|q⟩ Bad Qubits

advanced · Physics · Entanglement Measures & Multipartite Entanglement

Checkpoint: Measure Entanglement

This checkpoint ties together the computable measures of the module. You will take a pure two-qubit state, extract its concurrence, and push it through Wootters' formula to get the entanglement of formation — the asymptotic cost, in Bell pairs, of building the state.

The chain of formulas

For a pure state ψ=a00+b01+c10+d11|\psi\rangle = a|00\rangle + b|01\rangle + c|10\rangle + d|11\rangle:

C=2adbc,EF=h ⁣(1+1C22),h(x)=xlog2x(1x)log2(1x).C = 2\,|ad - bc|, \qquad E_F = h\!\left(\frac{1 + \sqrt{1 - C^2}}{2}\right), \qquad h(x) = -x\log_2 x - (1-x)\log_2(1-x).

The first step measures how entangled the state is (a number in [0,1][0,1]); the second converts that into the operational cost in Bell pairs (also in [0,1][0,1] bit for two qubits). For a maximally entangled state C=1C=1 and EF=1E_F = 1; for a product state C=0C = 0 and EF=0E_F = 0.

The instance

We use ψ=cosθ00+sinθ11|\psi\rangle = \cos\theta\,|00\rangle + \sin\theta\,|11\rangle with θ=π/8\theta = \pi/8. Only a=cosθa = \cos\theta and d=sinθd = \sin\theta are nonzero, so

C=2cosθsinθ=sin2θ=sinπ4=120.7071.C = 2\cos\theta\sin\theta = \sin 2\theta = \sin\tfrac{\pi}{4} = \frac{1}{\sqrt2} \approx 0.7071.

Then C2=12C^2 = \tfrac12, so

x=1+1122=1+1220.8536,EF=h(x)0.6009 bits.x = \frac{1 + \sqrt{1 - \tfrac12}}{2} = \frac{1 + \tfrac{1}{\sqrt2}}{2} \approx 0.8536, \qquad E_F = h(x) \approx 0.6009\ \text{bits}.

The state is more than halfway to maximal entanglement by cost, even though its concurrence is only about 0.710.71 — a reminder that EFE_F and CC carry the same ordering but not the same scale.

Try it

Implement the full chain — concurrence, then the binary-entropy formula — for ψ=cos(π/8)00+sin(π/8)11|\psi\rangle = \cos(\pi/8)|00\rangle + \sin(\pi/8)|11\rangle, and return the entanglement of formation EFE_F.

Run your code to see the quantum state.

Sign in on the full site to ask questions and join the discussion.