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We highlight the power of the Gaia DR2 in studying many fine structures of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD). Gaia allows us to present many different HRDs, depending in particular on stellar population selections. We do not aim here for completeness in terms of types of stars or stellar evolutionary aspects. Instead, we have chosen several illustrative examples. We describe some of the selections that can be made in Gaia DR2 to highlight the main structures of the Gaia HRDs. We select both field and cluster (open and globular) stars, compare the observations with previous classifications and with stellar evolutionary tracks, and we present variations of the Gaia HRD with age, metallicity, and kinematics. Late stages of stellar evolution such as hot subdwarfs, post-AGB stars, planetary nebulae, and white dwarfs are also analysed, as well as low-mass brown dwarf objects. The Gaia HRDs are unprecedented in both precision and coverage of the various Milky Way stellar populations and stellar evolutionary phases. Many fine structures of the HRDs are presented. The clear split of the white dwarf sequence into hydrogen and helium white dwarfs is presented for the first time in an HRD. The relation between kinematics and the HRD is nicely illustrated. Two different populations in a classical kinematic selection of the halo are unambiguously identified in the HRD. Membership and mean parameters for a selected list of open clusters are provided. They allow drawing very detailed cluster sequences, highlighting fine structures, and providing extremely precise empirical isochrones that will lead to more insight in stellar physics. Gaia DR2 demonstrates the potential of combining precise astrometry and photometry for large samples for studies in stellar evolution and stellar population and opens an entire new area for HRD-based studies., Comment: Published in the A&A Gaia Data Release 2 special issue. Tables 2 and A.4 corrected. Tables available at http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/616/A10

Parallaxes for 331 classical Cepheids, 31 Type II Cepheids and 364 RR Lyrae stars in common between Gaia and the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues are published in Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1) as part of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). In order to test these first parallax measurements of the primary standard candles of the cosmological distance ladder, that involve astrometry collected by Gaia during the initial 14 months of science operation, we compared them with literature estimates and derived new period-luminosity ($PL$), period-Wesenheit ($PW$) relations for classical and Type II Cepheids and infrared $PL$, $PL$-metallicity ($PLZ$) and optical luminosity-metallicity ($M_V$-[Fe/H]) relations for the RR Lyrae stars, with zero points based on TGAS. The new relations were computed using multi-band ($V,I,J,K_{\mathrm{s}},W_{1}$) photometry and spectroscopic metal abundances available in the literature, and applying three alternative approaches: (i) by linear least squares fitting the absolute magnitudes inferred from direct transformation of the TGAS parallaxes, (ii) by adopting astrometric-based luminosities, and (iii) using a Bayesian fitting approach. TGAS parallaxes bring a significant added value to the previous Hipparcos estimates. The relations presented in this paper represent first Gaia-calibrated relations and form a "work-in-progress" milestone report in the wait for Gaia-only parallaxes of which a first solution will become available with Gaia's Data Release 2 (DR2) in 2018., Comment: 29 pages, 25 figures. Accepted for publication by A&A

Context. The first Gaia Data Release contains the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). This is a subset of about 2 million stars for which, besides the position and photometry, the proper motion and parallax are calculated using Hipparcos and Tycho-2 positions in 1991.25 as prior information. Aims. We investigate the scientific potential and limitations of the TGAS component by means of the astrometric data for open clusters. Methods. Mean cluster parallax and proper motion values are derived taking into account the error correlations within the astrometric solutions for individual stars, an estimate of the internal velocity dispersion in the cluster, and, where relevant, the effects of the depth of the cluster along the line of sight. Internal consistency of the TGAS data is assessed. Results. Values given for standard uncertainties are still inaccurate and may lead to unrealistic unit-weight standard deviations of least squares solutions for cluster parameters. Reconstructed mean cluster parallax and proper motion values are generally in very good agreement with earlier Hipparcos-based determination, although the Gaia mean parallax for the Pleiades is a significant exception. We have no current explanation for that discrepancy. Most clusters are observed to extend to nearly 15 pc from the cluster centre, and it will be up to future Gaia releases to establish whether those potential cluster-member stars are still dynamically bound to the clusters. Conclusions. The Gaia DR1 provides the means to examine open clusters far beyond their more easily visible cores, and can provide membership assessments based on proper motions and parallaxes. A combined HR diagram shows the same features as observed before using the Hipparcos data, with clearly increased luminosities for older A and F dwarfs., Comment: Accepted for publication by A&A. 21 pages main text plus 46 pages appendices. 34 figures main text, 38 figures appendices. 8 table in main text, 19 tables in appendices

