We study the sensitivity of thermometric probes that are composed of $N$ spins coupled to a sample prepared at temperature $T$. Our analysis extends beyond the weak-coupling limit into the strong sample-probe coupling regime. In particular, sample-induced interactions between each of the spins are generated via strong coupling effects and are not fine-tuned amongst each body composing the probe. By employing the reaction-coordinate mapping to evaluate the non-canonical equilibrium state of the probe at finite coupling, we compute the thermometric sensitivity via the quantum Fisher information through the equilibrium state itself. We find that for single-spin probes $(N = 1)$, temperature sensitivity decreases in the regime of weak-to-intermediate coupling strength, however, as the coupling increases we observe much higher sensitivity of the probe in the low-temperature regime. Furthermore, as long as $N > 1$, there exist optimal values of the sample-probe interaction energy that allow one to attain enhanced thermometric sensitivity when compared to the maximum achieved precision obtained from thermal Gibbs states at weak coupling, particularly in the regime of low temperature. Finally, we show that this enhanced sensitivity may be observed from suboptimal measurements.
We consider probe-based quantum thermometry and show that machine classification can provide model-independent estimation with quantifiable error assessment. Our approach is based on the k-nearest-neighbor algorithm. The machine is trained using data from either computer simulations or a calibration experiment. This yields a predictor which can be used to estimate the temperature from new observations. The algorithm is highly flexible and works with any kind of probe observable. It also allows to incorporate experimental errors, as well as uncertainties about experimental parameters. We illust…
Precise thermometry for quantum systems is important to the development of new technology, and understanding the ultimate limits to precision presents a fundamental challenge. It is well known that optimal thermometry requires projective measurements of the total energy of the sample. However, this is infeasible in even moderately-sized systems, where realistic energy measurements will necessarily involve some coarse graining. Here, we explore the precision limits for temperature estimation when only coarse-grained measurements are available. Utilizing tools from signal processing, we derive t…
High-precision low-temperature thermometry is a challenge for experimental quantum physics and quantum sensing. Here we consider a thermometer modelled by a dynamically-controlled multilevel quantum probe in contact with a bath. Dynamical control in the form of periodic modulation of the energy-level spacings of the quantum probe can dramatically increase the maximum accuracy bound of low-temperatures estimation, by maximizing the relevant quantum Fisher information. As opposed to the diverging relative error bound at low temperatures in conventional quantum thermometry, periodic modulation of…
Low-temperature thermometry can be enhanced by strong coupling
我们考虑的问题，估计的温度$ T $的一个非常冷的平衡样品。温度的估计是从测量上进行的量子探针强烈耦合到it. We模型这种情况下，通过诉诸典型的Caldeira-Leggett哈密顿量，并找到解析的确切的定态的探针的任意耦合强度。通常，由于它们的非微扰相互作用，探针与样品不达到热平衡。我们认为这对低温测温是有利的，正如我们在模型中所示：（i）在低$ T $下的温度测量精度可以通过加强探针-采样耦合来显著提高，（ii）我们的布朗温度计的适当正交的方差可以产生具有几乎最小统计不确定性的温度估计，以及（iii）探针-样品耦合的谱密度可以被设计为进一步改善测温性能。这些观测结果可能会在低温下的实际纳米温度测量中找到应用-这一制度与量子技术特别相关。
As the minituarization of electronic devices, which are sensitive to temperature, grows apace, sensing of temperature with ever smaller probes is more important than ever. Genuinely quantum mechanical schemes of thermometry are thus expected to be crucial to future technological progress. We propose a new method to measure the temperature of a bath using the weak measurement scheme with a finite dimensional probe. The precision offered by the present scheme not only shows similar qualitative features as the usual Quantum Fisher Information based thermometric protocols, but also allows for flex…
We investigate the limits of thermometry using quantum probes at thermal equilibrium within the Bayesian approach. We consider the possibility of engineering interactions between the probes in order to enhance their sensitivity, as well as feedback during the measurement process, i.e., adaptive protocols. On the one hand, we obtain an ultimate bound on thermometry precision in the Bayesian setting, valid for arbitrary interactions and measurement schemes, which lower bounds the error with a quadratic (Heisenberg-like) scaling with the number of probes. We develop a simple adaptive strategy tha…
Using a two-level moving probe, we address the temperature estimation of a static thermal bath modeled by a massless scalar field prepared in a thermal state. Different couplings of the probe to the field are discussed under various scenarios. We find that the thermometry is completely unaffected by the Lamb shift of the energy levels. We take into account the roles of probe velocity, its initial preparation, and environmental control parameters for achieving optimal temperature estimation. We show that a practical technique can be utilized to implement such a quantum thermometry. Finally, exp…
