Quantum error correction has become an indispensable tool for restoring Heisenberg-limited precision in noisy quantum metrology. Existing protocols, however, almost exclusively focus on correcting noise during the signal-encoding stage and implicitly assume that the probe is measured immediately after sensing. In many quantum information processing tasks, the encoded probe must instead be stored before subsequent quantum operations, during which environmental noise can significantly degrade the accumulated metrological information. Here, we propose a correlated-noise correction (CNC) protocol for protecting quantum probes during the storage stage. By correlating probe errors with auxiliary qubits through fixed two-body entangling gates, memory errors are converted into measurable syndromes that are extracted only once after storage. We show that the protocol naturally extends from single-qubit to multi-qubit probes and protects the stored quantum Fisher information against dephasing, bit-flip, and amplitude-damping noise. Furthermore, we demonstrate that preserving the quantum Fisher information does not necessarily require restoring the entire quantum state when the probe is measured immediately after storage, whereas full state recovery becomes essential for subsequent rounds of quantum signal processing. Our results establish correlated-noise correction as a practical framework for protecting metrological information during quantum memory and provide a useful building block for sensing-enabled quantum information processing.Quantum error correction has become an indispensable tool for restoring Heisenberg-limited precision in noisy quantum metrology. Existing protocols, however, almost exclusively focus on correcting noise during the signal-encoding stage and implicitly assume that the probe is measured immediately after sensing. In many quantum information processing tasks, the encoded probe must instead be stored before subsequent quantum operations, during which environmental noise can significantly degrade the accumulated metrological information. Here, we propose a correlated-noise correction (CNC) protocol for protecting quantum probes during the storage stage. By correlating probe errors with auxiliary qubits through fixed two-body entangling gates, memory errors are converted into measurable syndromes that are extracted only once after storage. We show that the protocol naturally extends from single-qubit to multi-qubit probes and protects the stored quantum Fisher information against dephasing, bit-flip, and amplitude-damping noise. Furthermore, we demonstrate that preserving the quantum Fisher information does not necessarily require restoring the entire quantum state when the probe is measured immediately after storage, whereas full state recovery becomes essential for subsequent rounds of quantum signal processing. Our results establish correlated-noise correction as a practical framework for protecting metrological information during quantum memory and provide a useful building block for sensing-enabled quantum information processing.

quant-pharXiv:2608.08130Aug 11, 20260 citations

Robust Quantum Metrological Schemes

Xiao-Ming Lu, Sixia Yu, C. H. Oh

Fragile quantum features such as entanglement are employed to improve the precision of parameter estimation and as a consequence the quantum gain becomes vulnerable to noise. As an established tool to subdue noise, quantum error correction is unfortunately overprotective because the quantum enhancement can still be achieved even if the states are irrecoverably affected, provided that the quantum Fisher information, which sets the ultimate limit to the precision of metrological schemes, is preserved and attained. Here, we develop a theory of robust metrological schemes that preserve the quantum Fisher information instead of the quantum states themselves against noise. After deriving a minimal set of testable conditions on this kind of robustness, we construct a family of $2t+1$ qubits metrological schemes being immune to $t$ -qubit errors after the signal sensing. In comparison at least five qubits are required for correcting arbitrary 1-qubit errors in standard quantum error correction.Fragile quantum features such as entanglement are employed to improve the precision of parameter estimation and as a consequence the quantum gain becomes vulnerable to noise. As an established tool to subdue noise, quantum error correction is unfortunately overprotective because the quantum enhancement can still be achieved even if the states are irrecoverably affected, provided that the quantum Fisher information, which sets the ultimate limit to the precision of metrological schemes, is preserved and attained. Here, we develop a theory of robust metrological schemes that preserve the quantum Fisher information instead of the quantum states themselves against noise. After deriving a minimal set of testable conditions on this kind of robustness, we construct a family of $2t+1$ qubits metrological schemes being immune to $t$-qubit errors after the signal sensing. In comparison at least five qubits are required for correcting arbitrary 1-qubit errors in standard quantum error correction.

