Quantum channel capacities

Abstract A brief general review is presented of the theory of information transmission capacities of quantum communication channels, which is a development of the classical Shannon theory. Unlike a classical communication channel, a quantum channel is characterised by a whole set of different capacities, which depend on the type of transmitted information (classical or quantum) and on additional resources used during transmission. The main characteristics of a quantum channel are considered: classical capacity, capacity assisted by entanglement between the channel input and output, quantum capacity and secret classical capacity. The unique role of the quantum entanglement property, which manifests itself, in particular, in a nonclassical phenomenon of capacity superadditivity, is emphasised.