Gaussian measures of entanglement versus negativities: Ordering of two-mode Gaussian states

Abstract

We study the entanglement of general (pure or mixed) two-mode Gaussian states of continuous-variable systems by comparing the two available classes of computable measures of entanglement: entropy-inspired Gaussian convex-roof measures and positive partial transposition--inspired measures (negativity and logarithmic negativity). We first review the formalism of Gaussian measures of entanglement, adopting the framework introduced in M. M. Wolf et al., Phys. Rev. A 69, 052320 (2004), where the Gaussian entanglement of formation was defined. We compute explicitly Gaussian measures of entanglement for two important families of nonsymmetric two-mode Gaussian state: namely, the states of extremal (maximal and minimal) negativities at fixed global and local purities, introduced in G. Adesso et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 087901 (2004). This analysis allows us to compare the different orderings induced on the set of entangled two-mode Gaussian states by the negativities and by the Gaussian measures of entanglement. We find that in a certain range of values of the global and local purities (characterizing the covariance matrix of the corresponding extremal states), states of minimum negativity can have more Gaussian entanglement of formation than states of maximum negativity. Consequently, Gaussian measures and negativities are definitely inequivalent measures of entanglement on nonsymmetric two-mode Gaussian states, even when restricted to a class of extremal states. On the other hand, the two families of entanglement measures are completely equivalent on symmetric states, for which the Gaussian entanglement of formation coincides with the true entanglement of formation. Finally, we show that the inequivalence between the two families of continuous-variable entanglement measures is somehow limited. Namely, we rigorously prove that, at fixed negativities, the Gaussian measures of entanglement are bounded from below. Moreover, we provide some strong evidence suggesting that they are as well bounded from above.