Schmidt number for density matrices

Abstract

We introduce the notion of a Schmidt number of a bipartite density matrix. We show that k-positive maps witness the Schmidt number, in the same way that positive maps witness entanglement. We determine the Schmidt number of the family of states that is made from mixing the completely mixed state and a maximally entangled state. We show that the Schmidt number does not necessarily increase when taking tensor copies of a density matrix ρ; we give an example of a density matrix for which the Schmidt numbers of ρ and ρ⊗ρ are both 2.