Tripartite state characterization via activated bipartite entanglement

We propose a procedure to identify and classify genuine tripartite entanglement in pure 3-qubit states via the Activated Bipartite Entanglement (ABE), which is defined here as the difference between the Entanglement of Assistance and the Entanglement of Formation. We show that for pure states belonging to one of the two inequivalent classes of genuine tripartite entanglement, i.e., GHZ or W states, the ABE is always greater than zero. For separable and biseparable states it is always null. In addition, our approach is capable to distinguish between genuine tripartite entangled states, those belonging to the GHZ-class from those belonging to the W-class. We also present an experimental proposal, by using linear optical circuits and internal degrees of freedom of a single photon, to measure the ABE and to verify the characterization via activated entanglement. The circuit simulation shows an excellent agreement with theoretical prediction for a wide class of GHZ and W states. •Introduces ABE to identify tripartite entanglement.•Distinguishes GHZ and W classes effectively.•Proposes experimental setup with linear optics.•Shows strong theoretical and simulation alignment.