Quantum Communication with Zero-Capacity Channels

2008/07/31 by Graeme Smith, Jon Yard · 348 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Amplitude damping channel #Channel (broadcasting) #Channel capacity #Classical capacity #Computer science #Open quantum system #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum capacity #Quantum channel #Quantum entanglement #Quantum error correction #Quantum information #Quantum information science #Quantum mechanics #Quantum network #Quantum operation #Telecommunications #Transmission (telecommunications) #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1126/science.1162242

published in Science 321(5897), 1812-1815 (American Association for the Advancement of Science) · Final submitted version

openalex publication_date 2008/08/22 · arxiv created 2009/02/20 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Communication over a noisy quantum channel introduces errors in the transmission that must be corrected. A fundamental bound on quantum error correction is the quantum capacity, which quantifies the amount of quantum data that can be protected. We show theoretically that two quantum channels, each with a transmission capacity of zero, can have a nonzero capacity when used together. This unveils a rich structure in the theory of quantum communications, implying that the quantum capacity does not completely specify a channel's ability to transmit quantum information.

Citations

• Quantum-channel capacity of very noisy channels
• Capacity of the noisy quantum channel
• Capacities of Quantum Erasure Channels
• A Mathematical Theory of Communication
• Bound Entanglement Can Be Activated
• Separability Criterion for Density Matrices
• A single quantum cannot be cloned
• The Quantum Capacity With Symmetric Side Channels
• Degenerate Quantum Codes for Pauli Channels
• Separability of mixed states: necessary and sufficient conditions

Cited by

• Enhanced quantum capacity thresholds from symmetry
• Degradable quantum channels using pure-state to product-of-pure-state isometries
• Quantum Information

Related

• Quantum Zero-error Capacity
• Quantum communication and fault-tolerance
• Super-Activation of Zero-Error Capacity of Noisy Quantum Channels
• An Extreme form of Superactivation for Quantum Zero-Error Capacities
• Quantum Channel Capacities