Minimax quantum state discrimination

Abstract

We derive the optimal measurement for quantum state discrimination without a priori probabilities, i.e. in a minimax strategy instead of the usually considered Bayesian one. We consider both minimal-error and unambiguous discrimination problems, and provide the relation between the optimal measurements according to the two schemes. We show that there are instances in which the minimum risk cannot be achieved by an orthogonal measurement, and this is a common feature of the minimax estimation strategy.