Two-qubit correlations revisited: average mutual information, relevant (and useful) observables and an application to remote state preparation

Abstract: Understanding how correlations can be used for quantum communication protocols is a central goal of quantum information science. While many authors have linked global measures of correlations such as entanglement or discord to the performance of specific protocols, in general the latter may require only correlations between specific observables. In this work, we first introduce a general measure of correlations for two-qubit states based on the classical mutual information between local observables. We then discuss the role of the symmetry in the state's correlations distribution and accordingly provide a classification of maximally mixed marginals states (MMMS). We discuss the complementarity relation between correlations and coherence. By focusing on a simple yet paradigmatic example, i.e., the remote state preparation protocol, we introduce a method to systematically define proper protocol-tailored measures of correlations. The method is based on the identification of those correlations that are relevant (useful) for the protocol. The approach allows on one hand to discuss the role of the symmetry of the correlations distribution in determining the efficiency of the protocol, both for MMMS and general two-qubit quantum states, and on the other hand to devise an optimized protocol for non-MMMS that can have a better efficiency with respect to the standard one. The scheme we propose can be extended to other communication protocols and more general bipartite settings. Overall our findings clarify how the key resources in simple communication protocols are the purity of the state used and the symmetry of correlations distribution.