Every entanglement-breaking channel has additive Holevo capacity with every finite-dimensional quantum channel . A measure-and-prepare channel factorization exposes a classical measurement outcome. The quantum mutual information balance identity and data processing for quantum mutual information then bound the joint output Holevo quantity by the sum of the individual capacities, using the conditional input ensemble after a local measurement for the other channel. Independent product ensembles attain the reverse inequality.
For a purified input with reference and channel output , . The reference entropy is fixed through subsequent channels. Thus data-processing inequality for coherent information immediately implies data processing for quantum mutual information between that reference and successive outputs.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 60 5 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Both output states have the same reference marginal, and . Expand quantum mutual information to obtain the mutual information and coherent information identityThe input-entropy term is identical in the two expressions. Subtract them and use the preceding data-processing inequality for coherent information:Thus the final quantum channel cannot increase the reference-output quantum mutual information, as required by data processing for quantum mutual information.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 323 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write and for the classical quantum registers and . By the quantum mutual information formula , expanding the right-hand side of the quantum mutual information balance identity givesAll Von Neumann entropies here are evaluated in .
We use three facts: quantum mutual information is nonnegative by nonnegativity of quantum relative entropy; a local quantum channel cannot increase it by data processing for quantum mutual information; and the quantum mutual information of a classical-quantum state is its ensemble's Holevo quantity. Write for the Holevo capacity, the supremum of the output Holevo quantity over finite input ensembles.
The marginal is an output ensemble for , with inputs . Consequently . Also is obtained from by a quantum channel on which retains and prepares from . HenceTo bound the latter even for entangled states , exhibit the conditional input ensemble after a local measurement. Setwhen ; zero-weight outcomes can be omitted. The numerator is a positive operator, its trace is , and the sum to one. ThusThis is a classical-quantum state with an output ensemble for , so . Combining these bounds with yieldsThe last step takes the supremum over all input ensembles on . The left-hand channel direction is , as established in part (i); the printed in the last inequality is a typographical reversal. Independent product ensembles also give the reverse inequality, so this proves Holevo-capacity additivity for entanglement-breaking channels.