Uhlmann fidelity between two-mode Gaussian states

Abstract

We analyze the Uhlmann fidelity of a pair of $n$-mode Gaussian states of the quantum radiation field. This quantity is shown to be the product of an exponential function depending on the relative average displacement and a factor fully determined by the symplectic spectrum of the covariance matrix of a specific Gaussian state. However, it is difficult to handle our general formula unless the Gaussian states commute or at least one of them is pure. On the contrary, in the simplest cases $n=1$ and $n=2$, it leads to explicit analytic formulae. Our main result is a calculable expression of the fidelity of two arbitrary two-mode Gaussian states. This can be applied to build reliable measures of quantum correlations between modes in various branches of quantum physics.