The quantum Jeffreys' prior/Bures metric volume element for squeezed thermal states and a universal coding conjecture
Paul B. Slater · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General · 1996
Clarke and Barron have recently established that the (classical) Jeffreys' prior yields universal codes - ones which do relatively well (in the sense of relative entropy) no matter what the true state. Twamley has recently computed the Bures metric - proportional to the quantum Fisher information (statistical distinguishability) metric, as shown by Braunstein and Caves - for squeezed thermal states. The volume elements of these metrics - that is, the quantum Jeffreys' prior - are found to be simply the product of a function of the squeeze factor and a function of the inverse temperature, the phase being irrelevant in this regard. A computational strategy to find a universal coding using the quantum Jeffreys' prior - previously implemented for the two-level quantum systems - is then discussed.