On the Geometric Distance Between Quantum States with Positive Partial Transposition and Private States

We prove an analytic positive lower bound for the geometric distance between entangled positive partial transpose (PPT) states of a broad class and any private state that delivers one secure key bit. Our proof holds for any Hilbert space of finite dimension. Although our result is proven for a specific class of PPT states, we show that our bound nonetheless holds for all known entangled PPT states with non-zero distillable key rates, irrespective of whether they are in our special class or not. Thus, our result naturally leads to the conjecture of impossibility of using PPT-bound entangled state in physical implementation of quantum key distribution.     

The State(s) of Replica Symmetry Breaking: Mean Field Theories vs. Short-Ranged Spin Glasses

We prove the impossibility of recent attempts to decouple the Replica Symmetry Breaking (RSB) picture for finite-dimensional spin glasses from the existence of many thermodynamic (i.e., infinite-volume) pure states while preserving another signature RSB feature—space filling relative domain walls between different finite-volume states. Thus revisions of the notion of pure states cannot shield the RSB picture from the internal contradictions that rule out its physical correctness in finite dimensions at low temperature in large finite volume.     

Distinguishability and Disturbance in the Quantum Key Distribution Protocol Using the Mean Multi-Kings’ Problem

We introduce a quantum key distribution protocol using mean multi-kings’ problem. Using this protocol, a sender can share a bit sequence as a secret key with receivers. We consider a relation between information gain by an eavesdropper and disturbance contained in legitimate users’ information. In BB84 protocol, such relation is known as the so-called information disturbance theorem. We focus on a setting that the sender and two receivers try to share bit sequences and the eavesdropper tries to extract information by interacting legitimate users’ systems and an ancilla system. We derive trade-off inequalities between distinguishability of quantum states corresponding to the bit sequence for the eavesdropper and error probability of the bit sequence shared with the legitimate users. Our inequalities show that eavesdropper’s extracting information regarding the secret keys inevitably induces disturbing the states and increasing the error probability.     

Thermodynamic Cost of Reliability and Low Temperatures: Tightening Landauer's Principle and the Second Law

Landauer's principle states that the erasure of one bit of information requires thefree energy kT ln 2. We argue that the reliability of the bit erasure process isbounded by the accuracy inherent in the statistical state of the energy source(the resources) driving the process. We develop a general framework describingthe thermodynamic worth of the resources with respect to reliable bit erasureor good cooling. This worth turns out to be given by the distinguishability of theresource's state from its equilibrium state in the sense of a statistical inferenceproblem. Accordingly, Kullback—Leibler relative information is a decisivequantity for the worth of the resource's state. Due to the asymmetry of relativeinformation, the reliability of the erasure process is bounded rather by the relativeinformation of the equilibrium state with respect to the actual state than by therelative information of the actual state with respect to the equilibrium state (whichis the free energy up to constants).     

Stochastic Gravity

We give a summary of the status of currentresearch in stochastic semiclassical gravity and suggestdirections for further investigations. This theorygeneralizes the semiclassical Einstein equation to an Einstein-Langevin equation with a stochasticsource term arising from the fluctuations of theenergy-momentum tensor of quantum fields. We mentionrecent efforts in applying this theory to the study of black hole fluctuation and backreactionproblems, linear response of hot flat space, andstructure formation in inflationary cosmology. Toexplore the physical meaning and implications of thisstochastic regime in relation to both classical andquantum gravity, we find it useful to take the view thatsemiclassical gravity is mesoscopic physics and thatgeneral relativity is the hydrodynamic limit of certain spacetime quantum substructures. We view theclassical spacetime depicted by general relativity as acollective state and the metric or connection functionsas collective variables. Three basic issues —stochasticity, collectivity, correlations — andthree processes — dissipation, fluctuations,decoherence — underscore the transformation fromquantum microstructure and interaction to the emergenceof classical macrostructure and dynamics. We discuss ways toprobe into the high-energy activity from below and maketwo suggestions: via effective field theory and thecorrelation hierarchy. We discuss how stochastic behavior at low energy in an effective theoryand how correlation noise associated with coarse-grainedhigher correlation functions in an interacting quantumfield could carry nontrivial information about the high-energy sector. Finally, we describeprocesses deemed important at the Planck scale,including tunneling and pair creation, wave scatteringin random geometry, growth of fluctuations and forms, Planck-scale resonance states, and spacetimefoams.     

