No partial erasure of quantum information

Arun K. Pati, Barry C. Sanders

Published 2005-03-15, updated 2005-08-11Version 3

In complete erasure any arbitrary pure quantum state is transformed to a fixed pure state by irreversible operation. Here we ask if the process of partial erasure of quantum information is possible by general quantum operations, where partial erasure refers to reducing the dimension of the parameter space that specifies the quantum state. Here we prove that quantum information stored in qubits and qudits cannot be partially erased, even by irreversible operations. The no-flipping theorem, which rules out the existence of a universal NOT gate for an arbitrary qubit, emerges as a corollary to this theorem. The `no partial erasure' theorem is shown to apply to spin and bosonic coherent states, with the latter result showing that the `no partial erasure' theorem applies to continuous variable quantum information schemes as well. The no partial erasure theorem suggests an integrity principle that quantum information is indivisible.