Resource Theory of Quantum Coherence

Abstract

Concepts developed in Quantum information have recently been successfully utilized in characterizing various physical phenomena. One of the frameworks developed in studying quantum systems is quantum resource theory. It is a rigorous mathematical framework which identifies a physical characteristic as a resource, and develops a theory in which the building blocks are “free quantum operations” - the operations that do not create the resource, and “free quantum states”- the states that are devoid of the resource. It also often provides ways to optimally convert one resource state into another. This report is a review on the resource theoretic approach to the study of quantum coherence. Along with focusing on the general development of the resource theory of quantum coherence, it discusses about the measures that quantify the resource. In addition, numerics on the quantitative measures for single qubit states is being done and analysed. It also discusses how the theoretical framework gives new perspective to the previous experimental results and demands for new experimental designs for better understanding of the concepts.