Hypergraph min-cuts from quantum entropies

Abstract

The von Neumann entropy of pure quantum states and the min-cut function of weighted hypergraphs are both symmetric submodular functions. In this article, we explain this coincidence by proving that the min-cut function of any weighted hypergraph can be approximated (up to an overall rescaling) by the entropies of quantum states known as stabilizer states. We do so by constructing a novel ensemble of random quantum states, built from tensor networks, whose entanglement structure is determined by a given hypergraph. This implies that the min-cuts of hypergraphs are constrained by quantum entropy inequalities, and it follows that the recently defined hypergraph cones are contained in the quantum stabilizer entropy cones, which confirms a conjecture made in the recent literature.