Spectral conditions for positive maps (Q1048080)

A partial classification of positive linear maps in matrix algebras which is based on a family of spectral conditions is provided. This construction generalizes the celebrated Choi example of a map which is positive but not completely positive by giving \(k\)-positive map which is not \((k+1)\)-positive for arbitrary \(k\). It is shown how the spectral conditions enable one to construct entanglement witnesses i.e. linear maps on tensor products of matrix algebras which are positive only on a convex subset of separable elements. Such maps provide basic tools to study quantum entanglement in multipartite systems.