N-representability is QMA-complete

We study the computational complexity of the N-representability problem in quantum chemistry. We show that this problem is QMA-complete, which is the quantum generalization of NP-complete. Our proof uses a simple mapping from spin systems to fermionic systems, as well as a convex optimization technique that reduces the problem of finding ground states to N-representability

Full security of quantum key distribution from no-signaling constraints

We analyze a cryptographic protocol for generating a distributed secret key from correlations that violate a Bell inequality by a sufficient amount, and prove its security against eavesdroppers, constrained only by the assumption that any information accessible to them must be compatible with the non-signaling principle. The claim holds with respect to the state-of-the-art security definition used in cryptography, known as universally-composable security. The non-signaling assumption only refers to the statistics of measurement outcomes depending on the choices of measurements; hence security is independent of the internal workings of the devices --- they do not even need to follow the laws of quantum theory. This is relevant for practice as a correct and complete modeling of realistic devices is generally impossible. The techniques developed are general and can be applied to other Bell inequality-based protocols. In particular, we provide a scheme for estimating Bell-inequality violations when the samples are not independent and identically distributed.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figur

On Nonzero Kronecker Coefficients and their Consequences for Spectra

A triple of spectra (r^A, r^B, r^{AB}) is said to be admissible if there is a density operator rho^{AB} with (Spec rho^A, Spec rho^B, Spec rho^{AB})=(r^A, r^B, r^{AB}). How can we characterise such triples? It turns out that the admissible spectral triples correspond to Young diagrams (mu, nu, lambda) with nonzero Kronecker coefficient [M. Christandl and G. Mitchison, to appear in Comm. Math. Phys., quant-ph/0409016; A. Klyachko, quant-ph/0409113]. This means that the irreducible representation V_lambda is contained in the tensor product of V_mu and V_nu. Here, we show that such triples form a finitely generated semigroup, thereby resolving a conjecture of Klyachko. As a consequence we are able to obtain stronger results than in [M. Ch. and G. M. op. cit.] and give a complete information-theoretic proof of the correspondence between triples of spectra and representations. Finally, we show that spectral triples form a convex polytope.Comment: 13 page

Upper bound on the secret key rate distillable from effective quantum correlations with imperfect detectors

We provide a simple method to obtain an upper bound on the secret key rate that is particularly suited to analyze practical realizations of quantum key distribution protocols with imperfect devices. We consider the so-called trusted device scenario where Eve cannot modify the actual detection devices employed by Alice and Bob. The upper bound obtained is based on the available measurements results, but it includes the effect of the noise and losses present in the detectors of the legitimate users.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure; suppress sifting effect in the figure, final versio

Recoupling Coefficients and Quantum Entropies

We prove that the asymptotic behavior of the recoupling coefficients of the symmetric group S_k is characterized by a quantum marginal problem: they decay polynomially in k if there exists a quantum state of three particles with given eigenvalues for their reduced density operators and exponentially otherwise. As an application, we deduce solely from symmetry considerations of the coefficients the strong subadditivity property of the von Neumann entropy, first proved by Lieb and Ruskai (J Math Phys 14:1938–1941, 1973). Our work may be seen as a non-commutative generalization of the representation-theoretic aspect of the recently found connection between the quantum marginal problem and the Kronecker coefficient of the symmetric group, which has applications in quantum information theory and algebraic complexity theory. This connection is known to generalize the correspondence between Weyl’s problem on the addition of Hermitian matrices and the Littlewood–Richardson coefficients of SU(d). In this sense, our work may also be regarded as a generalization of Wigner’s famous observation of the semiclassical behavior of the recoupling coefficients (here also known as 6j or Racah coefficients), which decay polynomially whenever a tetrahedron with given edge lengths exists. More precisely, we show that our main theorem contains a characterization of the possible eigenvalues of partial sums of Hermitian matrices thus presenting a representation-theoretic characterization of a generalization of Weyl’s problem. The appropriate geometric objects to SU(d) recoupling coefficients are thus tuples of Hermitian matrices and to S_k recoupling coefficients they are three-particle quantum states