Local-Available Quantum Correlations (LAQC) is a symmetric quantum-correlation quantifier defined via a two-stage local-basis optimization that minimizes relative-entropy to classical states.
Exact analytic expressions for LAQC have been derived for Bell-diagonal and various two-qubit X states, revealing distinct optimization branches based on state symmetry.
LAQC shows asymptotic decay under decoherence and exhibits unique redistribution features in network protocols, distinguishing its behavior from entanglement and discord.
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Local-Available Quantum Correlations (LAQC) are a symmetric quantum-correlation quantifier defined through a two-stage local-basis optimization. In the formulation attributed to Mundarain and de Guevara, one first chooses the local computational basis that minimizes the relative-entropy distance to the nearest classical state, and then evaluates the maximal mutual information obtainable in the basis complementary to that optimal basis. In later work on residual quantum correlations (RQC), LAQC is described as a maximal RQC obtained after fixing the local basis through the classical-correlation optimization (Bellorin et al., 2022, Albrecht et al., 13 Mar 2026).
1. Formal definition and operational construction
For a bipartite state ρAB, the measurement-induced classical state used in the LAQC construction is
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.
The optimal local basis is the one minimizing
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).
Once that basis is fixed, the complementary basis is generated by local π/2-rotations. In the notation used for non-symmetric X states,
∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),
equivalently through
θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.
The LAQC quantifier is then the maximal mutual information in that complementary basis,
This construction separates two optimization problems. The first identifies the basis in which the state is as classical as possible. The second asks how much correlation remains available when both parties measure in a basis complementary to that classicalizing basis. The resulting quantity is explicitly basis-relative, but only after the optimal basis has been fixed by the relative-entropy criterion.
A closely related later formulation appears in the RQC framework, where one first defines a symmetric classical correlation Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.0 over local projective measurements, and then computes the residual mutual information in a mutually unbiased basis. Within that framework, LAQC is obtained by reversing the first optimization and using the basis that minimizes classical mutual information; for the Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.1-state classes treated there, Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.2 (Albrecht et al., 13 Mar 2026).
2. Exact analytical results for Bell-diagonal and Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.3-state families
The earliest closed-form LAQC formulas in this corpus concern Bell-diagonal two-qubit states,
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.4
For these states, the corrected LAQC formula is
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.5
and the corrected classical-correlation expression is
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.6
The 2021 comment established that a prior Bell-diagonal analysis had omitted optimization cases and had incorrectly treated generic Bell-diagonal states as invariant under the optimal-basis transformation; the comment emphasizes that this invariance holds only for Werner and Werner-like states (R. et al., 2021).
For Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.7 states with local Bloch vectors of equal magnitude, exact closed forms were derived for the symmetric class Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.8 and the anti-symmetric class Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.9. For symmetric S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).0 states,
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).1
with
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).2
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).3
and
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).4
For anti-symmetric S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).5 states,
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).6
with
S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).7
These formulas reduce the optimization to the three branches associated with S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).8, S(ρAB∥Xρ)=RcminS(ρAB∥Xρ).9, and π/20 (Albrecht et al., 2021).
A later synthesis for general two-qubit π/21 states gives the exact result as
These results establish that exact LAQC expressions are available for all two-qubit ∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),0 states, although the computational structure differs sharply across subclasses.
3. Non-symmetric ∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),1 states and completion of the two-qubit ∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),2-state program
The general two-qubit ∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),3-state density matrix considered in the non-symmetric analysis is
∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),4
with positivity constraints
∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),5
In Fano-Bloch form,
∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),6
where
∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),7
∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),8
The key structural criterion is the norm of the local Bloch vectors: symmetric and anti-symmetric ∣u(n)(m)⟩=21(∣m⟩opt+(−1)m∣1−m⟩opt),9 states satisfy θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.0, whereas non-symmetric θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.1 states satisfy θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.2. For the non-symmetric family treated in detail, this is equivalent to
θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.3
Such states are not invariant under subsystem exchange θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.4, so the full angle set θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.5 must be retained in the optimization (Bellorin et al., 2022).
The central result is the closed formula
θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.6
The minimizing computational bases satisfy
θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.7
or the swapped choice
θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.8
leading, up to irrelevant multiples of θn→2π,ϕn→ϕn+2π.9, to
C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),0
The maximizing complementary-basis phases are
C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),1
Consequently, the final LAQC depends only on C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),2, not on C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),3, C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),4, or C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),5. The special case C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),6 gives C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),7, and the formula is well-defined over the full physical range C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),8 (Bellorin et al., 2022).
This result completes the analytical classification initiated for the symmetric and anti-symmetric subclasses. Together, the symmetric, anti-symmetric, and non-symmetric formulas provide exact analytical LAQC expressions for all two-qubit C(ρAB)=ϕ1,ϕ2maxI(ϕ1,ϕ2),9 states (Bellorin et al., 2022, Albrecht et al., 2021).
4. Decoherence, dynamical behavior, and the monotonicity question
LAQC has been studied under several Markovian and non-Markovian channels. For Bell-diagonal and Werner states under Markovian depolarizing and phase-damping channels, the 2018 analysis found that LAQC decreases smoothly and vanishes only asymptotically, in qualitative contrast with concurrence, which can exhibit entanglement sudden death at finite noise strength. For Werner states, LAQC and discord were reported to vanish only asymptotically, with LAQC generally below discord (1803.02426).
