Distinguishability of Bell states

Phys Rev Lett. 2001 Dec 31;87(27 Pt 1):277902. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.87.277902. Epub 2001 Dec 13.

Abstract

More than two multipartite orthogonal states cannot always be discriminated if only local operations and classical communication (LOCC) are allowed. We show that four Bell states cannot be discriminated by LOCC, even probabilistically, using the separability properties of a four-party unlockable bound entangled state. Using an existing inequality among the measures of entanglement, we show that any three Bell states cannot be discriminated with certainty by LOCC. Exploiting the inequality, we calculate the distillable entanglement of a certain class of 4 multiply sign in circle 4 mixed states.