On quantum channel capacities: an additive refinement

Abstract

Capacities of quantum channels are fundamental quantities in the theory of quantum information. A desirable property is the additivity for a capacity. However, this cannot be achieved for a few quantities that have been established as capacity measures. Asymptotic regularization is generically necessary making the study of capacities notoriously hard. In this work, by a proper refinement of the physical settings of quantum communication, we prove additive quantities for quantum channel capacities that can be employed for quantum Shannon theorems. This refinement, only a tiny step away from the standard settings, is consistent with the principle of quantum theory, and it further demonstrates von Neumann entropy as the cornerstone of quantum information.