Transmission distance in the space of quantum channels

Abstract: We analyze two ways to obtain distinguishability measures between quantum maps by employing the square root of the quantum Jensen-Shannon divergence, which forms a true distance in the space of density operators. The arising measures are the transmission distance between quantum channels and the entropic channel divergence. We investigate their mathematical properties and discuss their physical meaning. Additionally, we establish a chain rule for the entropic channel divergence, which implies the amortization collapse, a relevant result with potential applications in the field of discrimination of quantum channels and converse bounds. Finally, we analyze the distinguishability between two given Pauli channels and study exemplary Hamiltonian dynamics under decoherence.