2012/11/30 by Nicolai Friis, Antony R. Lee, David Edward Bruschi · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Mathematics · #quant-ph #math-ph #math.MP
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.87.022338
published as Phys. Rev. A 87, 022338 (2013) · v2: 9 pages, published version, minor format changes w.r.t. v1
arxiv created 2013/02/25 · arxiv updated 2013/02/26
We analyze fermionic modes as fundamental entities for quantum information processing. To this end we construct a density operator formalism on the underlying Fock space and demonstrate how it can be naturally and unambiguously equipped with a notion of subsystems in the absence of a global tensor product structure. We argue that any apparent similarities between fermionic modes and qubits are superficial and can only be applied in limited situations. In particular, we discuss the ambiguities that arise from different treatments of this subject. Our results are independent of the specific context of the fermionic fields as long as the canonical anti-commutation relations are satisfied, e.g., in relativistic quantum fields, or fermionic trapped ions.