We address phase-shift estimation by means of squeezed vacuum probe and homodyne detection. We analyze Bayesian estimator, which is known to asymptotically saturate the classical Cramer-Rao bound to the variance, and discuss convergence looking at the a posteriori distribution as the number of measurements increases. We also suggest two feasible adaptive methods, acting on the squeezing parameter and/or the homodyne local oscillator phase, which allow to optimize homodyne detection and approach the ultimate bound to precision imposed by the quantum Cramer-Rao theorem. The performances of our two-step methods are investigated by means of Monte Carlo simulated experiments with a small number of homodyne data, thus giving a quantitative meaning to the notion of asymptotic optimality.
We investigated the estimation of an unknown Gaussian process (containing displacement, squeezing and phase-shift) applied to a matter system. The state of the matter system is not directly measured; instead, we measure an optical mode which interacts with the system. We propose an interferometric setup exploiting a beam-splitter-type of light-matter interaction with homodyne detectors and two methods of estimation. We demonstrate the superiority of the interferometric setup over alternative non-interferometric schemes. Importantly, we show that even limited coupling strength and a noisy matte…
We simulate the process of continuous homodyne detection of the radiative emission from a quantum system, and we investigate how a Bayesian analysis can be employed to determine unknown parameters that govern the system evolution. Measurement back-action quenches the system dynamics at all times and we show that the ensuing transient evolution is more sensitive to system parameters than the steady state of the system. The parameter sensitivity can be quantified by the Fisher information, and we investigate numerically and analytically how the temporal noise correlations in the measurement sign…
Continuous-variable (CV) photonic states are of increasing interest in quantum information science, bolstered by features such as deterministic resource state generation and error correction via bosonic codes. Data-efficient characterization methods will prove critical in the fine-tuning and maturation of such CV quantum technology. Although Bayesian inference offers appealing properties -- including uncertainty quantification and optimality in mean-squared error -- Bayesian methods have yet to be demonstrated for the tomography of arbitrary CV states. Here we introduce a complete Bayesian qua…
Bell nonclassicality of a single photon superposition in two modes, often referred to as `nonlocality of a single photon', is one of the most striking nonclassical phenomena discussed in the context of foundations of quantum physics. Here we show how to robustly violate local realism within the weak-field homodyne measurement scheme for \textit{any} superposition of one photon with vacuum. Our modification of the previously proposed setups involves tunable beamsplitters at the measurement stations, and the local oscillator fields significantly varying between the settings, optimally being {\it…
Phase diffusion represents a crucial obstacle towards the implementation of high precision interferometric measurements and phase shift based communication channels. Here we present a nearly optimal interferometric scheme based on homodyne detection and coherent signals for the detection of a phase shift in the presence of large phase diffusion. In our scheme the ultimate bound to interferometric sensitivity is achieved already for a small number of measurements, of the order of hundreds, without using nonclassical light.
We address the experimental estimation of Gaussian quantum discord for two-mode squeezed thermal state, and demonstrate a measurement scheme based on a pair of homodyne detectors assisted by Bayesian analysis which provides nearly optimal estimation for small value of discord. Besides, though homodyne detection is not optimal for Gaussian discord, the noise ratio to the ultimate quantum limit, as dictacted by the quantum Cramer-Rao bound, is limited to about 10 dB.
We propose classical interferometry with low-intensity thermal radiation for the estimation of nonclassical independent Gaussian processes in material samples. We generally determine the mean square error of the phase-independent parameters of an unknown Gaussian process, considering a noisy source of radiation the phase of which is not locked to the pump of the process. We verify the sufficiency of passive optical elements in the interferometer, active optical elements do not improve the quality of the estimation. We also prove the robustness of the method against the noise and loss in both i…
Focusing on the transient regime, we explore atomic two-photon spectroscopy with self-aligned homodyne interferometry in a $Λ$-system with large optical depth. The two light sources at the origin of the interference are the single-photon transient transmission of the probe, and the slow light of the electromagnetically induced transparency. By switching off the probe laser abruptly (flash effect), the transient transmission signal is reinforced by cooperativity, showing enhanced sensitivity to the two-photon frequency detuning. If the probe laser is periodically switched on and off, the amplit…
Detecting entanglement of non-Gaussian continuous-variable states from single-copy homodyne measurements
National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学）；Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore（新加坡国立大学量子技术中心）；MajuLab, CNRS-UNS-NUS-NTU International Joint Research Unit（MajuLab，法国国家科学研究中心-尼斯大学-新加坡国立大学-南洋理工大学国际联合研究单位）；National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University（南洋理工大学国立教育学院）
Universal quantum frequency comb measurements by spectral mode-matching
University of Lille（里尔大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）；Université Côte d’Azur（蔚蓝海岸大学）；Institut de Physique de Nice (INPHYNI)（尼斯物理研究所）；Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-INO)（意大利国家光学研究所，意大利国家研究委员会）；QTI S.r.l.（QTI有限公司）；Department of Physics, University of Virginia（弗吉尼亚大学物理系）
