Martin Plesch

Entangled graphs: Bipartite entanglement in multiqubit systems

Quantum entanglement in multipartite systems cannot be shared freely. In order to illuminate basic rules of entanglement sharing between qubits we introduce a concept of an entangled structure (graph) such that each qubit of a multipartite system is associated with a point (vertex) while a bi-partite entanglement between two specific qubits is represented by a connection (edge) between these points. We prove that any such entangled structure can be associated with a {\em pure} state of a multi-qubit system. Moreover, we show that a pure state corresponding to a given entangled structure is a superposition of vectors from a subspace of the

Process reconstruction: From unphysical to physical maps via maximum likelihood

2^N

Weak randomness seriously limits the security of quantum key distribution

-dimensional Hilbert space, whose dimension grows {\em linearly} with the number of entangled pairs.

Quantum State Preparation with Universal Gate Decompositions

We show that the method of maximum likelihood (MML) provides us with an efficient scheme for the reconstruction of quantum channels from incomplete measurement data. By construction this scheme always results in estimations of channels that are completely positive. Using this property we use the MML for a derivation of physical approximations of unphysical operations. In particular, we analyze the optimal approximation of the universal NOT gate as well as the physical approximation of a quantum nonlinear polarization rotation.

Towards optimization of quantum circuits

In usual security proofs of quantum protocols the adversary (Eve) is expected to have full control over any quantum communication between any communicating parties (Alice and Bob). Eve is also expected to have full access to an authenticated classical channel between Alice and Bob. Unconditional security against any attack by Eve can be proved even in the realistic setting of device and channel imperfection. In this Letter we show that the security of QKD protocols is ruined if one allows Eve to possess a very limited access to the random sources used by Alice. Such knowledge should always be expected in realistic experimental conditions via different side channels.

Purification of genuine multipartite entanglement

In quantum computation every unitary operation can be decomposed into quantum circuits, a series of single qubit rotations and a single type entangling two-qubit gates, such as controlled-not(cnot) gates. Two measures are important when judging the complexity of the circuit: the total number of cnot gates needed to implement it and the depth of the circuit, measured by the minimal number of computation steps needed to perform it. Here we give an explicit and simple quantum circuit scheme for preparation of arbitrary quantum states, which can directly utilize any decomposition scheme for arbitrary full quantum gates, thus connecting the two problems. Our circuit reduces the depth of the best currently known circuit by a factor of 2. It also reduces the total number of cnot gates from 2n to 23/242n in the leading order for even number of qubits. Specifically, the scheme allows us to decrease the upper bound from 11 cnot gates to 9 and the depth from 11 to 5 steps for four qubits. Our results are expected to help in designing and building small-scale quantum circuits using present technologies.

Device-independent randomness extraction for arbitrarily weak min-entropy source

Any unitary operation in quantum information processing can be implemented via a sequence of simpler steps — quantum gates. However, actual implementation of a quantum gate is always imperfect and takes a finite time. Therefore, searching for a short sequence of gates — efficient quantum circuit for a given operation, is an important task. We contribute to this issue by proposing optimization of the well-known universal procedure proposed by Barenco et al. [Phys. Rev. A 52, 3457 (1995)]. We also created a computer program which realizes both Barenco’s decomposition and the proposed optimization. Furthermore, our optimization can be applied to any quantum circuit containing generalized Toffoli gates, including basic quantum gate circuits.

Entangled graphs. II. Classical correlations in multiqubit entangled systems

In tasks where multipartite entanglement plays a central role, state purification is, due to inevitable noise, a crucial part of the procedure. We consider a scenario exploiting the multipartite entanglement in a straightforward multipartite purification algorithm and compare it to bipartite purification procedures combined with state teleportation. While complete purification requires an infinite amount of input states in both cases, we show that for an imperfect output fidelity the multipartite procedure exhibits a major advantage in terms of input states used.

Device-independent randomness extraction from an arbitrarily weak min-entropy source

In this paper we design a protocol to extract random bits with an arbitrarily low bias from a single arbitrarily weak min-entropy block source in a device independent setting. The protocol employs Mermin devices that exhibit super-classical correlations. Number of devices used scales polynomially in the length of the block n, containing entropy of at least two bits. Our protocol is robust, it can tolerate devices that malfunction with a probability dropping polynomially in n at the cost of constant increase of the number of devices used.

Reconstruction of Superoperators from Incomplete Measurements

Bipartite correlations in multiqubit systems cannot be shared freely. The presence of entanglement or classical correlation on certain pairs of qubits may imply correlations on other pairs. We present a method of characterization of bipartite correlations in multiqubit systems using a concept of entangled graphs which has been introduced in our earlier work [M. Plesch and V. Buzek, Phys. Rev. A 67, 012322 (2003)]. In entangled graphs, each qubit is represented by a vertex while the entanglement and classical correlations are represented by two types of edges. We prove by construction that any entangled graph with classical correlations can be represented by a mixed state of N qubits. However, not all entangled graphs with classical correlations can be represented by a pure state.