English

Characterising the sets of quantum states with non-negative Wigner function

Mathematical Physics 2025-12-23 v2 Functional Analysis math.MP Quantum Physics

Abstract

For Hilbert spaces HL2(R)\mathcal H\subseteq L^2(\mathbb R) we consider the convex sets D+(H)\mathcal D_+(\mathcal H) of Wigner-positive states (WPS), i.e.~density matrices over H\mathcal H with non-negative Wigner function. We investigate the topological structure of these sets, namely concerning closure, compactness, interior and boundary (in a relative topology induced by the trace norm). We also study their geometric structure and construct minimal sets of states that generate D+(H)\mathcal D_+(\mathcal H) through convex combinations. If H\mathcal H is finite-dimensional, the existence of such sets follows from a central result in convex analysis, namely the Krein-Milman theorem. In the infinite-dimensional case H=L2(R)\mathcal H=L^2(\mathbb R) this is not so, due to lack of compactness of the set D+(H)\mathcal D_+(\mathcal H). Nevertheless, we prove that a Krein-Milman theorem holds in this case, which allows us to extend most of the results concerning the sets of generators to the infinite-dimensional setting. Finally, we study the relation between the finite and infinite-dimensional sets of WPS, and prove that the former provide a hierarchy of closed subsets, which are also proper faces of the latter. These results provide a basis for an operational characterisation of the extreme points of the sets of WPS, which we undertake in a companion paper. Our work offers a unified perspective on the topological and geometric properties of the sets of WPS in finite and infinite dimensions, along with explicit constructions of minimal sets of generators.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2512.14820,
  title  = {Characterising the sets of quantum states with non-negative Wigner function},
  author = {Nicolas J. Cerf and Ulysse Chabaud and Jack Davis and Nuno C. Dias and João N. Prata and Zacharie Van Herstraeten},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2512.14820},
  year   = {2025}
}

Comments

v2 correctly references the companion paper. Comments welcome!

R2 v1 2026-07-01T08:28:04.655Z