We investigate quantum states that posses both maximum entanglement and maximum discord between the pertinent parties. Since entanglement (discord) is defined only for bipartite (two qubit) systems, we shall introduce an appropriate sum over of all bi-partitions as the associated measure. The ensuing definition --not new for entanglement-- is thus extended here to quantum discord. Also, additional dimensions within the parties are considered ({\it qudits}). We also discuss nonlocality (in the form of maximum violation of a Bell inequality) for all multiqubit systems. The emergence of more nonlocal states than local ones, all of them possessing maximum entanglement, will be linked, surprisingly enough, to whether quantum mechanics is defined over the fields of real or complex numbers., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables

We investigate thermal properties of quantum correlations in the thermodynamic limit with reference to the XY-model

We discuss some properties of the quantum discord based on the geometric distance advanced by Dakic, Vedral, and Brukner [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 105}, 190502 (2010)], with emphasis on Werner- and MEM-states. We ascertain just how good the measure is in representing quantum discord. We explore the dependence of quantum discord on the degree of mixedness of the bipartite states, and also its connection with non-locality as measured by the maximum violation of a Bell inequality within the CHSH scenario.

Entanglement criteria for general (pure or mixed) states of systems consisting of two identical fermions are introduced. These criteria are based on appropriate inequalities involving the entropy of the global density matrix describing the total system, on the one hand, and the entropy of the one particle reduced density matrix, on the other one. A majorization-related relation between these two density matrices is obtained, leading to a family of entanglement criteria based on R\'enyi's entropic measure. These criteria are applied to various illustrative examples of parametrized families of mixed states. The dependence of the entanglement detection efficiency on R\'enyi's entropic parameter is investigated. The extension of these criteria to systems of $N$ identical fermions is also considered.

Nonlocality and quantum entanglement constitute two special aspects of the quantum correlations existing in quantum systems, which are of paramount importance in quantum-information theory. Traditionally, they have been regarded as identical (equivalent, in fact, for pure two qubit states, that is, {\it Gisin's Theorem}), yet they constitute different resources. Describing nonlocality by means of the violation of several Bell inequalities, we obtain by direct optimization those states of two qubits that maximally violate a Bell inequality, in terms of their degree of mixture as measured by either their participation ratio $R=1/Tr(\rho^2)$ or their maximum eigenvalue $\lambda_{max}$. This optimum value is obtained as well, which coincides with previous results. Comparison with entanglement is performed too. An example of an application is given in the XY model. In this novel approximation, we also concentrate on the nonlocality for linear combinations of pure states of two qubits, providing a closed form for their maximal nonlocality measure. The case of Bell diagonal mixed states of two qubits is also extensively studied. Special attention concerning the connection between nonlocality and entanglement for mixed states of two qubits is paid to the so called maximally entangled mixed states. Additional aspects for the case of two qubits are also described in detail. Since we deal with qubit systems, we will perform an analogous study for three qubits, employing similar tools. Relation between distillability and nonlocality is explored quantitatively for the whole space of states of three qubits. We finally extend our analysis to four qubit systems, where nonlocality for generalized Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states of arbitrary number of parties is computed., Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures

Nonlocality and quantum entanglement constitute two special features of quantum systems of paramount importance in quantum information theory (QIT). Essentially regarded as identical or equivalent for many years, they constitute different concepts. Describing nonlocality by means of the maximal violation of two Bell inequalities, we study both entanglement and nonlocality for two and three spins in the XY model. Our results shed a new light into the description of nonlocality and the possible information-theoretic task limitations of entanglement in an infinite quantum system., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures

