Evolution and Symmetry of Multipartite Entanglement

Abstract

We discover a simple factorization law describing how multipartite entanglement of a composite quantum system evolves when one of the subsystems undergoes an arbitrary physical process. This multipartite entanglement decay is determined uniquely by a single factor we call the entanglement resilient factor (ERF). Since the ERF is a function of the quantum channel alone, we find that multipartite entanglement evolves in exactly the same way as bipartite (two qudits) entanglement. For the two qubits case, our factorization law reduces to the main result of Nature Physics 4, 99 (2008). In addition, for a permutation $P$, we provide an operational definition of $P$-asymmetry of entanglement, and find the conditions when a permuted version of a state can be achieved by local means.