The quantum capacity of channels with arbitrarily correlated noise

We study optimal rates for quantum communication over a single use of a channel, which itself can correspond to a finite number of uses of a channel with arbitrarily correlated noise. The corresponding capacity is often referred to as the one-shot quantum capacity. In this paper, we prove bounds on the one-shot quantum capacity of an arbitrary channel. This allows us to compute the quantum capacity of a channel with arbitrarily correlated noise, in the limit of asymptotically many uses of the channel. In the memoryless case, we explicitly show that our results reduce to known expressions for the quantum capacity.Comment: 15 pages, two columns. Final improved version - to appear in IEE

Quantum channels with a finite memory

In this paper we study quantum communication channels with correlated noise effects, i.e., quantum channels with memory. We derive a model for correlated noise channels that includes a channel memory state. We examine the case where the memory is finite, and derive bounds on the classical and quantum capacities. For the entanglement-assisted and unassisted classical capacities it is shown that these bounds are attainable for certain classes of channel. Also, we show that the structure of any finite memory state is unimportant in the asymptotic limit, and specifically, for a perfect finite-memory channel where no nformation is lost to the environment, achieving the upper bound implies that the channel is asymptotically noiseless.Comment: 7 Pages, RevTex, Jrnl versio

When does noise increase the quantum capacity?

Superactivation is the property that two channels with zero quantum capacity can be used together to yield positive capacity. Here we demonstrate that this effect exists for a wide class of inequivalent channels, none of which can simulate each other. We also consider the case where one of two zero capacity channels are applied, but the sender is ignorant of which one is applied. We find examples where the greater the entropy of mixing of the channels, the greater the lower bound for the capacity. Finally, we show that the effect of superactivation is rather generic by providing example of superactivation using the depolarizing channel.Comment: Corrected minor typo

Quantum Channels with Memory

We present a general model for quantum channels with memory, and show that it is sufficiently general to encompass all causal automata: any quantum process in which outputs up to some time t do not depend on inputs at times t' > t can be decomposed into a concatenated memory channel. We then examine and present different physical setups in which channels with memory may be operated for the transfer of (private) classical and quantum information. These include setups in which either the receiver or a malicious third party have control of the initializing memory. We introduce classical and quantum channel capacities for these settings, and give several examples to show that they may or may not coincide. Entropic upper bounds on the various channel capacities are given. For forgetful quantum channels, in which the effect of the initializing memory dies out as time increases, coding theorems are presented to show that these bounds may be saturated. Forgetful quantum channels are shown to be open and dense in the set of quantum memory channels.Comment: 21 pages with 5 EPS figures. V2: Presentation clarified, references adde

Entropic bounds on coding for noisy quantum channels

In analogy with its classical counterpart, a noisy quantum channel is characterized by a loss, a quantity that depends on the channel input and the quantum operation performed by the channel. The loss reflects the transmission quality: if the loss is zero, quantum information can be perfectly transmitted at a rate measured by the quantum source entropy. By using block coding based on sequences of n entangled symbols, the average loss (defined as the overall loss of the joint n-symbol channel divided by n, when n tends to infinity) can be made lower than the loss for a single use of the channel. In this context, we examine several upper bounds on the rate at which quantum information can be transmitted reliably via a noisy channel, that is, with an asymptotically vanishing average loss while the one-symbol loss of the channel is non-zero. These bounds on the channel capacity rely on the entropic Singleton bound on quantum error-correcting codes [Phys. Rev. A 56, 1721 (1997)]. Finally, we analyze the Singleton bounds when the noisy quantum channel is supplemented with a classical auxiliary channel.Comment: 20 pages RevTeX, 10 Postscript figures. Expanded Section II, added 1 figure, changed title. To appear in Phys. Rev. A (May 98

Entanlement-Assisted Classical Capacity of Quantum Channels with Correlated Noise

We calculate the entanglement-assisted classical capacity of symmetric and asymmetric Pauli channels where two consecutive uses of the channels are correlated. It is evident from our study that in the presence of memory, a higher amount of classical information is transmitted over quantum channels if there exists prior entanglement as compared to product and entangled state coding.Comment: 8 Pages, 2 Figure

Bounds on classical information capacities for a class of quantum memory channels

The maximum rates for information transmission through noisy quantum channels has primarily been developed for memoryless channels, where the noise on each transmitted state is treated as independent. Many real world communication channels experience noise which is modelled better by errors that are correlated between separate channel uses. In this paper, upper bounds on the classical information capacities of a class of quantum memory channels are derived. The class of channels consists of indecomposable quantum memory channels, a generalization of classical indecomposable finite-state channels.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTeX, coding theorem remove

Entanglement can completely defeat quantum noise

We describe two quantum channels that individually cannot send any information, even classical, without some chance of decoding error. But together a single use of each channel can send quantum information perfectly reliably. This proves that the zero-error classical capacity exhibits superactivation, the extreme form of the superadditivity phenomenon in which entangled inputs allow communication over zero capacity channels. But our result is stronger still, as it even allows zero-error quantum communication when the two channels are combined. Thus our result shows a new remarkable way in which entanglement across two systems can be used to resist noise, in this case perfectly. We also show a new form of superactivation by entanglement shared between sender and receiver.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur