Algebraic approach to minimum-error discrimination of qubit states
Abstract
Abstract We introduce a general algebraic approach for qubit state discrimination. The primary challenge in such problems lies in determining the nonzero elements of an optimal positive operator-valued measure (POVM). Our work establishes an explicit algebraic criterion to verify whether an optimal POVM for discriminating arbitrary qubit states contains zero elements. Based on this condition, we propose an exhaustive algorithm to obtain analytical solutions for discriminating any number of mixed qubit states with arbitrary prior probabilities.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Quantum Information and Cryptography
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 105301–105301
- Publication date
- 3 March 2026
- Language
- EN