For Werner states under amplitude damping with equal damping parameter on both qubits, the evolved state remains a symmetric L(ρAB)0 state with
L(ρAB)1
In that case, LAQC again exhibits no sudden death and decays asymptotically, whereas concurrence can show sudden death. The same paper states that this agrees with the previously observed behavior under depolarization and phase damping (Albrecht et al., 2021).
A distinct amplitude-damping scenario is the local action on one subsystem of a Werner state,
L(ρAB)2
with
L(ρAB)3
For the Werner input
L(ρAB)4
the transformed Bloch parameters become
L(ρAB)5
and
L(ρAB)6
The non-symmetric L(ρAB)7-state study emphasizes a sharper conclusion: local amplitude damping can create quantum discord in some cases, but it cannot create LAQC in the examples analyzed. That observation is presented as evidence suggesting, but not proving, monotonicity under LOCC (Bellorin et al., 2022).
The non-Markovian extension uses a common-bath phase-flip channel with
L(ρAB)8
for which L(ρAB)9 and L(ρAB)0 acquire the factor L(ρAB)1 while the remaining Bloch parameters remain unchanged. Under Random Telegraph Noise,
L(ρAB)2
finite-time zeros of L(ρAB)3 produce sudden death and revival of RQC and LAQC. Under Modified Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise, L(ρAB)4 only asymptotically, so the decay is asymptotic and lacks revival. This gives a dynamical distinction absent from the Markovian studies (Albrecht et al., 13 Mar 2026).
5. Relation to discord, entanglement, measurement-induced correlations, and coherence
LAQC emerged in a conceptual environment shaped by several adjacent critiques of discord-centered language. One influential line of argument holds that nonzero quantum discord is necessary but not sufficient for correlations above the classically achievable limit. In that view, discord characterizes local quantumness, whereas the rank L(ρAB)5 of the correlation matrix captures the actual correlation content. The same work shows that local operations cannot increase L(ρAB)6, that some nonzero-discord states can be created from classical states by a single local operation, and that the set of such locally generable states has Lebesgue measure zero (Gessner et al., 2012).
A second adjacent distinction is between local and nonlocal quantumness. In the generalized Werner-state analysis of local superposition, discord is argued to probe both local quantumness and nonlocal quantumness; nonzero discord in separable states can then arise from local superposition rather than entanglement. This suggests a conceptual neighborhood for LAQC, but not an identity of formalisms (Agrawal et al., 2015).
A third neighboring framework studies quantum correlations induced by local von Neumann measurement. There the semiquantum correlations
L(ρAB)7
the total quantum correlation
L(ρAB)8
and the joint term
L(ρAB)9
are defined via local measurement maps. For pure states with Schmidt coefficients Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.00,
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.01
This is a measurement-induced framework closely related to local accessibility, but it is not the LAQC construction (Zhao et al., 2013).
A more direct overlap appears in the coherence-theoretic approach based on net global coherence,
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.02
and, for relative entropy of coherence,
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.03
That quantity is nonnegative and vanishes iff the state is either a product state or a classical-classical state in the chosen basis. The framework gives an operational interpretation in terms of coherence localization under LICC and is explicitly presented as distinct from, but strongly aligned with, discord and entanglement (Shahandeh et al., 2017).
Within the LAQC literature itself, a recurring misconception concerns direct identification with discord. The Bell-diagonal, symmetric Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.04-state, and non-symmetric Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.05-state studies consistently treat LAQC as a distinct quantifier: it is often below discord, it can remain finite when concurrence vanishes, and in the amplitude-damping examples it is not locally generated even when discord is (1803.02426, Albrecht et al., 2021, Bellorin et al., 2022).
6. Swapping, distribution, and network-oriented developments
A network-oriented discord protocol from 2024 shows how quantum correlations can be distributed to memories from an initially classically correlated carrier state,
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.06
using only bilocal controlled-Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.07 operations and projective measurements. The final memory state
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.08
can exhibit discord and global quantum discord even though the carriers are separable. The work is explicitly discord-based rather than LAQC-based, but it exemplifies the broader theme that local operations plus classical resources can distribute nonclassical correlations (Hawkins et al., 2024).
A direct LAQC generalization of repeater-type ideas appears in the study of LAQC swapping for one-parameter two-qubit Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.09 states. Two independent states Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.10 and Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.11 are combined, and a projective measurement is performed on Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.12 with
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.13
The output state on Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.14 remains of Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.15 form, with transformed Bloch parameters such as
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.16
Across the five families analyzed—Werner states, Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.17-states, Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.18-states, Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.19, and MEMS—the principal qualitative rule is that if the initial state and the one used for the projective measurement are correlated, the final state has non-zero LAQC (Q, 30 Jul 2025).
The family-specific outcomes show that swapped LAQC is not reducible to entanglement. For Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.20-states, the swapped state has
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.21
while
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.22
For MEMS, the same paper states
Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.23
yet the swapped LAQC remains finite. This establishes, within the studied one-parameter families, that LAQC can be redistributed by a swapping protocol even when the final state is separable (Q, 30 Jul 2025).
Taken together, the available results position LAQC as a complementary-basis correlation measure with exact analytics for all two-qubit Xρ=μν∑Rμν∣μ,ν⟩⟨μ,ν∣,Rμν=⟨μ,ν∣ρAB∣μ,ν⟩.24 states, nontrivial and channel-dependent dynamical behavior, a presently unresolved but motivated LOCC-monotonicity question, and an operational profile distinct from both concurrence and standard discord (Bellorin et al., 2022, Albrecht et al., 13 Mar 2026).