In a recent work (Borras et al., Phys. Rev. A {\bf 79}, 022108 (2009)), we have determined, for various decoherence channels, four-qubit initial states exhibiting the most robust possible entanglement. Here we explore some geometrical features of the trajectories in state space generated by the decoherence process, connecting the initially robust pure state with the completely decohered mixed state obtained at the end of the evolution. We characterize these trajectories by recourse to the distance between the concomitant time dependent mixed state and different reference states., Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures; new title, minor changes

We investigate the decay of entanglement, due to decoherence, of multi-qubit systems that are initially prepared in highly (in some cases maximally) entangled states. We assume that during the decoherence processes each qubit of the system interacts with its own, independent environment. We determine, for systems with a small number of qubits and for various decoherence channels, the initial states exhibiting the most robust entanglement. We also consider a restricted version of this robustness optimization problem, only involving states equivalent under local unitary transformations to the |GHZ> state., Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures. Changes in Sec. 3

We review the generation of random pure states using a protocol of repeated two qubit gates. We study the dependence of the convergence to states with Haar multipartite entanglement distribution. We investigate the optimal generation of such states in terms of the physical (real) time needed to apply the protocol, instead of the gate complexity point of view used in other works. This physical time can be obtained, for a given Hamiltonian, within the theoretical framework offered by the quantum brachistochrone formalism. Using an anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian as an example, we find that different optimal quantum gates arise according to the optimality point of view used in each case. We also study how the convergence to random entangled states depends on different entanglement measures., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. New title, improved explanation of the algorithm. To appear in Phys. Rev. A

The notion of distance in Hilbert space is relevant in many scenarios. In particular, distances between quantum states play a central role in quantum information theory. An appropriate measure of distance is the quantum Jensen Shannon divergence (QJSD) between quantum states. Here we study this distance as a geometrical measure of entanglement and apply it to different families of states., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the special issue of IJQI "Noise, Information and Complexity at Quantum Scale", eds. S. Mancini and F. Marchesoni

We explore some basic entanglement features of multiqubit systems that are relevant for the development of algorithms for searching highly entangled states. In particular, we compare the behaviours of multiqubit entanglement measures based (i) on the von Neumann entropy of marginal density matrices and (ii) on the linear entropy of those matrices., Comment: To appear in the special issue of IJQI "Noise, Information and Complexity at Quantum Scale", eds. S. Mancini and F. Marchesoni (2008)

A comparison is made of various searching procedures, based upon different entanglement measures or entanglement indicators, for highly entangled multi-qubits states. In particular, our present results are compared with those recently reported by Brown et al. [J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 38 (2005) 1119]. The statistical distribution of entanglement values for the aforementioned multi-qubit systems is also explored., Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures

Entanglement is closely related to some fundamental features of the dynamics of composite quantum systems: quantum entanglement enhances the "speed" of evolution of certain quantum states, as measured by the time required to reach an orthogonal state. The concept of "speed" of quantum evolution constitutes an important ingredient in any attempt to determine the fundamental limits that basic physical laws impose on how fast a physical system can process or transmit information. Here we explore the relationship between entanglement and the speed of quantum evolution in the context of the quantum brachistochrone problem. Given an initial and a final state of a composite system we consider the amount of entanglement associated with the brachistochrone evolution between those states, showing that entanglement is an essential resource to achieve the alluded time-optimal quantum evolution., Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Corrected typos in Eqs. 1 and 2

In a recent paper, the generalization of the Jensen Shannon divergence (JSD) in the context of quantum theory has been studied (Phys. Rev. A 72, 052310 (2005)). This distance between quantum states has shown to verify several of the properties required for a good distinguishability measure. Here we investigate the metric character of this distance. More precisely we show, formally for pure states and by means of simulations for mixed states, that its square root verifies the triangle inequality., Comment: 8 pages, 1 figures, numerical results substantially improved in Sec. III. To appear in Phys. Rev. A

