Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-introduction-to-quantum-information-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/3/a/solution

The Pauli matrices are Hermitian matrices with zero trace, so a real Bloch vector makes Hermitian and gives . Their Pauli multiplication identity implies . Consequently the two eigenvalues of are , including the zero-vector case, and
A density matrix must also be positive semidefinite. The displayed eigenvalues are nonnegative exactly when . Thus real coordinates alone are insufficient: the allowed vectors fill the Bloch ball. Its boundary consists of pure states, with eigenvalues one and zero; its center is the maximally mixed state .

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