Monogamy of Mutual Information in Graph States

Abstract: The monogamy of mutual information (MMI) is a quantum entropy inequality that enforces the non-positivity of tripartite information. We investigate the failure of MMI in graph states as a forbidden-subgraph phenomenon, conjecturing that every MMI-violating graph state is local-Clifford equivalent to one whose graph contains a four-star subgraph. We construct a family of star-like graphs whose states fail a specific class of MMI instances, and extend this analysis to general star topologies. Deriving adjacency matrix constraints that fix the MMI evaluation for these instances and interpreting them physically, we prove the forbidden-subgraph conjecture for this family of graphs. Finally, through an exhaustive search over graph representatives for all $8$-qubit stabilizer entropy vectors, we establish that MMI failure is not reducible to the cases within our scope.