Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-51/4/i/solution

Diagonalize the density operator in the Hadamard gate basis . Its eigenvalues are , so
Choose orthonormal records on a second qubit to construct the first purification of a density operator:
It is normalized. In its outer product the cross terms have partial trace zero because , while the diagonal terms give precisely .
A different purification follows from unitary freedom of purification. Apply the Hadamard gate to :
The same partial-trace calculation uses and gives . The two global states are distinct, not related by a global phase, although their reduced density operators agree. Explicitly the second is
Its reduction has diagonal entries and off-diagonal entries , checking all the required matrix entries.

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