Encoding matroids into quantum states

Abstract

Efficient representations of multipartite quantum states play a fundamental role in quantum information theory, providing both conceptual insight and practical tools for characterizing entanglement. Motivated by the axiomatic framework for graph states [Phys. Rev. A 85, 062313 (2012)] and its subsequent extension to hypergraph states [Phys. Rev. A 87, 022311 (2013)], we introduce an axiomatic construction of \emph{matroid states}, a new family of multipartite quantum states associated with matroids. Our constructions are based on a set of axioms analogous to those that define graph and hypergraph states, yielding a consistent quantum representation of arbitrary matroids. Two ways of constructing matroid states are proposed: the first is defined in terms of circuits, and the second in terms of independent sets. In both approaches, we establish the existence of universal global operators that satisfy desirable properties such as locality, symmetry, commutativity, and are associated with the combinatorial structure of matroids. Furthermore, we establish a hierarchy connecting graph, matroid, and hypergraph states within a unified framework. Additionally, we show how to obtain an arbitrary graph state by applying suitable families of matroid states, whose corresponding operators are the generators of the stabilizer subgroup of the graph state. These results identify matroid theory as a natural combinatorial language for the efficient description of multipartite quantum states and open new perspectives for the investigation of quantum entanglement and related combinatorial structures.