Spectroscopic factors and nuclear vertex constants from the (p,d) reactions on7Li,9Be and13C nuclei

The angular distributions of the (p, d) reactions on the⁷Li,⁹Be and¹³C nuclei have been analysed within the framework of the new approach to the extraction of the structural information from the direct nuclear reactions. In this method the additional physical information on the nuclear vertex constants is introduced into the standard DWBA calculations, which makes possible to eliminate the strong dependence of the spectroscopic factors on the geometry of bound state potentials. The possibility of the model — independent determination of the spectroscopic factors — is discussed.The authors wish to express their gratitude to I. Borbely for assistance in the calculations by the method of subtraction of singularities.     

Evolution of Classical and Quantum States in the Groupoid Picture of Quantum Mechanics

The evolution of states of the composition of classical and quantum systems in the groupoid formalism for physical theories introduced recently is discussed. It is shown that the notion of a classical system, in the sense of Birkhoff and von Neumann, is equivalent, in the case of systems with a countable number of outputs, to a totally disconnected groupoid with Abelian von Neumann algebra. The impossibility of evolving a separable state of a composite system made up of a classical and a quantum one into an entangled state by means of a unitary evolution is proven in accordance with Raggio’s theorem, which is extended to include a new family of separable states corresponding to the composition of a system with a totally disconnected space of outcomes and a quantum one.     

A Topos Perspective on the Kochen-Specker Theorem II. Conceptual Aspects and Classical Analogues

In a previous paper, we proposed assigning asthe value of a physical quantity in quantum theory acertain kind of set (a sieve) of quantities that arefunctions of the given quantity. The motivation was in part physical — such a valuationilluminates the Kochen–Specker theorem — andin part mathematical — the valuation arisesnaturally in the topos theory of presheaves. This paperdiscusses the conceptual aspects of this proposal. We also undertake two othertasks. First, we explain how the proposed valuationscould arise much more generally than just in quantumphysics; in particular, they arise as naturally in classical physics. Second, we give anothermotivation for such valuations (that applies equally toclassical and quantum physics). This arises fromapplying to propositions about the values of physical quantities some general axioms governingpartial truth for any kind of proposition.     

Information Invariance and Quantum Probabilities

We consider probabilistic theories in which the most elementary system, a two-dimensional system, contains one bit of information. The bit is assumed to be contained in any complete set of mutually complementary measurements. The requirement of invariance of the information under a continuous change of the set of mutually complementary measurements uniquely singles out a measure of information, which is quadratic in probabilities. The assumption which gives the same scaling of the number of degrees of freedom with the dimension as in quantum theory follows essentially from the assumption that all physical states of a higher dimensional system are those and only those from which one can post-select physical states of two-dimensional systems. The requirement that no more than one bit of information (as quantified by the quadratic measure) is contained in all possible post-selected two-dimensional systems is equivalent to the positivity of density operator in quantum theory. This article is dedicated to Pekka Lahti on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Information-theoretic limits of control

Fundamental limits on the controllability of physical systems are discussed in the light of information theory. It is shown that the second law of thermodynamics, when generalized to include information, sets absolute limits to the minimum amount of dissipation required by open-loop control. In addition, an information-theoretic analysis of control systems shows feedback control to be a zero sum game: each bit of information gathered from a dynamical system by a control device can serve to decrease the entropy of that system by at most one bit additional to the reduction of entropy attainable without such information. Consequences for the control of discrete state systems and chaotic maps are discussed.     

Asymptotic quantum cloning is state estimation

The impossibility of perfect cloning and state estimation are two fundamental results in quantum mechanics. It has been conjectured that quantum cloning becomes equivalent to state estimation in the asymptotic regime where the number of clones tends to infinity. We prove this conjecture using two known results of quantum information theory: the monogamy of quantum correlations and the properties of entanglement breaking channels.     

Structure of reversible computation determines the self-duality of quantum theory

Predictions for measurement outcomes in physical theories are usually computed by combining two distinct notions: a state, describing the physical system, and an observable, describing the measurement which is performed. In quantum theory, however, both notions are in some sense identical: outcome probabilities are given by the overlap between two state vectors--quantum theory is self-dual. In this Letter, we show that this notion of self-duality can be understood from a dynamical point of view. We prove that self-duality follows from a computational primitive called bit symmetry: every logical bit can be mapped to any other logical bit by a reversible transformation. Specifically, we consider probabilistic theories more general than quantum theory, and prove that every bit-symmetric theory must necessarily be self-dual. We also show that bit symmetry yields stronger restrictions on the set of allowed bipartite states than the no-signalling principle alone, suggesting reversible time evolution as a possible reason for limitations of nonlocality.     

