement, produced by taking one member of a Bell pair on a round trip at relativistic speeds, thus inducing a time-shift between the pair. We show that decoherence with respect to Bell measurements on the pair is predicted. We then study a teleportation protocol, using time displaced entanglement as its resource, in which a time-like loop is apparently formed. The result is non-unitary, non-linear evolution of the teleported state.
Entanglement and quantum communication are paradigmatic resources in quantum information science leading to correlations between systems that have no classical analogue. Correlations due to entanglement when communication is absent have for long been studied in Bell scenarios. Correlations due to quantum communication when entanglement is absent have been studied extensively in prepare-and-measure scenarios in the last decade. Here, we set out to understand and investigate correlations in scenarios that involve both entanglement and communication, focusing on entanglement-assisted prepare-and-…
Evolution of entanglement with the processing of quantum algorithms affects the outcome of the algorithm. Particularly, the performance of Grover's search algorithm gets worsened if the initial state of the algorithm is an entangled one. Biham et al [14] have shown that the success probability of search algorithm can be seen as an operational measure of entanglement. Following the same line of thought, analytical expressions for entanglement measure for three and five qubit system have been derived, which reveals that entanglement measure based on Grover's search algorithm is valid for any sta…
Entanglement plays a crucial role in quantum processes particularly those pertaining to quantum information and computation. An analytical expression for an entanglement measure defined in terms of success rate of Grover's search algorithm has been obtained for qutrit systems with real coefficients and the calculated results agree well with the conventional entropy based measure. The entanglement measure is further generalised for qudit (d-level) systems with real coefficients.
We provide a relation which describes how the entanglement of two d-level systems evolves as either system undergoes an arbitrary physical process. The dynamics of the entanglement turns out to be of a simple form, and is fully captured by a single quantity.
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 o…
In this paper I explore the entanglement evolution of qubits that are part of a five qubit quantum error correction code subject to various decohering environments. Specifically, I look for possible parallels between the entanglement degradation and the fidelity of the logical qubit of quantum information stored in the physical qubits. In addition, I note the possible exhibition of entanglement sudden death (ESD) due to decoherence and question whether ESD is actually a roadblock to successful quantum computation.
We point out that the main results-the analytic expressions for the Groverian Measure of Entanglement, in the above mentioned paper are erroneous. The technical mistake of the paper is discussed. It is shown by an explicit example that the formula for calculating the Groverian measure yields G(|ψ>) = 0 for some entangled states.
We extend recent theoretical studies of entanglement dynamics in the presence of environmental noise, following the long-time interest of Krzysztof Wodkiewicz in the effects of stochastic models of noise on quantum optical coherences. We investigate the quantum entanglement dynamics of two spins in the presence of classical Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise, obtaining exact solutions for evolution dynamics. We consider how entanglement can be affected by non-Markovian noise, and discuss several limiting cases.
A model of evolution of bipartite quantum state entanglement is studied. It involves recently introduced quantum block spin-flip dynamics on a lattice. We find that for initially separable states the considered evolution leads, in general, to entangled states. We also present a complete characterization of two-point correlation functions for that type of dynamics to confirm enhancement of quantum correlations for the considered system.
