Abstract
The degree to which a pure quantum state is entangled can be characterized by the distance or angle to the nearest unentangled state. This geometric measure of entanglement, already present in a number of settings [A. Shimony, Ann. NY. Acad. Sci. 755, 675 (1995); H. Barnum and N. Linden, J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 34, 6787 (2001)], is explored for bipartite and multipartite pure and mixed states. The measure is determined analytically for arbitrary two-qubit mixed states and for generalized Werner and isotropic states, and is also applied to certain multipartite mixed states. In particular, a detailed analysis is given for arbitrary mixtures of three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger, W, and inverted- states. Along the way, we point out connections of the geometric measure of entanglement with entanglement witnesses and with the Hartree approximation method.
- Received 25 March 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.68.042307
©2003 American Physical Society