Rotating Minimal Thermodynamic Systems

Minimal rotating thermodynamic systems are addressed. Particle m placed into the rotating symmetrical double-well potential (bowl), providing binary logical system is considered. The condition providing the transfer of the particle from one frictionless half-well to another, and, in this way, the possibility to record 1 bit of information is derived. The procedure of recording turns out to be irreversible; it is impossible to return the particle to its initial state under rotation about the same axis. The same rotating double-well system exerted to the thermal noise is considered. A minimal rotating thermal engine built of the rotating chamber, movable partition, and the particle confined within the chamber is treated. Rotation of the system displaces the partition, thus enabling erasing of one bit information. Erasing of 1 bit of information is due to the inertia (centrifugal force) acting on the partition. Isothermal expansion of the “minimal gas” expectedly gives rise to the Landauer bound. Compression of the “gas” with the rotation around the same axis is impossible and demands the additional axis of rotation. The interrelation between the possibility of recording/erasing information and the symmetry of the system is considered.     

Information Complexity of Quantum Gates

This paper considers the realizability of quantum gates from the perspective of information complexity. Since the gate is a physical device that must be controlled classically, it is subject to random error. We define the complexity of gate operation in terms of the difference between the entropy of the variables associated with initial and final states of the computation. We argue that the gate operations are irreversible if there is a difference in the accuracy associated with input and output variables. It is shown that under some conditions the gate operation may be associated with unbounded entropy, implying impossibility of implementation. PACS number: 03.65     

The notions of symmetry and computational feedback in the paradigm of steady,simultaneous quantum computation

Digital computation—i.e., the coherent concatenation of logicalif/then statements—is generally mapped onto the temporal transformation of a physical state. In the alternative paradigm of steady, simultaneous quantum computation, logical concatenations are mapped onto the transformations of a quantum steady state into itself. Such transformations, separated from the time variable and thus freed from the one-way progression of time, can mapcircular logical concatenations. This gives rise to nondeterministic and nonrecursive computation. Toy model Hamiltonians of elementary (steady) computations are given to exemplify the applicability of the paradigm.     

Physical limits of inference

We show that physical devices that perform observation, prediction, or recollection share an underlying mathematical structure. We call devices with that structure “inference devices”. We present a set of existence and impossibility results concerning inference devices. These results hold independent of the precise physical laws governing our universe. In a limited sense, the impossibility results establish that Laplace was wrong to claim that even in a classical, non-chaotic universe the future can be unerringly predicted, given sufficient knowledge of the present. Alternatively, these impossibility results can be viewed as a non-quantum-mechanical “uncertainty principle”.The mathematics of inference devices has close connections to the mathematics of Turing Machines (TMs). In particular, the impossibility results for inference devices are similar to the Halting theorem for TMs. Furthermore, one can define an analog of Universal TMs (UTMs) for inference devices. We call those analogs “strong inference devices”. We use strong inference devices to define the “inference complexity” of an inference task, which is the analog of the Kolmogorov complexity of computing a string. A task-independent bound is derived on how much the inference complexity of an inference task can differ for two different inference devices. This is analogous to the “encoding” bound governing how much the Kolmogorov complexity of a string can differ between two UTMs used to compute that string. However no universe can contain more than one strong inference device. So whereas the Kolmogorov complexity of a string is arbitrary up to specification of the UTM, there is no such arbitrariness in the inference complexity of an inference task.We informally discuss the philosophical implications of these results, e.g., for whether the universe “is” a computer. We also derive some graph-theoretic properties governing any set of multiple inference devices. We also present an extension of the framework to address physical devices used for control. We end with an extension of the framework to address probabilistic inference.     

Is the Universe Really That Simple?

The intriguing recent suggestion of Tegmark that the universe—contrary to all our experiences and expectations—contains only a small amount of information due to an extremely high degree of internal symmetry is critically examined. It is shown that there are several physical processes, notably Hawking evaporation of black holes and non-zero decoherence time effects described by Plaga, as well as thought experiments of Deutsch and Tegmark himself, which can be construed as arguments against the low-information universe hypothesis. Some ramifications for both quantum mechanics and cosmology are briefly discussed.     

Electron tunneling through a barrier that depends linearly on time

We discuss the creation of a negative molecular ion via the decay of a self-captured electron state — the fluctuon — in a nonideal dipole-molecule gas. The creation probability of the negative ion is evaluated in the classical approximation using Green's function methods. We assume that the potential barrier through which the electron tunnels from the potential well of the fluctuon to that of the molecule depends linearly on time.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 84–88, September, 1987.     

Small accessible quantum information does not imply security

The security of quantum key distribution is typically defined in terms of the mutual information between the distributed key S and the outcome of an optimal measurement applied to the adversary's system. We show that even if this so-called accessible information is small, the key S might not be secure enough to be used in applications such as one-time pad encryption. This flaw is due to a locking property of the accessible information: one additional (physical) bit of information can increase the accessible information by more than one bit.