Tripartite entanglement witnesses and entanglement sudden death

Abstract

I explore entanglement dynamics in a three qubit system comparing the ability of entanglement witnesses to detect tripartite entanglement to the phenomenon of entanglement sudden death (ESD). Using a system subject to dephasing I invoke entanglement witnesses to detect tripartite Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ)-type and $W$-type entanglement and compare the evolution of their detection capabilities with the evolution of the negativity, bipartite concurrence, and tripartite negativity. Interestingly, I find a state in which there is no concurrence or tripartite negativity but there is entanglement. Finally, I utilize a three qubit quantum error correction code to address how ESD affects the abilities of quantum error correction.