Breaking entanglement-breaking by classical correlations

Abstract: The inevitable interaction between quantum systems and environment induces effects of decoherence which may be so strong as to destroy any initial entanglement between the systems, a phenomenon known as "entanglement breaking". Here we show the simplest examples where the combination of two entanglement-breaking channels into a joint correlated-noise environment reactivates the distribution of entanglement, with classes of entangled states which are perfectly transmitted from a middle station (Charlie) to two remote stations (Alice and Bob). Surprisingly, this reactivation is induced by the presence of purely-classical correlations in the joint environment, whose state is separable with zero discord. This paradoxical effect is proven for quantum systems with Hilbert spaces of any dimension, both finite and infinite.