Quantum speed limits, coherence, and asymmetry

The resource theory of asymmetry is a framework for classifying and quantifying the symmetry-breaking properties of both states and operations relative to a given symmetry. In the special case where the symmetry is the set of translations generated by a fixed observable, asymmetry can be interpreted as coherence relative to the observable eigenbasis, and the resource theory of asymmetry provides a framework to study this notion of coherence. We here show that this notion of coherence naturally arises in the context of quantum speed limits. Indeed, the very concept of speed of evolution, i.e., the inverse of the minimum time it takes the system to evolve to another (partially) distinguishable state, is a measure of asymmetry relative to the time translations generated by the system Hamiltonian. Furthermore, the celebrated Mandelstam-Tamm and Margolus-Levitin speed limits can be interpreted as upper bounds on this measure of asymmetry by functions which are themselves measures of asymmetry in the special case of pure states. Using measures of asymmetry that are not restricted to pure states, such as the Wigner-Yanase skew information, we obtain extensions of the Mandelstam-Tamm bound which are significantly tighter in the case of mixed states. We also clarify some confusions in the literature about coherence and asymmetry, and show that measures of coherence are a proper subset of measures of asymmetry.

Figure 1

Translationally invariant operations are a proper subset of incoherent operations. Consequently, measures of coherence (in the sense defined by Baumgratz et al. [25]), i.e., functions which are nonincreasing under incoherent operations, are a proper subset of measures of asymmetry.