Matrix product states and the decay of quantum conditional mutual information

A uniform matrix product state defined on a tripartite system of spins, denoted by ABC, is shown to be an approximate quantum Markov chain when the size of subsystem B, denoted |B|, is large enough. The quantum conditional mutual information (QCMI) is investigated and proved to be bounded by a function proportional to exp(−q(|B| − K) + 2K ln |B|), with q and K computable constants. The properties of the bounding function are derived by a new approach, with a corresponding improved value given for its asymptotic decay rate q. We show the improved value of q to be optimal. Numerical investigations of the decay of QCMI are reported for a collection of matrix product states generated by selecting the defining isometry with respect to Haar measure.