We propose a novel approach to qubit thermometry using a quantum switch, that introduces an indefinite causal order in the probe-bath interaction, to significantly enhance the thermometric precision. The resulting qubit probe shows improved precision in both low and high temperature regimes when compared to optimal qubit probes studied previously. It even performs better than a Harmonic oscillator probe, in spite of having only two energy levels rather than an infinite number of energy levels as that in a harmonic oscillator. We thereby show unambiguously that quantum resources such as the qua…
There exist severe limitations on the accuracy of low-temperature thermometry, which poses a major challenge for future quantum-technological applications. Low-temperature sensitivity might be manipulated by tailoring the interactions between probe and sample. Unfortunately, the tunability of these interactions is usually very restricted. Here, we focus on a more practical solution to boost thermometric precision -- driving the probe. Specifically, we solve for the limit cycle of a periodically modulated linear probe in an equilibrium sample. We treat the probe-sample interactions \textit{exac…
We study the Bayesian approach to thermometry with no prior knowledge about the expected temperature scale, through the example of energy measurements on fully or partially thermalized qubit probes. We show that the most common Bayesian estimators, namely the mean and the median, lead to high-temperature divergences when used for uninformed thermometry. To circumvent this and achieve better overall accuracy, we propose two new estimators based on an optimization of relative deviations. Their global temperature-averaged behavior matches a modified van Trees bound, which complements the Cramér-R…
Controlling and measuring the temperature in different devices and platforms that operate in the quantum regime is, without any doubt, essential for any potential application. In this review, we report the most recent theoretical developments dealing with accurate estimation of very low temperatures in quantum systems. Together with the emerging experimental techniques and developments of measurement protocols, the theory of quantum thermometry will decisively impinge and shape the forthcoming quantum technologies. While current quantum thermometric methods differ greatly depending on the expe…
Thermal equilibrium states are exponentially hard to distinguish at very low temperatures, making equilibrium quantum thermometry in this regime a formidable task. We present a thermometric scheme that circumvents this limitation, by using a two-level probe that does not thermalize with the sample whose temperature is measured. This is made possible thanks to a suitable interaction that couples the probe to the sample and to an auxiliary thermal bath known to be at a higher temperature. Provided a reasonable upper bound on the temperature of the sample, the resulting 'thermometric machine' dri…
What is the minimum time required to take a temperature? In this paper, we solve this question for a large class of processes where temperature is inferred by measuring a probe (the thermometer) weakly coupled to the sample of interest, so that the probe's evolution is well described by a quantum Markovian master equation. Considering the most general control strategy on the probe (adaptive measurements, arbitrary control on the probe's state and Hamiltonian), we provide bounds on the achievable measurement precision in a finite amount of time, and show that in many scenarios these fundamental…
Versatile probe state preparation via generalized measurements for quantum sensing and thermometry
Faculdade de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados（大杜拉多斯联邦大学精确科学与技术学院）；Xiamen University（厦门大学）；Universidade Federal de Lavras（拉夫拉斯联邦大学）
We address the dephasing dynamics of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for the process of quantum thermometry with probes coupled to squeezed thermal baths via the nondemolition interaction. We also calculate the upper bound for the parameter estimation and investigate how the optimal estimation is affected by the initial conditions and decoherence, particularly the squeezing parameters. Moreover, the feasibility of the optimal measurement of the temperature is discussed in detail. Then, the results are generalized for entangled probes and the multi-qubit scenarios for probing the temperatu…
We study the role of bath-induced correlations in temperature estimation of cold bosonic baths. Our protocol includes multiple probes, that are not interacting, nor are they initially correlated to each other. They interact with a bosonic sample and reach a nonthermal steady state, which is measured to estimate the temperature of the sample. It is well known that in the steady state such noninteracting probes may get correlated to each other and even entangled. Nonetheless, the impact of these correlations in metrology has not been deeply investigated yet. Here, we examine their role for therm…
