Adaptive quantum metrology under general Markovian noise

We consider a general model of unitary parameter estimation in presence of Markovian noise, where the parameter to be estimated is associated with the Hamiltonian part of the dynamics. In absence of noise, unitary parameter can be estimated with precision scaling as $1/T$, where $T$ is the total probing time. We provide a simple algebraic condition involving solely the operators appearing in the quantum Master equation, implying at most $1/\sqrt{T}$ scaling of precision under the most general adaptive quantum estimation strategies. We also discuss the requirements a quantum error-correction like protocol must satisfy in order to regain the $1/T$ precision scaling in case the above mentioned algebraic condition is not satisfied. Furthermore, we apply the developed methods to understand fundamental precision limits in atomic interferometry with many-body effects taken into account, shedding new light on the performance of non-linear metrological models.Comment: 13 pages, see also arXiv:1706.0244

The Quantum Cocktail Party

We consider the problem of decorrelating states of coupled quantum systems. The decorrelation can be seen as separation of quantum signals, in analogy to the classical problem of signal-separation rising in the so-called cocktail-party context. The separation of signals cannot be achieved perfectly, and we analyse the optimal decorrelation map in terms of added noise in the local separated states. Analytical results can be obtained both in the case of two-level quantum systems and for Gaussian states of harmonic oscillators.Comment: 4 pages, 2figures, revtex

Quantum phase estimation with lossy interferometers

We give a detailed discussion of optimal quantum states for optical two-mode interferometry in the presence of photon losses. We derive analytical formulae for the precision of phase estimation obtainable using quantum states of light with a definite photon number and prove that maximization of the precision is a convex optimization problem. The corresponding optimal precision, i.e. the lowest possible uncertainty, is shown to beat the standard quantum limit thus outperforming classical interferometry. Furthermore, we discuss more general inputs: states with indefinite photon number and states with photons distributed between distinguishable time bins. We prove that neither of these is helpful in improving phase estimation precision.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Optimal Quantum Phase Estimation

By using a systematic optimization approach we determine quantum states of light with definite photon number leading to the best possible precision in optical two mode interferometry. Our treatment takes into account the experimentally relevant situation of photon losses. Our results thus reveal the benchmark for precision in optical interferometry. Although this boundary is generally worse than the Heisenberg limit, we show that the obtained precision beats the standard quantum limit thus leading to a significant improvement compared to classical interferometers. We furthermore discuss alternative states and strategies to the optimized states which are easier to generate at the cost of only slightly lower precision.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Replaced with final versio

Quantum-enhanced gyroscopy with rotating anisotropic Bose–Einstein condensates

High-precision gyroscopes are a key component of inertial navigation systems. By considering matter wave gyroscopes that make use of entanglement it should be possible to gain some advantages in terms of sensitivity, size, and resources used over unentangled optical systems. In this paper we consider the details of such a quantum-enhanced atom interferometry scheme based on atoms trapped in a carefully-chosen rotating trap. We consider all the steps: entanglement generation, phase imprinting, and read-out of the signal and show that quantum enhancement should be possible in principle. While the improvement in performance over equivalent unentangled schemes is small, our feasibility study opens the door to further developments and improvements

Entanglement production in Quantized Chaotic Systems

Quantum chaos is a subject whose major goal is to identify and to investigate different quantum signatures of classical chaos. Here we study entanglement production in coupled chaotic systems as a possible quantum indicator of classical chaos. We use coupled kicked tops as a model for our extensive numerical studies. We find that, in general, presence of chaos in the system produces more entanglement. However, coupling strength between two subsystems is also very important parameter for the entanglement production. Here we show how chaos can lead to large entanglement which is universal and describable by random matrix theory (RMT). We also explain entanglement production in coupled strongly chaotic systems by deriving a formula based on RMT. This formula is valid for arbitrary coupling strengths, as well as for sufficiently long time. Here we investigate also the effect of chaos on the entanglement production for the mixed initial state. We find that many properties of the mixed state entanglement production are qualitatively similar to the pure state entanglement production. We however still lack an analytical understanding of the mixed state entanglement production in chaotic systems.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Pramana:Journal of Physic