Low entropy output states for products of random unitary channels

Abstract: In this paper, we study the behaviour of the output of pure entangled states after being transformed by a product of conjugate random unitary channels. This study is motivated by the counterexamples by Hastings and Hayden-Winter to the additivity problems. In particular, we study in depth the difference of behaviour between random unitary channels and generic random channels. In the case where the number of unitary operators is fixed, we compute the limiting eigenvalues of the output states. In the case where the number of unitary operators grows linearly with the dimension of the input space, we show that the eigenvalue distribution converges to a limiting shape that we characterize with free probability tools. In order to perform the required computations, we need a systematic way of dealing with moment problems for random matrices whose blocks are i.i.d. Haar distributed unitary operators. This is achieved by extending the graphical Weingarten calculus introduced in Collins and Nechita (2010).