May 16, 20140 citations

Optimal quantum metrology protocols with erasure qubits

Michal Arieli, Alex Retzker, Tuvia Gefen

We investigate the precision limits and optimal protocols for sensing single qubit signals in the presence of erasure noise. We study a hierarchy of precision limits achievable with metrological strategies of differing complexity, and identify the optimal protocol for each. The detectability of erasure noise is shown to lead to enhanced precision limits and simplified sensing protocols. For energy gap estimation, we demonstrate that a simple product-state strategy with continuous erasure detection yields significant improvements, outperforming optimal passive entangled protocols over a broad range of finite system sizes. We show that for other single-qubit signals, quantum error correction provides a substantial advantage by correcting the dominant erasure processes, and can restore Heisenberg-limited precision in certain erasure configurations. As a byproduct of our analysis, we find erasure-conversion schemes for qubits subject to thermal noise that attain the corresponding ultimate precision limits.We investigate the precision limits and optimal protocols for sensing single qubit signals in the presence of erasure noise. We study a hierarchy of precision limits achievable with metrological strategies of differing complexity, and identify the optimal protocol for each. The detectability of erasure noise is shown to lead to enhanced precision limits and simplified sensing protocols. For energy gap estimation, we demonstrate that a simple product-state strategy with continuous erasure detection yields significant improvements, outperforming optimal passive entangled protocols over a broad range of finite system sizes. We show that for other single-qubit signals, quantum error correction provides a substantial advantage by correcting the dominant erasure processes, and can restore Heisenberg-limited precision in certain erasure configurations. As a byproduct of our analysis, we find erasure-conversion schemes for qubits subject to thermal noise that attain the corresponding ultimate precision limits.

quant-pharXiv:2603.11807Mar 13, 20260 citations

Bypassing the protection-sensitivity incompatibility in quantum-error-corrected metrology via asymmetric codes

Junjie Chen, Rui Luo, Zhenyu Du +3 more

Quantum metrology surpasses the classical precision limit by encoding signals in a probe state such that signal contributions are indistinguishable and their phases accumulate coherently as a collective response. In realistic settings, scalable quantum metrology requires quantum error correction to protect the probe against noise. However, quantum error correction relies on syndrome information that distinguishes errors for identification and correction. Because signals and errors act on the same physical degrees of freedom, there is a structural incompatibility between signal-sensitivity and noise-protection in quantum-error-corrected metrology. We quantify this incompatibility by establishing trade-offs between code distance and the quantum Fisher information of code states for non-degenerate codes, quantum low-density parity-check codes, and generalized Shor codes. We bypass this limitation with asymmetric quantum error correction, in which protection is relaxed along the signal direction while being maintained in complementary directions. We construct such codes for local sensing Hamiltonians, restoring Heisenberg-limited precision while retaining a growing distance and hence protection against local perturbations in complementary directions. Strongly asymmetric quantum low-density parity-check and concatenated asymmetric constructions make the framework sparse, scalable, and continuously tunable. The associated probe states can be prepared by constant-depth adaptive circuits with optimal resource scaling.Quantum metrology surpasses the classical precision limit by encoding signals in a probe state such that signal contributions are indistinguishable and their phases accumulate coherently as a collective response. In realistic settings, scalable quantum metrology requires quantum error correction to protect the probe against noise. However, quantum error correction relies on syndrome information that distinguishes errors for identification and correction. Because signals and errors act on the same physical degrees of freedom, there is a structural incompatibility between signal-sensitivity and noise-protection in quantum-error-corrected metrology. We quantify this incompatibility by establishing trade-offs between code distance and the quantum Fisher information of code states for non-degenerate codes, quantum low-density parity-check codes, and generalized Shor codes. We bypass this limitation with asymmetric quantum error correction, in which protection is relaxed along the signal direction while being maintained in complementary directions. We construct such codes for local sensing Hamiltonians, restoring Heisenberg-limited precision while retaining a growing distance and hence protection against local perturbations in complementary directions. Strongly asymmetric quantum low-density parity-check and concatenated asymmetric constructions make the framework sparse, scalable, and continuously tunable. The associated probe states can be prepared by constant-depth adaptive circuits with optimal resource scaling.

