Algebraic Structure of the Minimum Error Discrimination Problem for Linearly Independent Density Matrices

Abstract: The minimum error discrimination problem for ensembles of linearly independent pure states are known to have an interesting structure; for such a given ensemble the optimal POVM is given by the pretty good measurment of another ensemble which can be related to the former ensemble by a bijective mapping $\mathscr{R}$ on the "space of ensembles". In this paper we generalize this result to ensembles of general linearly independent states (not necessarily pure) and also give an analytic expression for the inverse of the map, i.e., for $\mathscr{R}^{-1}$. In the process of proving this we also simplify the necessary and sufficient conditions that a POVM needs to satisfy to maximize the probability of success for the MED of an LI ensemble of states. This simplification is then employed to arrive at a rotationally invariant necessary and sufficient conditions of optimality. Using these rotationally invariant conditions it is established that every state of a LI mixed state ensemble can be resolved to a pure state decomposition so that the corresponding pure state ensemble (corresponding to pure states of all mixed states together) has as its optimal POVM a pure state decomposition of the optimal POVM of mixed state ensemble. This gives the necessary and sufficient conditions for the PGM of a LI ensemble to be its optimal POVM; another generalization for the pure state case. Also, these rotationally invariant conditions suggest a technique to give the optimal POVM for an ensemble of LI states. This technique is polynomial in time and outpeforms standard barrier-type interior point SDP in terms of computational complexity.