Optimal convex approximations of quantum states based on fidelity

Abstract: We investigate the problem of optimally approximating a desired state by the convex mixing of a set of available states. The problem is recasted as finding the optimal state with the minimum distance from target state in a convex set of usable states. Based on the fidelity, we define the optimal convex approximation of an expected state and present the complete exact solutions with respect to an arbitrary qubit state. We find that the optimal state based on fidelity is closer to the target state than the optimal state based on trace norm in many ranges. Finally, we analyze the geometrical properties of the target states which can be completely represented by a set of practicable states. Using the feature of convex combination, we express this class of target states in terms of three available states.