Quantum Markov Process on a Lattice

We develop a systematic description of Weyl and Fano operators on a lattice phase space. Introducing the so-called ghost variable even on an odd lattice, odd and even lattices can be treated in a symmetric way. The Wigner function is defined using these operators on the quantum phase space, which can be interpreted as a spin phase space. If we extend the space with a dichotomic variable, a positive distribution function can be defined on the new space. It is shown that there exits a quantum Markov process on the extended space which describes the time evolution of the distribution function.Comment: Lattice2003(theory

Optimal estimation of a physical observable's expectation value for pure states

We study the optimal way to estimate the quantum expectation value of a physical observable when a finite number of copies of a quantum pure state are presented. The optimal estimation is determined by minimizing the squared error averaged over all pure states distributed in a unitary invariant way. We find that the optimal estimation is "biased", though the optimal measurement is given by successive projective measurements of the observable. The optimal estimate is not the sample average of observed data, but the arithmetic average of observed and "default nonobserved" data, with the latter consisting of all eigenvalues of the observable.Comment: v2: 5pages, typos corrected, journal versio

Unitary-process discrimination with error margin

We investigate a discrimination scheme between unitary processes. By introducing a margin for the probability of erroneous guess, this scheme interpolates the two standard discrimination schemes: minimum-error and unambiguous discrimination. We present solutions for two cases. One is the case of two unitary processes with general prior probabilities. The other is the case with a group symmetry: the processes comprise a projective representation of a finite group. In the latter case, we found that unambiguous discrimination is a kind of "all or nothing": the maximum success probability is either 0 or 1. We also closely analyze how entanglement with an auxiliary system improves discrimination performance.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, presentation improved, typos corrected, final versio

Simple criterion for local distinguishability of generalized Bell states in prime dimension

Local distinguishability of sets of generalized Bell states (GBSs) is investigated. We first clarify the conditions such that a set of GBSs can be locally transformed to a certain type of GBS set that is easily distinguishable within local operations and one-way classical communication. We then show that, if the space dimension $d$ is a prime, these conditions are necessary and sufficient for sets of $d$ GBSs in $\mathbb{C}^d \otimes \mathbb{C}^d$ to be locally distinguishable. Thus we obtain a simple computable criterion for local distinguishability of sets of $d$ GBSs in prime dimension $d$.Comment: 6 pages, presentation improved, final versio

Complete solution for unambiguous discrimination of three pure states with real inner products

Complete solutions are given in a closed analytic form for unambiguous discrimination of three general pure states with real mutual inner products. For this purpose, we first establish some general results on unambiguous discrimination of n linearly independent pure states. The uniqueness of solution is proved. The condition under which the problem is reduced to an (n-1)-state problem is clarified. After giving the solution for three pure states with real mutual inner products, we examine some difficulties in extending our method to the case of complex inner products. There is a class of set of three pure states with complex inner products for which we obtain an analytical solution.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, presentation improved, reference adde

Center Preserving Automorphisms of Finite Heisenberg Group over ZN\mathbb Z_N

We investigate the group structure of center-preserving automorphisms of the finite Heisenberg group over $\mathbb Z_N$ with $U(1)$ extension, which arises in finite-dimensional quantum mechanics on a discrete phase space. Constructing an explicit splitting, it is shown that, for $N=2(2k+1)$, the group is isomorphic to the semidirect product of $Sp_N$ and $\mathbb Z_N^2$. Moreover, when N is divisible by $2l (l \ge 2)$, the group has a non-trivial 2-cocycle, and its explicit form is provided. By utilizing the splitting, it is demonstrated that the corresponding projective Weil representation can be lifted to linear representation.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figur