Does acceleration always degrade quantum entanglement for tetrapartite Unruh-DeWitt detectors?

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the Unruh effect completely destroys quantum entanglement and coherence of bipartite states, as modeled by entangled Unruh-DeWitt detectors. But does the Unruh effect have a different impact on quantum entanglement of multipartite states within this framework? In this paper, we investigate the influence of the Unruh effect on $1-3$ entanglement in the context of entangled tetrapartite Unruh-DeWitt detectors. We find that quantum entanglement of tetrapartite $W$ state first decreases to a minimum value and then increases to a fixed value with the growth of the acceleration. This indicates that the Unruh effect can, under certain conditions, enhance quantum entanglement. In other words, the Unruh effect plays a dual role in the behavior of quantum entanglement-both diminishing and enhancing it. This discovery challenges and overturns the traditional view that the Unruh effect is solely detrimental to quantum entanglement and coherence in entangled Unruh-DeWitt detectors, offering a fresh and profound perspective on its impact.