98,584 research outputs found
Variance of Relative Surprisal as Single-Shot Quantifier
The variance of (relative) surprisal, also known as varentropy, so far mostly plays a role in information theory as quantifying the leading-order corrections to asymptotic independent and identically distributed (IID) limits. Here, we comprehensively study the use of it to derive single-shot results in (quantum) information theory. We show that it gives genuine sufficient and necessary conditions for approximate state transitions between pairs of quantum states in the single-shot setting, without the need for further optimization. We also clarify its relation to smoothed min and max entropies, and construct a monotone for resource theories using only the standard (relative) entropy and variance of (relative) surprisal. This immediately gives rise to enhanced lower bounds for entropy production in random processes. We establish certain properties of the variance of relative surprisal, which will be useful for further investigations, such as uniform continuity and upper bounds on the violation of subadditivity. Motivated by our results, we further derive a simple and physically appealing axiomatic single-shot characterization of (relative) entropy, which we believe to be of independent interest. We illustrate our results with several applications, ranging from interconvertibility of ergodic states, over Landauer erasure to a bound on the necessary dimension of the catalyst for catalytic state transitions and Boltzmann’s H theorem
On Variational Expressions for Quantum Relative Entropies
Distance measures between quantum states like the trace distance and the
fidelity can naturally be defined by optimizing a classical distance measure
over all measurement statistics that can be obtained from the respective
quantum states. In contrast, Petz showed that the measured relative entropy,
defined as a maximization of the Kullback-Leibler divergence over projective
measurement statistics, is strictly smaller than Umegaki's quantum relative
entropy whenever the states do not commute. We extend this result in two ways.
First, we show that Petz' conclusion remains true if we allow general positive
operator valued measures. Second, we extend the result to Renyi relative
entropies and show that for non-commuting states the sandwiched Renyi relative
entropy is strictly larger than the measured Renyi relative entropy for , and strictly smaller for . The
latter statement provides counterexamples for the data-processing inequality of
the sandwiched Renyi relative entropy for . Our main tool is
a new variational expression for the measured Renyi relative entropy, which we
further exploit to show that certain lower bounds on quantum conditional mutual
information are superadditive.Comment: v2: final published versio
Short proofs of the Quantum Substate Theorem
The Quantum Substate Theorem due to Jain, Radhakrishnan, and Sen (2002) gives
us a powerful operational interpretation of relative entropy, in fact, of the
observational divergence of two quantum states, a quantity that is related to
their relative entropy. Informally, the theorem states that if the
observational divergence between two quantum states rho, sigma is small, then
there is a quantum state rho' close to rho in trace distance, such that rho'
when scaled down by a small factor becomes a substate of sigma. We present new
proofs of this theorem. The resulting statement is optimal up to a constant
factor in its dependence on observational divergence. In addition, the proofs
are both conceptually simpler and significantly shorter than the earlier proof.Comment: 11 pages. Rewritten; included new references; presented the results
in terms of smooth relative min-entropy; stronger results; included converse
and proof using SDP dualit
Thermodynamics of Thermoelectric Phenomena and Applications
Fifty years ago, the optimization of thermoelectric devices was analyzed by considering the relation between optimal performances and local entropy production. Entropy is produced by the irreversible processes in thermoelectric devices. If these processes could be eliminated, entropy production would be reduced to zero, and the limiting Carnot efficiency or coefficient of performance would be obtained. In the present review, we start with some fundamental thermodynamic considerations relevant for thermoelectrics. Based on a historical overview, we reconsider the interrelation between optimal performances and local entropy production by using the compatibility approach together with the thermodynamic arguments. Using the relative current density and the thermoelectric potential, we show that minimum entropy production can be obtained when the thermoelectric potential is a specific, optimal value
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