Bayesian retrodiction of quantum supermaps

Abstract

The Petz map has been established as a quantum version of the Bayes' rule. It unifies the conceptual belief update rule of a quantum state observed after a forward quantum process, and the operational reverse process that recovers the final state to match the updated belief, effectively counteracting the forward process. Here, we study a higher-order generalization of the quantum Bayes' rule by considering a quantum process undergoing a quantum supermap. For a few families of initial beliefs, we show that a similar unification is possible -- the rules updating the beliefs about quantum channels can be implemented via a "reverse" quantum supermap, termed the retrodiction supermap. The potential applications of retrodiction supermap are demonstrated with examples of improved error correction in quantum cloud computing. Analytical solutions are provided for these families, while a recipe for arbitrary initial beliefs remains an open question.