Optimal measurements to access classical correlations of two-qubit states

Abstract

We analyze the optimal measurements to access classical correlations in arbitrary two-qubit states. Two-qubit states can be transformed into the canonical forms via local unitary operations. For the canonical forms, we investigate the probability distribution of the optimal measurements. The probability distribution of the optimal measurements is found to be centralized in the vicinity of a specific von Neumann measurement, which we call the maximal-correlation-direction measurement (MCDM). We prove that, for the states with zero discord and maximally mixed marginals, the MCDM is the optimal measurement. Furthermore, we give an upper bound of quantum discord based on the MCDM, and investigate its performance for approximating the quantum discord.