This review introduces a new development in theoretical quantum physics, the ``resource-theoretic'' point of view. The approach aims to be closely linked to experiment, and to state exactly what result you can hope to achieve for what expenditure of effort in the laboratory. This development is an extension of the principles of thermodynamics to quantum problems; but there are resources that would never have been considered previously in thermodynamics, such as shared knowledge of a frame of reference. Many additional examples and new quantifications of resources are provided.

Quantum resource theories

In the context of quantifying entanglement we study those functions of a multipartite state which do not increase under the set of local transformations. A mathematical characterization of these monotone magnitudes is presented. They are then related to optimal strategies of conversion of shared states. More detailed results are presented for pure states of bipartite systems. It is show that more than one measure are required simultaneously in order to quantify completely the non-local resources contained in a bipartite pure state, while examining how this fact does not hold in the so-called asymptotic limit. Finally, monotonicity under local transformations is proposed as the only natural requirement for measures of entanglement.

On the characterization of entanglement

Quantum correlations between two parties are essential for the argument of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen in favour of the incompleteness of quantum mechanics. Schr\"odinger noted that an essential point is the fact that one party can influence the wave function of the other party by performing suitable measurements. He called this phenomenon quantum steering and studied its properties, but only in the last years this kind of quantum correlation attracted significant interest in quantum information theory. In this paper the theory of quantum steering is reviewed. First, the basic concepts of steering and local hidden state models are presented and their relation to entanglement and Bell nonlocality is explained. Then various criteria for characterizing steerability and structural results on the phenomenon are described. A detailed discussion is given on the connections between steering and incompatibility of quantum measurements. Finally, applications of steering in quantum information processing and further related topics are reviewed.

Quantum Steering.

Quantum coherence and geometric quantum discord

農林水産省経営局長賞 尿石症により尿道閉塞した雄子牛に対するバルーンカテーテルを用いた膀胱-皮膚フィステル装着による治療法の考案 (平成26年度家畜診療等技術全国研究集会・入賞論文)

We propose an alternative framework for quantifying coherence. The framework is based on a natural property of coherence, the additivity of coherence for subspace-independent states, which is described by an operation-independent equality rather than operation-dependent inequalities and therefore applicable to various physical contexts. Our framework is compatible with all the known results on coherence measures but much more flexible and convenient for applications, and by using it many open questions can be resolved.

Alternative framework for quantifying coherence

Resource theories can be used to formalize the quantification and manipulation of resources in quantum information processing such as entanglement, asymmetry and coherence of quantum states, and incompatibility of quantum measurements. Given a certain state or measurement, one can ask whether there is a task in which it performs better than any resourceless state or measurement. Using conic programming, we prove that any general robustness measure (with respect to a convex set of free states or measurements) can be seen as a quantifier of such outperformance in some discrimination task. We apply the technique to various examples, e.g., joint measurability, positive operator valued measures simulable by projective measurements, and state assemblages preparable with a given Schmidt number.

Quantifying Quantum Resources with Conic Programming.

We find that all measures of coherence are frozen for an initial state in a strictly incoherent channel if and only if the relative entropy of coherence is frozen for the state. Our finding reveals the existence of measure-independent freezing of coherence, and provides an entropy-based dynamical condition in which the coherence of an open quantum system is totally unaffected by noise.

Measure-independent freezing of quantum coherence

Quantifying coherence has received increasing attention, and considerable work has been directed towards finding coherence measures. While various coherence measures have been proposed in theory, an important issue following is how to estimate these coherence measures in experiments. This is a challenging task, since the state of a system is often unknown in practical applications and the accessible measurements in a real experiment are typically limited. In this Letter, we put forward an approach to estimate coherence measures of an unknown state from any limited experimental data available. Our approach is not only applicable to coherence measures but can be extended to other resource measures.

Estimating Coherence Measures from Limited Experimental Data Available.

Efficient, reliable characterization of quantum states is a basic and important step in most tasks in quantum information processing, but standard approaches, including quantum tomography, are notoriously inefficient. This research offers solutions to the problem of verifying nonstabilizer states by proposing efficient, practical protocols for verifying arbitrary $n$-qubit Dicke states. These protocols require only two distinct settings based on Pauli measurements, and thus are readily applicable with current experimental techniques, and are able to verify the robust Dicke states of hundreds of qubits.

Xiao-Dong Yu

Papers

Alternative framework for quantifying coherence

Quantifying Quantum Resources with Conic Programming.

Measure-independent freezing of quantum coherence

Estimating Coherence Measures from Limited Experimental Data Available.

Efficient Verification of Dicke States