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This document is an assignment for the Quantum Computation and Quantum Information course at IIT Madras, focusing on quantum states, measurements, entanglement measures, and positive operator valued measures (POVMs). It includes problems related to Bloch sphere representations, entanglement criteria, eavesdropping scenarios, and Schmidt decomposition of bipartite states. The assignment aims to deepen understanding of quantum mechanics concepts and their mathematical formulations.

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Bhushan Waghade
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2 views

Assignment0

This document is an assignment for the Quantum Computation and Quantum Information course at IIT Madras, focusing on quantum states, measurements, entanglement measures, and positive operator valued measures (POVMs). It includes problems related to Bloch sphere representations, entanglement criteria, eavesdropping scenarios, and Schmidt decomposition of bipartite states. The assignment aims to deepen understanding of quantum mechanics concepts and their mathematical formulations.

Uploaded by

Bhushan Waghade
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Department of Physics

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras


PH5842 Quantum Computation and Quantum Information
Assignment 0

20 Jan 2025 Preliminaries: Quantum States and Measurements

1. Distance between states on the Bloch sphere


Recall that an arbitrary density matrix corresponding to the mixed state
of a qubit can be written as,
I + ⃗r.⃗σ
ρ= ,
2
where, ⃗σ = {σX , σY , σZ } is a vector of Pauli matrices and ⃗r is a real three-
dimensional vector such that |⃗r| ≤ 1. ⃗r is called the Bloch vector associated
with the state ρ.
(i) If ⃗r and ⃗s are the Bloch vectors associated with a pair of pure states
|ψ⟩⟨ψ| and |ϕ⟩⟨ϕ|, show that,
1
|⟨ψ|ϕ⟩|2 = (1 + ⃗r.⃗s) .
2
(ii) The trace-distance between two quantum states is defined as
1
D( ρ1 , ρ2 ) = Tr|ρ1 − ρ2 |,
2
√
where, |A| = A† A is defined as the positive square-root of A† A.
Evaluate the distance between two qubit density operators ρ1 and ρ2
in terms of their respective Bloch vectors ⃗r and ⃗s.
2. Entanglement Measure

Consider an arbitrary bipartite state written in the computational basis:

|Ψ⟩AB = a|00⟩AB + b|01⟩AB + c|10⟩AB + d|11⟩AB .

Let |Ψ∗ ⟩ be the state obtained after performing the complex conjugation
operation in the standard (σZ ) basis.
(i) Evaluate the quantity C(|Ψ⟩) = |⟨Ψ|σY ⊗ σY |Ψ∗ ⟩| and show that it is
proportional to the absolute value of the determinant of the matrix
M:  
a b
M= .
c d
(ii) Show that the reduced density matrix on the first qubit is of the form
ρA = M M † . The state |Ψ⟩AB is entangled if and only if the reduced
state ρA has a rank greater than 1. Hence argue that the quantity
C(|ψ⟩) (called the concurrence) is nonzero if and only if the state |Ψ⟩
is entangled.

3. Positive Operator Valued Measures (POVMs):


Pthat a POVM is defined as a set of positive oeprators {Ei ≥ 0}, such
Recall
that i Ei = I. Consider the three operators,

M1 = R(I − |ψ1 ⟩⟨ψ1 |), M2 = R(I − |ψ2 ⟩⟨ψ2 |),


M3 = (1 − 2R)I + R(|ψ1 ⟩⟨ψ1 | + |ψ2 ⟩⟨ψ2 |),

where R is a positive real number, and |ψ1 ⟩ and |ψ2 ⟩ are a pair of non-
orthogonal quantum states, with a real inner-product 0 ≤ ⟨ψ1 |ψ2 ⟩ ≤ 1.
Show that the set of three operators constitutes a valid POVM if and only
if R = 1+⟨ψ11 |ψ2 ⟩ .

