Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2015 / iii / Paper 66 / 1 / vi / Solution

Take a purification of a density operator $|\Psi {⟩}_{ABCD}$ of ${\rho }_{ABC}$. Apply Strong subadditivity of Von Neumann entropy to the reduced state on $ACD$, with $A$ the conditioning system:Complementary subsystems of a pure state have the same Von Neumann entropy, by the Schmidt decomposition. Therefore $S(AD)=S(BC)$ and $S(ACD)=S(B)$. Substitution givesThis is weak monotonicity of quantum entropy. The purification of a density operator is only a proof device; no purity assumption is imposed on ${\rho }_{ABC}$.