International Centre for Theory of Quantum Technologies, University of Gdańsk（格但斯克大学量子技术国际理论中心）；Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli", Università degli Studi di Milano（米兰大学阿尔多·蓬特莫利物理系）
Quantum thermometry exploits the high level of control in coherent devices to offer enhanced precision for temperature estimation. This highlights the need for constructing concrete estimation strategies. Of particular importance is collisional thermometry, where a series of ancillas are sent sequentially to probe the system's temperature. In this paper we put forth a complete framework for analyzing collisional thermometry using Bayesian inference. The approach is easily implementable and experimentally friendly. Moreover, it is guaranteed to always saturate the Cramer-Rao bound in the long-t…
Precise thermometry is of wide importance in science and technology in general and in quantum systems in particular. Here, we investigate fundamental precision limits for thermometry on cold quantum systems, taking into account constraints due to finite measurement resolution. We derive a tight bound on the optimal precision scaling with temperature, as the temperature approaches zero. The bound can be saturated by monitoring the non-equilibrium dynamics of a single-qubit probe. We support this finding by accurate numerical simulations of a spin-boson model. Our results are relevant both funda…
The ability to control and measure the temperature of propagating microwave modes down to very low temperatures is indispensable for quantum information processing, and may open opportunities for studies of heat transport at the nanoscale, also in the quantum regime. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate primary thermometry of propagating microwaves using a transmon-type superconducting circuit. Our device operates continuously, with a sensitivity down to $4\times 10^{-4}$ photons/$\sqrt{\mbox{Hz}}$ and a bandwidth of 40 MHz. We measure the thermal occupation of the modes of a highly …
Koç University（科奇大学）；Politecnico di Bari（巴里理工大学）；INFN, Sezione di Bari（意大利国家核物理研究所巴里分部）；Universidad Complutense（康普顿斯大学）；Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts（马克斯·普朗克光科学研究所）；Institute for Quantum Studies, Chapman University（查普曼大学量子研究学院）；TÜBITAK Research Institute for Fundamental Sciences (TBAE)（土耳其科学技术研究委员会基础科学研究院）
We address a particular instance where open quantum systems may be used as quantum probes for an emergent property of a complex system, as the temperature of a thermal bath. The inherent fragility of the quantum probes against decoherence is the key feature making the overall scheme very sensitive. The specific setting examined here is that of quantum thermometry, which aims to exploits decoherence as resource to estimate the temperature of a sample. We focus on temperature estimation for a bosonic bath at equilibrium in the Ohmic regime (ranging from sub-Ohmic to super- Ohmic), by using pairs…
We present an exact analytical solution of the anisotropic Hopfield model, and we use it to investigate in detail the spectral and thermometric response of two ultrastrongly coupled quantum systems. Interestingly, we show that depending on the initial state of the coupled system, the vacuum Rabi splitting manifests significant asymmetries that may be considered spectral signatures of the counterintuitive decoupling effect. Using the coupled system as a thermometer for quantum thermodynamics applications, we obtain the ultimate bounds on the estimation of temperature that remain valid in the ul…
Optomechanical systems are promising platforms for controlled light-matter interactions. They are capable of providing several fundamental and practical novel features when the mechanical oscillator is cooled down to nearly reach its ground state. In this framework, measuring the effective temperature of the oscillator is perhaps the most relevant step in the characterization of those systems. In conventional schemes, the cavity is driven strongly, and the overall system is well-described by a linear (Gaussian preserving) Hamiltonian. Here, we depart from this regime by considering an undriven…
Relativistic Quantum Thermometry in AdS Spacetime via Non-Markovian Temperature Sensing
Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat（拉巴特穆罕默德五世大学理学院）；Centre of Physics and Mathematics, CPM, Faculty of Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat（拉巴特穆罕默德五世大学理学院物理与数学中心）
Versatile nanoscale sensors that are susceptible to changes in a variety of physical quantities often exhibit limited selectivity. This paper reports a novel scheme based on microwave-dressed spin states for optically probed nanoscale temperature detection using diamond quantum sensors, which provides selective sensitivity to temperature changes. By combining this scheme with a continuous pump-probe scheme using ensemble nitrogen-vacancy centers in nanodiamonds, a sub-microsecond temporal resolution with thermal sensitivity of 3.7 K$\cdot$Hz$^{-1/2}$ that is insensitive to variations in extern…
From spectral structure to sensing limits in quantum thermometry
Abdelmalek Essaadi University（阿卜杜勒马利克·埃萨迪大学）；Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia（摩德纳和雷焦艾米利亚大学）；CNR-Istituto di Nanoscienze（国家研究委员会纳米科学研究所）；Università di Milano（米兰大学）
