Wave-particle duality is one of the basic features of quantum mechanics, giving rise to the use of complex numbers in describing states of quantum systems and their dynamics and interaction. Since the inception of quantum theory, it has been debated whether complex numbers are essential or whether an alternative consistent formulation is possible using real numbers only. Here, we attack this long-standing problem theoretically and experimentally, using the powerful tools of quantum resource theories. We show that, under reasonable assumptions, quantum states are easier to create and manipulate if they only have real elements. This gives an operational meaning to the resource theory of imaginarity. We identify and answer several important questions, which include the state-conversion problem for all qubit states and all pure states of any dimension and the approximate imaginarity distillation for all quantum states. As an application, we show that imaginarity plays a crucial role in state discrimination, that is, there exist real quantum states that can be perfectly distinguished via local operations and classical communication but that cannot be distinguished with any nonzero probability if one of the parties has no access to imaginarity. We confirm this phenomenon experimentally with linear optics, discriminating different two-photon quantum states by local projective measurements. Our results prove that complex numbers are an indispensable part of quantum mechanics.

Complex numbers are widely used in both classical and quantum physics and are indispensable components for describing quantum systems and their dynamical behavior. Recently, the resource theory of imaginarity has been introduced, allowing for a systematic study of complex numbers in quantum mechanics and quantum information theory. In this work we develop theoretical methods for the resource theory of imaginarity, motivated by recent progress within theories of entanglement and coherence. We investigate imaginarity quantification, focusing on the geometric imaginarity and the robustness of imaginarity, and apply these tools to the state conversion problem in imaginarity theory. Moreover, we analyze the complexity of real and general operations in optical experiments, focusing on the number of unfixed wave plates for their implementation. We also discuss the role of imaginarity for local state discrimination, proving that any pair of real orthogonal pure states can be discriminated via local real operations and classical communication. Our study reveals the significance of complex numbers in quantum physics and proves that imaginarity is a resource in optical experiments.

Entanglement is one of the most striking features of quantum mechanics, and yet it is not specifically quantum. More specific to quantum mechanics is the connection between entanglement and thermodynamics, which leads to an identification between entropies and measures of pure state entanglement. Here we search for the roots of this connection, investigating the relation between entanglement and thermodynamics in the framework of general probabilistic theories. We first address the question whether an entangled state can be transformed into another by means of local operations and classical communication. Under two operational requirements, we prove a general version of the Lo–Popescu theorem, which lies at the foundations of the theory of pure-state entanglement. We then consider a resource theory of purity where free operations are random reversible transformations, modelling the scenario where an agent has limited control over the dynamics of a closed system. Our key result is a duality between the resource theory of entanglement and the resource theory of purity, valid for every physical theory where all processes arise from pure states and reversible interactions at the fundamental level. As an application of the main result, we establish a one-to-one correspondence between entropies and measures of pure bipartite entanglement. The correspondence is then used to define entanglement measures in the general probabilistic framework. Finally, we show a duality between the task of information erasure and the task of entanglement generation, whereby the existence of entropy sinks (systems that can absorb arbitrary amounts of information) becomes equivalent to the existence of entanglement sources (correlated systems from which arbitrary amounts of entanglement can be extracted).

The most general quantum object that can be shared between two distant parties is a bipartite channel, as it is the basic element to construct all quantum circuits. In general, bipartite channels can produce entangled states, and can be used to simulate quantum operations that are not local. While much effort over the last two decades has been devoted to the study of entanglement of bipartite states, very little is known about the entanglement of bipartite channels. In this work, we rigorously study the entanglement of bipartite channels as a resource theory of quantum processes. We present an infinite and complete family of measures of dynamical entanglement, which gives necessary and sufficient conditions for convertibility under local operations and classical communication. Then we focus on the dynamical resource theory where free operations are positive partial transpose (PPT) superchannels, but we do not assume that they are realized by PPT pre- and postprocessing. This leads to a greater mathematical simplicity that allows us to express all resource protocols and the relevant resource measures in terms of semidefinite programs. Along the way, we generalize the negativity from states to channels, and introduce the max-logarithmic negativity, which has an operational interpretation as the exact asymptotic entanglement cost of a bipartite channel. Finally, we use the non-positive partial transpose (NPT) resource theory to derive a no-go result: it is impossible to distill entanglement out of bipartite PPT channels under any sets of free superchannels that can be used in entanglement theory. This allows us to generalize one of the long-standing open problems in quantum information—the NPT bound entanglement problem—from bipartite states to bipartite channels. It further leads us to the discovery of bound entangled positive operator valued measures.

A reconstruction of quantum theory refers to both a mathematical and a conceptual paradigm that allows one to derive the usual formulation of quantum theory from a set of primitive assumptions. The motivation for doing so is a discomfort with the usual formulation of quantum theory, a discomfort that started with its originator John von Neumann. We present a reconstruction of finite-dimensional quantum theory where all of the postulates are stated in diagrammatic terms, making them intuitive. Equivalently, they are stated in category-theoretic terms, making them mathematically appealing. Again equivalently, they are stated in process-theoretic terms, establishing that the conceptual backbone of quantum theory concerns the manner in which systems and processes compose. Aside from the diagrammatic form, the key novel aspect of this reconstruction is the introduction of a new postulate, symmetric purification. Unlike the ordinary purification postulate, symmetric purification applies equally well to classical theory as well as quantum theory. Therefore we first reconstruct the full process theoretic description of quantum theory, consisting of composite classical-quantum systems and their interactions, before restricting ourselves to just the ‘fully quantum’ systems as the final step. We propose two novel alternative manners of doing so, ‘no-leaking’ (roughly that information gain causes disturbance) and ‘purity of cups’ (roughly the existence of entangled states). Interestingly, these turn out to be equivalent in any process theory with cups & caps. Additionally, we show how the standard purification postulate can be seen as an immediate consequence of the symmetric purification postulate and purity of cups. Other tangential results concern the specific frameworks of generalised probabilistic theories (GPTs) and process theories (a.k.a. CQM). Firstly, we provide a diagrammatic presentation of GPTs, which, henceforth, can be subsumed under process theories. Secondly, we argue that the ‘sharp dagger’ is indeed the right choice of a dagger structure as this sharpness is vital to the reconstruction.

Unlike the entanglement of quantum states, very little is known about the entanglement of bipartite channels, called dynamical entanglement. Here we work with the partial transpose of a superchannel, and use it to define computable measures of dynamical entanglement, such as the negativity. We show that a version of it, the max-logarithmic negativity, represents the exact asymptotic dynamical entanglement cost. We discover a family of dynamical entanglement measures that provide necessary and sufficient conditions for bipartite channel simulation under local operations and classical communication and under operations with positive partial transpose.