Optimal correlations in many-body quantum systems

Luigi Amico, Davide Rossini, Alioscia Hamma, Vladimir E. Korepin

Published 2011-12-14, updated 2012-05-22Version 3

Information and correlations in a quantum system are closely related through the process of measurement. We explore such relation in a many-body quantum setting, effectively bridging between quantum metrology and condensed matter physics. To this aim we adopt the information-theory view of correlations, and study the amount of correlations after certain classes of Positive-Operator-Valued Measurements are locally performed. As many-body system we consider a one-dimensional array of interacting two-level systems (a spin chain) at zero temperature, where quantum effects are most pronounced. We demonstrate how the optimal strategy to extract the correlations depends on the quantum phase through a subtle interplay between local interactions and coherence.