Continuity of the von Neumann entropy

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Abstract: A general method for proving continuity of the von Neumann entropy on subsets of positive trace-class operators is considered. This makes it possible to re-derive the known conditions for continuity of the entropy in more general forms and to obtain several new conditions. The method is based on a particular approximation of the von Neumann entropy by an increasing sequence of concave continuous unitary invariant functions defined using decompositions into finite rank operators. The existence of this approximation is a corollary of a general property of the set of quantum states as a convex topological space called the strong stability property. This is considered in the first part of the paper.


When dealing with the set of quantum states in the analysis of infinite-dimensional quantum systems, one faces several technical problems that include noncompactness of the set and discontinuity and unboundedness of basic characteristics of quantum states such as the von Neumann entropy. These problems can be partially overcome with weak compactness and stability property of the set of quantum states. In this paper, a strong version of the stability property is discussed and its applications are also provided. The main application of the strong stability property considered in this paper is to develop a general method for proving continuity of the von Neumann entropy that makes it possible to re-derive the known conditions for continuity of the entropy in more general forms and to obtain several new conditions.




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