Bell inequality, Bell states and maximally entangled states for n qubits

First, we present a Bell-type inequality for n qubits, assuming that m out of the n qubits are independent. Quantum mechanics violates this inequality by a ratio that increases exponentially with m. Hence an experiment on n qubits violating this inequality sets a lower bound on the number m of entangled qubits. Next, we propose a definition of maximally entangled states of n qubits. For this purpose we study five different criteria. Four of these criteria are found compatible. For any number n of qubits, they determine an orthogonal basis consisting of maximally entangled states generalizing the Bell states. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.