  Recently, we proposed a method for the local detection of quantum
correlations on the basis of local measurements and state tomography at
different instances in time [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 180402 (2011)]. The method
allows for the detection of quantum discord in bipartite systems when access is
restricted to only one of the subsystems. Here, we elaborate the details of
this method and provide applications to specific physical models. In
particular, we discuss the performance of the scheme for generic complex
systems by investigating thermal equilibrium states corresponding to randomly
generated Hamiltonians. Moreover, we formulate an ergodicity-like hypothesis
which links the time average to the analytically obtained average over the
group of unitary operators equipped with the Haar measure.