4. Eavesdropping and disturbance

Anita wants to send a classical message to Bharat by making use of a pair


of quantum states {|u⟩, |v⟩}, which she is able to prepare in her lab. The
states |u⟩, |v⟩ can be expressed in a suitable basis as,
   
cos α sin α π
|u⟩ = , |v⟩ = , 0≤α≤ . (1)
sin α cos α 4

Anita decides at random to send either |u⟩ or |v⟩ to Bharat, who then
has to make a measurement to decide which state she sent. Since the two
states are not orthogonal (|⟨u|v⟩| = sin(2α)), he cannot distinguish the
states perfectly. Bharat therefore settles for a procedure which is successful
only some of the time; he performs a three-outcome POVM defined by the
operators:

Eū = A(I − |u⟩⟨u|), Ev̄ = A(I − |v⟩⟨v|),


Eϕ = (1 − 2A)I + A(|u⟩⟨u| + |v⟩⟨v|), (2)

where A is positive real number. If he obtains outcome ū, Bharat knows


for sure that the state |v⟩ was sent; if he obtains outcome v̄, he knows with
certainty that the state |u⟩ was sent; if however, he obtains outcome ϕ, then
his measurement is inconclusive. It is easy to check that

Eū + Ev̄ + Eϕ = I,

so that this set of three operators constitutes a valid POVM.


(i) How should Bharat choose the value of A so as to minimize the prob-
ability of getting outcome ϕ? What is the minimal probability of
obtaining outcome ϕ, assuming that Anita sent states |u⟩, |v⟩ with
equal probability? [Hint: If A is too large, Eϕ will have negative
eigenvalues, and the operators in Eq. (2) will no longer constitute a
POVM.]
(ii) Sunil, who is eavesdropping on the conversation, would also like to find
out which state Anita is sending Bharat. He intercepts each qubit that
Anita sends, by performing an orthogonal measurement that projects
onto the {|0⟩, |1⟩} basis, where,
   
1 0
|0⟩ = , |1⟩ = .
0 1

If he obtains outcome 0 he sends the state |u⟩ to Bharat, and on


obtaining outcome 1 he sends |v⟩. Thus, every time Bharat obtains a
“conclusive” outcome (ū or v̄), Sunil knows with certainty which state
he has.
However, Sunil’s tampering does cause “detectable” errors; sometimes
Bharat obtains a conclusive outcome that differs from what Anita
sent. What is the probability of such an error, when Bharat obtains a
conclusive outcome?

5. Schmidt Decomposition

(i) A simple way to arrive at the Schmidt form of a bipartite pure state
|ψ⟩AB is as follows. Let {|i⟩A } ∈ HA be the basis in which the re-
duced density operator ρA ≡ TrB [|ψ⟩⟨ψ|] is diagonal. Let |j⟩B be any
orthonormal basis in HB . Suppose we write down the state |ψ⟩ in the
basis {|i⟩A ⊗ |j⟩B }, as follows:
X
|ψ⟩ = cij |i⟩A |j⟩B .
i,j

Show that the states X


|ĩ⟩B = cij |j⟩B
j

are mutually orthogonal. Hence, show that the sets {|i⟩A } and {|ĩ⟩B }
constitute Schmidt bases for the state |ψ⟩ by explicitly writing down
its Schmidt form.
(ii) Obtain the Schmidt form of the following states:

|00⟩ + |01⟩ + |11⟩


|Ψ1 ⟩AB = √ ,
3
|00⟩ + |11⟩
|Ψ2 ⟩AB = √ ,
2
|00⟩ + |01⟩ + |10⟩ + |11⟩
|Ψ3 ⟩AB = .
2

(iii) For each of the states |Ψi ⟩AB in part (i), evaluate the reduced state
(i)
ρA ≡ TrB [ |ψi ⟩⟨ψi | ] on subsystem HA and write down its eigenvalues.
Recall that the Shannon entropy H of a probability distribution {pi },
is defined as follows:
X
H( {pi } ) ≡ − pi log pi .
i

Calculate the Shannon entropy of the eigenvalue distributions of each


of the reduced states obtained above. Hence determine as to which of
|ψ1 ⟩, |ψ2 ⟩, |ψ3 ⟩ is the most entangled state and which is least entangled.

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