Positive maps, majorization, entropic inequalities, and detection of entanglement

TL;DR

This paper explores the connections between positive maps, majorization, and entropic inequalities to improve the detection of entanglement, especially for states with positive partial transposition, and proposes new criteria and methods for entanglement detection.

Contribution

It introduces generalized majorization and entropic inequalities based on positive maps, enabling detection of entangled states with positive partial transposition and constructing multi-copy entanglement witnesses.

Findings

New criteria detect PPT entangled states.

Entropic inequalities are equivalent to positive map criteria.

Methods enable experimental detection of entanglement.

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss some general connections between the notions of positive map, weak majorization and entropic inequalities in the context of detection of entanglement among bipartite quantum systems. First, basing on the fact that any positive map $\Lambda:M_{d}(\mathbb{C})\to M_{d}(\mathbb{C})$ can be written as the difference between two completely positive maps $\Lambda=\Lambda_{1}-\Lambda_{2}$, we propose a possible way to generalize the Nielsen--Kempe majorization criterion. Then we present two methods of derivation of some general classes of entropic inequalities useful for the detection of entanglement. While the first one follows from the aforementioned generalized majorization relation and the concept of the Schur--concave decreasing functions, the second is based on some functional inequalities. What is important is that, contrary to the Nielsen--Kempe majorization criterion and entropic inequalities, our criteria allow for the detection of entangled states with positive partial transposition when using indecomposable positive maps. We also point out that if a state with at least one maximally mixed subsystem is detected by some necessary criterion based on the positive map $\Lambda$, then there exist entropic inequalities derived from $\Lambda$ (by both procedures) that also detect this state. In this sense, they are equivalent to the necessary criterion $[I\ot\Lambda](\varrho_{AB})\geq 0$. Moreover, our inequalities provide a way of constructing multi--copy entanglement witnesses and therefore are promising from the experimental point of view. Finally, we discuss some of the derived inequalities in the context of recently introduced protocol of state merging and possibility of approximating the mean value of a linear entanglement witness.