Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/iii/paper-60/1/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 60 1 d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The eigenvalues of a density operator are nonnegative and sum to one. ThereforeFor a non-pure state at least two eigenvalues are positive, so the last expression is strictly positive. Combining this with the Generalized Bloch representation givesThus every non-pure quantum state lies strictly inside the radius sphere for . It need not be an interior point of the entire physical state body: for , a rank-deficient mixed density operator can lie on that body's boundary while still lying inside the Euclidean sphere.
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