Quantum deconvolution

We propose a method for stably removing noise from measurements of a quantum many-body system. The question is cast to a linear inverse problem by using a quantum Fischer information metric as figure of merit. This requires the ability to compute the adjoint of the noise channel with respect to the metric, which can be done analytically when the metric is evaluated at a Gaussian (quasi-free) state. This approach can be applied effectively to n-point functions of a quantum field theory. For translation invariant noise, this yields a stable deconvolution method on the first moments of the field which differs from what one would obtain from a purely classical analysis

Conditions for the approximate correction of algebras

We study the approximate correctability of general algebras of observables, which represent hybrid quantum-classical information. This includes approximate quantum error correcting codes and subsystems codes. We show that the main result of arXiv:quant-ph/0605009 yields a natural generalization of the Knill-Laflamme conditions in the form of a dimension independent estimate of the optimal reconstruction error for a given encoding, measured using the trace-norm distance to a noiseless channel.Comment: Related to a talk given at TQC 2009 in Waterlo

Coarse-grained distinguishability of field interactions

Information-theoretical quantities such as statistical distinguishability typically result from optimisations over all conceivable observables. Physical theories, however, are not generally considered valid for all mathematically allowed measurements. For instance, quantum field theories are not meant to be correct or even consistent at arbitrarily small lengthscales. A general way of limiting such an optimisation to certain observables is to first coarse-grain the states by a quantum channel. We show how to calculate contractive quantum information metrics on coarse-grained equilibrium states of free bosonic systems (Gaussian states), in directions generated by arbitrary perturbations of the Hamiltonian. As an example, we study the Klein-Gordon field. If the phase-space resolution is coarse compared to h-bar, the various metrics become equal and the calculations simplify. In that context, we compute the scale dependence of the distinguishability of the quartic interaction

Inferring effective field observables from a discrete model

A spin system on a lattice can usually be modelled at large scales by an effective quantum field theory. A key mathematical result relating the two descriptions is the quantum central limit theorem, which shows that certain spin observables satisfy an algebra of bosonic fields under certain conditions. Here, we show that these particular observables and conditions are the relevant ones for an observer with certain limited abilities to resolve spatial locations as well as spin values. This is shown by computing the asymptotic behaviour of a quantum Fisher information metric as function of the resolution parameters. The relevant observables characterise the state perturbations whose distinguishability does not decay too fast as a function of spatial or spin resolution

General conditions for approximate quantum error correction and near-optimal recovery channels

We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for the approximate correctability of a quantum code, generalizing the Knill-Laflamme conditions for exact error correction. Our measure of success of the recovery operation is the worst-case entanglement fidelity of the overall process. We show that the optimal recovery fidelity can be predicted exactly from a dual optimization problem on the environment causing the noise. We use this result to obtain an easy-to-calculate estimate of the optimal recovery fidelity as well as a way of constructing a class of near-optimal recovery channels that work within twice the minimal error. In addition to standard subspace codes, our results hold for subsystem codes and hybrid quantum-classical codes.Comment: minor clarifications, typos edited, references added

The renormalisation group via statistical inference

In physics one attempts to infer the rules governing a system given only the results of imperfect measurements. Hence, microscopic theories may be effectively indistinguishable experimentally. We develop an operationally motivated procedure to identify the corresponding equivalence classes of states, and argue that the renormalisation group arises from the inherent ambiguities associated with the classes: one encounters flow parameters as, e.g., a regulator, a scale, or a measure of precision, which specify representatives in a given equivalence class. This provides a unifying framework and identifies the role played by information in renormalisation. We validate this idea by showing that it justifies the use of low-momenta n-point functions as statistically relevant observables around a gaussian hypothesis. These results enable the calculation of distinguishability in quantum field theory. Our methods also provide a way to extend renormalisation techniques to effective models which are not based on the usual quantum-field formalism, and elucidates the relationships between various type of RG.Comment: This version corrects an error at the end of Section V: the adjoint map R does not simply factor over mode