2003/11/06 by Dennis Kretschmann, Reinhard F Werner
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Coding theory and cryptography #Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture #Quantum Information and Cryptography #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/6/1/026
32 pages, uses iopart.cls
arxiv created 2003/11/06 · openalex publication_date 2004/02/23 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Channel capacity describes the size of the nearly ideal channels, which can be obtained from many uses of a given channel, using an optimal error correcting code. In this paper we collect and compare minor and major variations in the mathematically precise statements of this idea which have been put forward in the literature. We show that all the variations considered lead to equivalent capacity definitions. In particular, it makes no difference whether one requires mean or maximal errors to go to zero, and it makes no difference whether errors are required to vanish for any sequence of block sizes compatible with the rate, or only for one infinite sequence.