On global effects caused by locally noneffective unitary operations

Abstract

Given a bipartite quantum state $\rho$ with subsystems $A$ and $B$ of arbitrary dimensions, we study the entanglement detecting capabilities of locally noneffective, or cyclic, unitary operations [Fu, Europhys. Lett., vol. 75]. Local cyclic unitaries have the special property that they leave their target subsystem invariant. We investigate the distance between $\rho$ and the global state after local application of such unitaries as a possible indicator of entanglement. To this end, we derive and discuss closed formulae for the maximal such distance achievable for three cases of interest: (pseudo)pure quantum states, Werner states, and two-qubit states. What makes this criterion interesting, as we show here, is that it surprisingly displays behavior similar to recent anomalies observed for non-locality measures in higher dimensions, as well as demonstrates an equivalence to the CHSH inequality for certain classes of two-qubit states. Yet, despite these similarities, the criterion is not itself a non-locality measure. We also consider entanglement detection in bound entangled states.