On quantum channels: extreme points, topology, and categorical properties

Abstract: In this thesis, quantum channels are studied from the point of view of Mathematics. We studied the CPTP (completely positive trace preserving) and UCPTP channels, the latter being the unital channels. In both cases, the sets are compact convex, so they are the closure of their extreme points. We constructed extreme CPTP maps for every possible rank. We also constructed extreme UCPTP maps with rank 2 for each possible dimension. For ranks of at least 3, we constructed extreme UCPTP maps for many dimensions and ranks. We also proved that the tensor product of extreme CPTP maps is an extreme CPTP map. For UCPTP maps, we proved that the same is not always true, with many counterexamples. It is known that the category of CPTP maps is semicartesian. We add to this a classification of binary products. We proved that products only exist in trivial cases. For binary coproducts, we obtained the dimensions they should have, if they exist. In both cases, topological techniques were used. For this reason, we also investigated the topology of the closure of the set of extreme points of the CPTP maps. Topological invariants can be computed from decompositions of a space such as CW structures. These are a type of decomposition in which the space is expressed as a gluing of balls. In the search for a CW structure for the closure of the set of extreme CPTP maps, we obtained a partial decomposition that resembles a CW structure of the complex projective space.