The concept of quantum speed limit-time (QSL) was initially introduced as a lower bound to the time interval that a given initial state $\psi_I$ may need so as to evolve into a state orthogonal to itself. Recently [V. Giovannetti, S. Lloyd, and L. Maccone, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 67}, 052109 (2003)] this bound has been generalized to the case where $\psi_I$ does not necessarily evolve into an orthogonal state, but into any other $\psi_F$. It was pointed out that, for certain classes of states, quantum entanglement enhances the evolution "speed" of composite quantum systems. In this work we provide an exhaustive and systematic QSL study for pure and mixed states belonging to the whole 15-dimensional space of two qubits, with $\psi_F$ a not necessarily orthogonal state to $\psi_I$. We display convincing evidence for a clear correlation between concurrence, on the one hand, and the speed of quantum evolution determined by the action of a rather general local Hamiltonian, on the other one., Comment: 19 pages, 5 figures

We consider the change of entanglement of formation $\Delta E$ produced by a unitary transformation acting on a general (pure or mixed) state $\rho$ describing a system of two qubits. We study numerically the probabilities of obtaining different values of $\Delta E$, assuming that the initial state is randomly distributed in the space of all states according to the product measure introduced by Zyczkowski {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 58} (1998) 883].

We ascertain, following ideas of Arnesen, Bose, and Vedral concerning thermal entanglement [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 87} (2001) 017901] and using the statistical tool called {\it entropic non-triviality} [Lamberti, Martin, Plastino, and Rosso, Physica A {\bf 334} (2004) 119], that there is a one to one correspondence between (i) the mixing coefficient $x$ of a Werner state, on the one hand, and (ii) the temperature $T$ of the one-dimensional Heisenberg two-spin chain with a magnetic field $B$ along the $z-$axis, on the other one. This is true for each value of $B$ below a certain critical value $B_c$. The pertinent mapping depends on the particular $B-$value one selects within such a range.

The maximally entangled mixed states of Munro, James, White, and Kwiat [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 64} (2001) 030302] are shown to exhibit interesting features vis a vis conditional entropic measures. The same happens with the Ishizaka and Hiroshima states [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 62} 022310 (2000)], whose entanglement-degree can not be increased by acting on them with logic gates. Special types of entangled states that do not violate classical entropic inequalities are seen to exist in the space of two qubits. Special meaning can be assigned to the Munro {\it et al.} special participation ratio of 1.8.

It has been recently pointed out by Caves, Fuchs, and Rungta that real quantum mechanics (that is, quantum mechanics defined over real vector spaces provides an interesting foil theory whose study may shed some light on just which particular aspects of quantum entanglement are unique to standard quantum theory, and which ones are more generic over other physical theories endowed with this phenomenon. Following this work, we discuss some entanglement properties of two-rebits systems, making a comparison with the basic properties of two-qubits systems, i.e., the ones described by standard complex quantum mechanics. We also discuss the use of quaternionic quantum mechanics as applied to the phenomenon of entanglement.

Quantum gates, that play a fundamental role in quantum computation and other quantum information processes, are unitary evolution operators $\hat U$ that act on a composite system changing its entanglement. In the present contribution we study some aspects of these entanglement changes. By recourse of a Monte Carlo procedure, we compute the so called "entangling power" for several paradigmatic quantum gates and discuss results concerning the action of the CNOT gate. We pay special attention to the distribution of entanglement among the several parties involved.

It has been recently pointed out [V. Giovanetti, S. Lloyd, and L. Maccone, Europhys. Lett., {\bf 62} pp. 615-621 (2003)] that, for certain classes of states, quantum entanglement enhances the "speed" of evolution of composite quantum systems, as measured by the time a given initial state requires to evolve to an orthogonal state. We provide here a systematic study of this effect for pure states of bipartite systems of low dimensionality, considering both distinguishable (two-qubits) subsystems, and systems constituted of two indistinguishable particles.

