Coherence, superposition, and Löwdin symmetric orthogonalization

Abstract

The notions of coherence and superposition are conceptually the same; however, an important distinction exists between their resource-theoretic formulations. Namely, while basis states are orthogonal in the resource theory of coherence, they are not necessarily orthogonal in the resource theory of superposition. Owing to the nonorthogonality, the manipulation and characterization of superposition states require significant efforts. Here, we demonstrate that the Löwdin symmetric orthogonalization (LSO) method offers a useful means for characterizing pure superposition states. The principal property of LSO is that the structure and symmetry of the original nonorthogonal basis states are preserved to the greatest extent possible, which prompts us to study the role of LSO in identifying the hierarchical relations of resource states. Notably, we reveal that the maximally coherent states turn into the states with maximal superposition with the help of LSO: in other words, they are equivalent under the action of symmetric orthogonalization. Our results facilitate further connections between coherence and superposition, where LSO is the main tool.