SEPARABILITY OF PURE N-QUBIT STATES: TWO CHARACTERIZATIONS

Abstract

Given a pure state |ψN>∈ℋN of a quantum system composed of n qubits, where ℋN is the Hilbert space of dimension N=2n, this paper answers two questions: what conditions should the amplitudes in |ψN> satisfy for this state to be separable (i) into a tensor product of n qubit states |ψ2>0⊗ |ψ2>1 ⊗⋯⊗ |ψ2>n-1, and (ii), into a tensor product of two subsystems states |ψP> ⊗ |ψQ> with P=2p and Q=2q such that p+q=n? For both questions, necessary and sufficient conditions are proved, thus characterizing at the same time families of separable and entangled states of n qubit systems. A number of more refined questions about separability in n qubit systems can be studied on the basis of these results.