Creation of macroscopic superpositions of flow states with Bose-Einstein condensates

We present a straightforward scheme for creating macroscopic superpositions of different superfluid flow states of Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in optical lattices. This scheme has the great advantage that all the techniques required are achievable with current experiments. Furthermore, the relative difficulty of creating cats scales favorably with the size of the cat. This means that this scheme may be well-suited to creating superpositions involving large numbers of particles. Such states may have interesting technological applications such as making quantum-limited measurements of angular momentum.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Quantum metrology in the presence of limited data

Quantum metrology protocols are typically designed around the assumption that we have an abundance of measurement data, but recent practical applications are increasingly driving interest in cases with very limited data. In this regime the best approach involves an interesting interplay between the amount of data and the prior information. Here we propose a new way of optimising these schemes based on the practically-motivated assumption that we have a sequence of identical and independent measurements. For a given probe state we take our measurement to be the best one for a single shot and we use this sequentially to study the performance of different practical states in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer when we have moderate prior knowledge of the underlying parameter. We find that we recover the quantum Cramér-Rao bound asymptotically, but for low data counts we find a completely different structure. Despite the fact that intra-mode correlations are known to be the key to increasing the asymptotic precision, we find evidence that these could be detrimental in the low data regime and that entanglement between the paths of the interferometer may play a more important role. Finally, we analyse how close realistic measurements can get to the bound and find that measuring quadratures can improve upon counting photons, though both strategies converge asymptotically. These results may prove to be important in the development of quantum enhanced metrology applications where practical considerations mean that we are limited to a small number of trials

Heisenberg scaling with classical long-range correlations

The Heisenberg scaling is typically associated with nonclassicality and entanglement. In this work, however, we discuss how classical long-range correlations between lattice sites in many-body systems may lead to a 1=N scaling in precision with the number of probes in the context of quantum optical dissipative systems. In particular, we show that networks of coupled single qubit lasers can be mapped onto a classical XY model, and a Heisenberg scaling with the number of sites appears when estimating the amplitude and phase of a weak periodic driving field

One-parameter class of uncertainty relations based on entropy power

We use the concept of entropy power to derive a new one-parameter class of information-theoretic uncertainty relations for pairs of conjugate observables in an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space. This class constitutes an infinite tower of higher-order statistics uncertainty relations, which allows one in principle to determine the shape of the underlying information-distribution function by measuring the relevant entropy powers. We illustrate the capability of the new class by discussing two examples: superpositions of vacuum and squeezed states and the Cauchy-type heavy-tailed wave function

Optimal matter-wave gravimetry

We calculate quantum and classical Fisher informations for gravity sensors based on matterwave interference, and find that current Mach-Zehnder interferometry is not optimally extracting the full metrological potential of these sensors. We show that by making measurements that resolve either the momentum or the position we can considerably improve the sensitivity. We also provide a simple modification that is capable of more than doubling the sensitivity

Spin squeezing of a Bose-Einstein condensate via quantum nondemolition measurement for quantum-enhanced atom interferometry

We theoretically investigate the use of quantum nondemolition measurement to enhance the sensitivity of atom interferometry with Bose-condensed atoms. In particular, we are concerned with enhancing existing high-precision atom interferometry apparatuses, and so restrict ourselves to dilute atomic samples and the use of free-propagating light or optical cavities in the weak-coupling regime. We find the optimum parameter regime that balances between spin squeezing and atomic loss and find that significant improvements in sensitivity are possible. Finally, we consider the use of squeezed light and show that this can provide further boosts to sensitivity

Measuring atomic NOON-states and using them to make precision measurements

A scheme for creating NOON-states of the quasi-momentum of ultra-cold atoms has recently been proposed [New J. Phys. 8, 180 (2006)]. This was achieved by trapping the atoms in an optical lattice in a ring configuration and rotating the potential at a rate equal to half a quantum of angular momentum . In this paper we present a scheme for confirming that a NOON-state has indeed been created. This is achieved by spectroscopically mapping out the anti-crossing between the ground and first excited levels by modulating the rate at which the potential is rotated. Finally we show how the NOON-state can be used to make precision measurements of rotation.Comment: 14 preprint pages, 7 figure

Multiparameter estimation in networked quantum sensors

We introduce a general model for a network of quantum sensors, and we use this model to consider the following question: When can entanglement between the sensors, and/or global measurements, enhance the precision with which the network can measure a set of unknown parameters? We rigorously answer this question by presenting precise theorems proving that for a broad class of problems there is, at most, a very limited intrinsic advantage to using entangled states or global measurements. Moreover, for many estimation problems separable states and local measurements are optimal, and can achieve the ultimate quantum limit on the estimation uncertainty. This immediately implies that there are broad conditions under which simultaneous estimation of multiple parameters cannot outperform individual, independent estimations. Our results apply to any situation in which spatially localized sensors are unitarily encoded with independent parameters, such as when estimating multiple linear or nonlinear optical phase shifts in quantum imaging, or when mapping out the spatial profile of an unknown magnetic field. We conclude by showing that entangling the sensors can enhance the estimation precision when the parameters of interest are global properties of the entire network

Behaviour of entanglement and Cooper pairs under relativistic boosts

Recent work has shown how single-particle entangled states are transformed when boosted in relativistic frames for certain restricted geometries. Here we extend that work to consider completely general inertial boosts. We then apply our single particle results to multiparticle entanglements by focussing on Cooper pairs of electrons. We show that a standard Cooper pair state consisting of a spin-singlet acquires spin-triplet components in a relativistically boosted inertial frame, regardless of the geometry. We also show that, if we start with a spin-triplet pair, two out of the three triplet states acquire a singlet component, the size of which depends on the geometry. This transformation between the different singlet and triplet superconducting pairs may lead to a better understanding of unconventional superconductivity.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Quantum sensing networks for the estimation of linear functions

The theoretical framework for networked quantum sensing has been developed to a great extent in the past few years, but there are still a number of open questions. Among these, a problem of great significance, both fundamentally and for constructing efficient sensing networks, is that of the role of inter-sensor correlations in the simultaneous estimation of multiple linear functions, where the latter are taken over a collection local parameters and can thus be seen as global properties. In this work we provide a solution to this when each node is a qubit and the state of the network is sensor-symmetric. First we derive a general expression linking the amount of inter-sensor correlations and the geometry of the vectors associated with the functions, such that the asymptotic error is optimal. Using this we show that if the vectors are clustered around two special subspaces, then the optimum is achieved when the correlation strength approaches its extreme values, while there is a monotonic transition between such extremes for any other geometry. Furthermore, we demonstrate that entanglement can be detrimental for estimating non-trivial global properties, and that sometimes it is in fact irrelevant. Finally, we perform a non-asymptotic analysis of these results using a Bayesian approach, finding that the amount of correlations needed to enhance the precision crucially depends on the number of measurement data. Our results will serve as a basis to investigate how to harness correlations in networks of quantum sensors operating both in and out of the asymptotic regime