Geometry near rank-changing points on the mixed-state manifold: Bures metric, conical singularities, and Lindblad dynamics

We elucidate the Bures metric in quantum state space near a rank-changing point of the density matrix and show contrasting behavior for two-level $N=2$ systems versus higher-level systems. Due to the smooth pure-state boundary for N=2, we prove the apparent metric divergences to be merely coordinate artifacts and present three Lindblad processes exhibiting qualitatively different evolution near rank-changing points, showing geodesic approach, power-law scaling, and pure-state escape law. For higher-dimensional $Nge 3$ systems, the geometry near a rank-changing point differs fundamentally. Under suitable restrictions of the density matrix and its approach towards a pure state, the Bures metric reduces to a conical metric with the pure state at the cone tip. Such a conic geometry leads to genuine curvature singularities: A two-dimensional cone exhibits a Dirac delta-function curvature near the tip while a higher-dimensional cone shows a power-law divergence of the curvature towards the cone tip. A construction of Lindblad evolution for N=3 systems with conic singularities is presented, along with possible implications for future experimental and theoretical research.