Optimal measurement scheme with an efficient data processing is important in quantum-enhanced interferometry. Here we prove that for a general binary outcome measurement, the simplest data processing based on inverting the average signal can saturate the Cramér-Rao bound. This idea is illustrated by binary outcome homodyne detection, even-odd photon counting (i.e., parity detection), and zero-nonzero photon counting that have achieved super-resolved interferometric fringe and shot-noise limited sensitivity in coherent-light Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The roles of phase diffusion are investig…
We assess the most macroscopic matter-wave experiments to date as to the extent to which they probe the quantum-classical boundary by demonstrating interference of heavy molecules and cold atomic ensembles. To this end, we consider a rigorous Bayesian test protocol for a parametrized set of hypothetical modifications of quantum theory, including well-studied spontaneous collapse models, that destroy superpositions and reinstate macrorealism. The range of modification parameters ruled out by the measurement events quantifies the macroscopicity of a quantum experiment, while the shape of the pos…
A major obstacle to attain the fundamental precision limit of the phase estimation in an interferometry is the identification and implementation of the optimal measurement. Here we demonstrate that this can be accomplished by the use of three conventional measurements among interferometers with Bayesian estimation techniques. Conditions that hold for the precision limit to be attained with these measurements are obtained by explicitly calculating the Fisher information. Remarkably, these conditions are naturally satisfied in most interferometric experiments. We apply our results to an experime…
Bayesian analysis is a framework for parameter estimation that applies even in uncertainty regimes where the commonly used local (frequentist) analysis based on the Cramér-Rao bound is not well defined. In particular, it applies when no initial information about the parameter value is available, e.g., when few measurements are performed. Here, we consider three paradigmatic estimation schemes in continuous-variable quantum metrology (estimation of displacements, phases, and squeezing strengths) and analyse them from the Bayesian perspective. For each of these scenarios, we investigate the prec…
Bayesian Frequency Metrology with Optimal Ramsey Interferometry in Optical Atomic Clocks
Institute for Theoretical Physics and Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert-Einstein-Institute), Leibniz University Hannover（汉诺威莱布尼茨大学理论物理研究所与引力物理研究所（爱因斯坦研究所））
We derive upper bounds on the quantum Fisher information in interferometry with $N$ subsystems, e.g. two-level atoms or Gaussian modes, in the presence of arbitrarily correlated Gaussian dephasing including independent and collective dephasing. The derived upper bound enables us to analyse the Fisher information asymptotic behaviour when $N\rightarrow\infty$. Dephasing introduces random phases to subsystems dynamics, which lowers the precision of estimating the phase difference $ϕ$ in an interferometer. The method presented uses Bayesian estimation of the random phases and eliminates dephasing…
We theoretically analyze a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with trapped condensates, and find that it is surprisingly stable against the nonlinearity induced by inter-particle interactions. The phase sensitivity, which we study for number squeezed input states, can overcome the shot noise limit and be increased up to the Heisenberg limit provided that a Bayesian or Maximum-Likelihood phase estimation strategy is used. We finally demonstrate robustness of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer in presence of interactions against condensate oscillations and a realistic atom counting error.
We propose a method for detecting the presence of a single spin in a crystal by coupling it to a high-quality factor superconducting planar resonator. By confining the microwave field in a constriction of nanometric dimensions, the coupling constant can be as high as $5-10$\,kHz. This coupling affects the amplitude of the field emitted by the resonator, and the integrated homodyne signal allows detection of a single spin with unit signal-to-noise ratio within few milliseconds. We further show that a stochastic master equation approach and a Bayesian analysis of the full time dependent homodyne…
Phase Independent Measurement of Weak Coherent Optical Signals
University of Tennessee, Chattanooga（田纳西大学查塔努加分校）；FAMU–FSU College of Engineering, Florida State University（佛罗里达州立大学 FAMU-FSU 工程学院）；Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University（德克萨斯农工大学生物与农业工程系）
We propose a method to map the conventional optical interferometry setup into quantum circuits. The unknown phase shift inside a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the presence of photon loss is estimated by simulating the quantum circuits. For this aim, we use the Bayesian approach in which the likelihood functions are needed, and they are obtained by simulating the appropriate quantum circuits. The precision of four different definite photon-number states of light, which all possess six photons, is compared. In addition, the fisher information for the four definite photon-number states in the se…
In two-mode interferometry, for a given total photon number $N$, entangled Fock state superpositions of the form $(|N-m\rangle_a|m\rangle_b+e^{i (N-2m)ϕ}|m\rangle_a|N-m\rangle_b)/\sqrt{2}$ have been considered for phase estimation. Indeed all such states are maximally mode-entangled and violate a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt (CHSH) inequality. However, they differ in their optimal phase estimation capabilities as given by their quantum Fisher informations. The quantum Fisher information is the largest for the $N00N$ state $(|N\rangle_a|0\rangle_b+e^{i Nϕ}|0\rangle_a|N\rangle_b)/\sqrt{2}$ and dec…
Credible-interval-based adaptive Bayesian quantum frequency estimation for entanglement-enhanced atomic clocks
Sun Yat-Sen University (Zhuhai Campus)（中山大学（珠海校区））；Shenzhen University（深圳大学）；Quantum Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong)（粤港澳大湾区量子科学中心（广东））
