Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/iii/paper-58/4/i/solution

For a positive operator , the spectral theorem writes with . Hence its unique positive square root of an operator is . Conjugating this spectral decomposition shows for a unitary operator .
Let and . Then and . The square-root covariance and the cyclic property of the trace give
For the quantum fidelity, covariance first gives . Therefore
Apply the same square-root identity and the cyclic property of the trace to obtain
Thus unitary invariance of trace distance and fidelity gives
The same acts on both quantum states: these quantities depend on the relative distinguishability of the quantum states, not on a choice of basis.

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