Nonmaximally entangled states can be better for quantum correlation distribution and storage

For carrying out many quantum information protocols entanglement must be established in advance between two distant parties. Practically, inevitable interaction of entangled subsystems with their environments during distribution and storage will result in degradation of entanglement. Here we investigate the decoherence of two-qubit entangled states in the local amplitude noise. We show that there exists a set of partially entangled states that are more robust than maximally entangled states in terms of the residual quantum correlation measured by concurrence, fully entangled fraction, and quantum discord. This result indicates that nonmaximally entangled states can outperform maximally entangled states for quantum correlation distribution and storage under the amplitude damping. It also educes a notable consequence that the ordering of states under quantum correlation monotones can be reversed even by local trace-preserving and completely positive maps.