A threshold for maximal Schmidt number from spectrum

Abstract

The Schmidt number quantifies the dimensionality of entanglement in bipartite quantum states. We investigate when the spectrum of a state on $\mathbb{C}^d \otimes \mathbb{C}^d$ alone guarantees that its Schmidt number is not maximal. By deriving spectral bounds for $(d-1)$-block positive operators, we prove that $\mathrm{LS}_p\subseteq \mathrm{ASN}_{d-1}$ for $p\leq \lfloor d^2/2\rfloor$, where $\mathrm{LS}_p$ denotes the set of states whose largest eigenvalue does not exceed the sum of their $p$ smallest eigenvalues, and $\mathrm{ASN}_{d-1}$ denotes the set of states whose Schmidt number remains at most $d-1$ under all global unitaries. This also yields a simple sufficient condition involving only the largest eigenvalue. As an application, we show that states satisfying the reduction criterion under arbitrary global unitaries belong to $\mathrm{ASN}_{d-1}$ in every dimension. This subsumes the earlier result that absolutely positive partial transpose states belong to $\mathrm{ASN}_{d-1}$. The global unitary requirement is nevertheless essential: for every $d\geq3$, we construct states of maximal Schmidt number satisfying the reduction criterion on both subsystems.