quant-pharXiv:2512.20426Dec 24, 20250 citations

Quantum metrology via partial quantum error correction

Yinan Chen, Zongyuan Wang, Sisi Zhou

We introduce a quantum metrology scheme in which partial quantum error correction suppresses local noise while preserving sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit. The probes are superpositions of energetically distinct stabilizer sectors, whose sensing coherence is protected by measuring only a subset of local checks. We propose an adaptive weight strategy to balance two competing effects. Increasing the stabilizer-generator weight suppresses parallel noise to $O(p^δ)$ , with $δ$ increasing with the weight, but also increases susceptibility to perpendicular noise. Our main theorem establishes a sufficient noise condition under which adapting this weight to the system size preserves superlinear quantum Fisher information under simultaneous independent $X$ and $Z$ noise. We illustrate this strategy using repetition, Bacon-Shor, and toric codes, and analyze noise both before and after phase imprinting. In all examples, the error-correction checks and phase-imprinting operators are local and require no nonlocal connectivity.We introduce a quantum metrology scheme in which partial quantum error correction suppresses local noise while preserving sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit. The probes are superpositions of energetically distinct stabilizer sectors, whose sensing coherence is protected by measuring only a subset of local checks. We propose an adaptive weight strategy to balance two competing effects. Increasing the stabilizer-generator weight suppresses parallel noise to $O(p^δ)$, with $δ$ increasing with the weight, but also increases susceptibility to perpendicular noise. Our main theorem establishes a sufficient noise condition under which adapting this weight to the system size preserves superlinear quantum Fisher information under simultaneous independent $X$ and $Z$ noise. We illustrate this strategy using repetition, Bacon-Shor, and toric codes, and analyze noise both before and after phase imprinting. In all examples, the error-correction checks and phase-imprinting operators are local and require no nonlocal connectivity.

quant-pharXiv:2605.08341May 12, 20260 citations

Noise-Symmetry Optimization of Quantum Error-Corrected Metrology

Shuyun Su, Shengshi Pang

Quantum error correction (QEC) codes have emerged as a powerful tool to protect quantum-enhanced metrology against noise. However, the ability to correct errors alone does not guarantee high metrological sensitivity, as the encoded states may become insensitive to the parameter of interest. Here we show that this limitation can be overcome by exploiting an intrinsic freedom of QEC codes: for a fixed set of correctable errors, the Knill-Laflamme conditions admit an equivalence class of encodings. When the correctable noise possesses unitary symmetries, these symmetries generate continuous transformations within this class, allowing systematic optimization of the encoding to increase the quantum Fisher information while preserving the correctable set of noise. Based on this observation, we develop a symmetry-based optimization approach and derive criteria identifying when such optimization can enhance metrological sensitivity. In particular, for stabilizer-sum Hamiltonians, symmetry optimization can convert a code with vanishing QFI into one achieving the standard quantum limit in general or even Heisenberg scaling in specific cases, illustrating the power of symmetry optimization for QEC-assisted quantum metrology.Quantum error correction (QEC) codes have emerged as a powerful tool to protect quantum-enhanced metrology against noise. However, the ability to correct errors alone does not guarantee high metrological sensitivity, as the encoded states may become insensitive to the parameter of interest. Here we show that this limitation can be overcome by exploiting an intrinsic freedom of QEC codes: for a fixed set of correctable errors, the Knill-Laflamme conditions admit an equivalence class of encodings. When the correctable noise possesses unitary symmetries, these symmetries generate continuous transformations within this class, allowing systematic optimization of the encoding to increase the quantum Fisher information while preserving the correctable set of noise. Based on this observation, we develop a symmetry-based optimization approach and derive criteria identifying when such optimization can enhance metrological sensitivity. In particular, for stabilizer-sum Hamiltonians, symmetry optimization can convert a code with vanishing QFI into one achieving the standard quantum limit in general or even Heisenberg scaling in specific cases, illustrating the power of symmetry optimization for QEC-assisted quantum metrology.

quant-pharXiv:2608.21842Physical Review LettersAug 25, 20260 citations

2t+1

qubits metrological schemes being immune to

t

-qubit errors after the signal sensing. In comparison at least five qubits are required for correcting arbitrary 1-qubit errors in standard quantum error correction.

O(p^δ)

, with

δ

increasing with the weight, but also increases susceptibility to perpendicular noise. Our main theorem establishes a sufficient noise condition under which adapting this weight to the system size preserves superlinear quantum Fisher information under simultaneous independent

X

and

Z

noise. We illustrate this strategy using repetition, Bacon-Shor, and toric codes, and analyze noise both before and after phase imprinting. In all examples, the error-correction checks and phase-imprinting operators are local and require no nonlocal connectivity.