Fixed Points of Completely Positive Trace-Preserving Maps in Infinite Dimension

Abstract

Completely positive trace-preserving maps $S$, also known as quantum channels, arise in quantum physics as a description of how the density operator $\rho$ of a system changes in a given time interval, allowing not only for unitary evolution but arbitrary operations including measurements or other interaction with an environment. It is known that if the Hilbert space $\mathscr{H}$ that $\rho$ acts on is finite-dimensional, then every $S$ must have a fixed point, i.e., a density operator $\rho_0$ with $S(\rho_0)=\rho_0$. In infinite dimension, $S$ need not have a fixed point in general. However, we prove here the existence of a fixed point under a certain additional assumption which is, roughly speaking, that $S$ leaves invariant a certain set of density operators with bounded ``cost'' of preparation. The proof is an application of the Schauder-Tychonoff fixed point theorem. Our motivation for this question comes from a proposal of Deutsch for how to define quantum theory in a space-time with closed timelike curves; our result supports the viability of Deutsch's proposal.