Conjugation by a Pauli operator preserves its matching Bloch vector component and reverses the other two. Summing all three conjugations therefore sends to . The specified quantum depolarizing channel has retention factor
This Pauli-mixture parametrization of qubit depolarization differs from a convention in which itself is the retention factor. For , . A pure input gives output eigenvalues , and hence entropy by symmetry of binary entropy. Mixed inputs have a smaller output radius and at least this much entropy. Every average output has entropy at most one. Thus
Two equiprobable orthogonal pure inputs have antipodal output Bloch vectors, maximally mixed average output, and this same minimal individual output entropy. They attain the bound. Applying the coding theorem gives
At it is one; at it is zero; at it is . Negative retention reverses the labels of the two signals but does not eliminate their distinguishability.