We consider entanglement swapping with general mixed two-mode Gaussian states and calculate the optimal gains for a broad class of such states including those states most relevant in communication scenarios. We show that, for this class of states, entanglement swapping adds no additional mixedness; that is, the ensemble-average output state has the same purity as the input states. This implies that, by using intermediate entanglement swapping steps, it is, in principle, possible to distribute entangled two-mode Gaussian states of higher purity as compared to direct transmission. We then apply the general results on optimal Gaussian swapping to the problem of quantum communication over a lossy fiber and demonstrate that, in contrast to the negative conclusions in the literature, swapping-based schemes in fact often perform better than direct transmission for high input squeezing. However, an effective transmission analysis reveals that the hope for improved performance based on optimal Gaussian entanglement swapping is spurious since the swapping does not lead to an enhancement of the effective transmission. This implies that the same or better results can always be obtained using direct transmission in combination with, in general, less squeezing.

• Received 5 November 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.83.012319