We discuss different statistical distances in probability space, with emphasis on the Jensen-Shannon divergence, vis-a-vis {\it metrics} in Hilbert space and their relationship with Fisher's information measure. This study provides further reconfirmation of Wootters' hypothesis concerning the possibility that statistical fluctuations in the outcomes of measurements be regarded (at least partly) as responsible for the Hilbert-space structure of quantum mechanics.

We revisit the application of different separability criteria by recourse to an exhaustive Monte Carlo exploration involving the pertinent state-space of pure and mixed states. The corresponding chain of implications of different criteria is in such a way numerically elucidated. We also quantify, for a bipartite system of arbitrary dimension, the proportion of states $\rho$ that can be distilled according to a definite criterion. Our work can be regarded as a complement to the recent review paper by B. Terhal [Theor. Comp. Sci. {\bf 287} (2002) 313]. Some questions posed there receive an answer here., Comment: Submitted for publication

The study of conditional $q$-entropies in composite quantum systems has recently been the focus of considerable interest, particularly in connection with the problem of separability. The $q$-entropies depend on the density matrix $\rho$ through the quantity $\omega_q = Tr\rho^q$, and admit as a particular instance the standard von Neumann entropy in the limit case $q\to 1$. A comprehensive numerical survey of the space of pure and mixed states of bipartite systems is here performed, in order to determine the volumes in state space occupied by those states exhibiting various special properties related to the signs of their conditional $q$-entropies and to their connections with other separability-related features, including the majorization condition. Different values of the entropic parameter $q$ are considered, as well as different values of the dimensions $N_1$ and $N_2$ of the Hilbert spaces associated with the constituting subsystems. Special emphasis is paid to the analysis of the monotonicity properties, both as a function of $q$ and as a function of $N_1$ and $N_2$, of the various entropic functionals considered., Comment: Submitted for publication

In the present study we revisit the application of the $q$-information measures $R_q$ of R\'enyi's and $S_q$ of Tsallis' to the discussion of special features of two qubits systems. More specifically, we study the correlations between the $q$-information measures and the entanglement of formation of a general (pure or mixed) state $\rho$ describing a system of two qubits. The analysis uses a Monte Carlo procedure involving the 15-dimensional 2-qubits space of pure and mixed states, under the assumption that these states are uniformly distributed according to the product measure recently introduced by Zyczkowski {\it et al} [Phys. Rev. A {\bf 58} (1998) 883]., Comment: 7 figures. Submitted for publication

We review efforts to unify both the Bardeen, Cooper and Schrieffer (BCS) and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) pictures of superconductivity. We have finally achieved this in terms of a "\textit{complete} boson-fermion (BF) model" (CBFM) that reduces in special cases to all the main continuum (as opposed to "spin") statistical theories of superconductivity. Our BF model is "complete" in the sense that not only two-electron (2e) but also two-hole (2h) Cooper pairs (CPs) are allowed in arbitrary proportions. In contrast, BCS-Bogoliubov theory--which can also be considered as the theory of a mixture of kinematically independent electrons, 2e- and 2h-CPs--allows only equal, 50%-50%, mixtures of the two kinds of CPs. This is obvious from the perfect symmetry about $\mu$, the electron chemical potential, of the well-known Bogoliubov $v^{2}(\epsilon)$ and $u^{2}(\epsilon)$ coefficients, where $\epsilon$ is the electron energy. The CBFM is then applied to see: a) whether the BCS model interaction for the electron-phonon dynamical mechanism is sufficient to predict the unusually high values of $T_{c}$ (in units of the Fermi temperature) of $\simeq 0.01-0.1$ exhibited by the so-called ``exotic'' superconductors \cite{Brandow} in both 2D and 3D--relative to the low values of $\lesssim 10^{-3}$ more or less correctly predicted by BCS theory for conventional, elemental superconductors; and b) whether it can at least suggest, if not explain, why "hole superconductors" have higher $T_{c}$'s., Comment: 17 pages including 4 figures. To be published in Cond. Matt. Theories Vol. 18, Ed. Joao da Providencia ((Nova Science Publisher, Inc., N. Y., 200?)