Quantum discord and geometry for a class of two-qubit states

We study the level surfaces of quantum discord for a class of two-qubit states with parallel nonzero Bloch vectors. The dynamic behavior of quantum discord under decoherence is investigated. It is shown that a class of X states has sudden transition between classical and quantum correlations under decoherence. Our results include the ones in M. D. Lang and C. M. Caves [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 150501 (2010)] as a special case and show new pictures and structures of quantum discord.