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arXiv:1608.08429 · Physical Review A

Cramér-Rao bound for time-continuous measurements in linear Gaussian quantum systems

Marco G. Genoni

Published Jan 17, 2017• 29 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We describe a compact and reliable method to calculate the Fisher information for the estimation of a dynamical parameter in a continuously measured linear Gaussian quantum system. Unlike previous methods in the literature, which involve the numerical integration of a stochastic master equation for the corresponding density operator in a Hilbert space of infinite dimension, the formulas here derived depend only on the evolution of first and second moments of the quantum states and thus can be easily evaluated without the need of any approximation. We also present some basic but physically meaningful examples where this result is exploited, calculating analytical and numerical bounds on the estimation of the squeezing parameter for a quantum parametric amplifier and of a constant force acting on a mechanical oscillator in a standard optomechanical scenario.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.95.012116

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We describe a compact and reliable method to calculate the Fisher information for the estimation of a dynamical parameter in a continuously measured linear Gaussian quantum system. Unlike previous methods in the literature, which involve the numerical integration of a stochastic master equation for the corresponding density operator in a Hilbert space of infinite dimension, the formulas here derived depend only on the evolution of first and second moments of the quantum states and thus can be easily evaluated without the need of any approximation. We also present some basic but physically meaningful examples where this result is exploited, calculating analytical and numerical bounds on the estimation of the squeezing parameter for a quantum parametric amplifier and of a constant force acting on a mechanical oscillator in a standard optomechanical scenario.
As we enter the era of quantum technologies, quantum estimation theory provides an operationally motivating framework for determining high precision devices in modern technological applications. The aim of any estimation process is to extract information from an unknown parameter embedded in a physical system such as the estimation converges to the true value of the parameter. According to the Cramér-Rao inequality in mathematical statistics, the Fisher information in the case of single-parameter estimation procedures, and the Fisher information matrix in the case of multi-parameter estimation, are the key quantities representing the ultimate precision of the parameters specifying a given statistical model. In quantum estimation strategies, it is usually difficult to derive the analytical expressions of such quantities in a given quantum state. This review provides comprehensive techniques on the analytical calculation of the quantum Fisher information as well as the quantum Fisher information matrix in various scenarios and via several methods. Furthermore, it provides a mathematical transition from classical to quantum estimation theory applied to many freedom quantum systems. To clarify these results, we examine these developments using some examples. Other challenges, including their links to quantum correlations and saturating the quantum Cramér-Rao bound, are also addressed.
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Abstract The quantum Cramér–Rao bound sets a fundamental limit on the accuracy of unbiased parameter estimation in quantum systems, relating the uncertainty in determining a parameter to the inverse of the quantum Fisher information. We experimentally demonstrate near saturation of the quantum Cramér–Rao bound in the phase estimation of a solid-state spin system, provided by a nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. This is achieved by comparing the experimental uncertainty in phase estimation with an independent measurement of the related quantum Fisher information. The latter is independently extracted from coherent dynamical responses of the system under weak parametric modulations, without performing any quantum-state tomography. While optimal parameter estimation has already been observed for quantum devices involving a limited number of degrees of freedom, our method offers a versatile and powerful experimental tool to explore the Cramér–Rao bound and the quantum Fisher information in systems of higher complexity, as relevant for quantum technologies.
The unavoidable interaction between a quantum system and the external noisy environment can be mimicked by a sequence of stochastic measurements whose outcomes are neglected. Here we investigate how this stochasticity is reflected in the survival probability to find the system in a given Hilbert subspace at the end of the dynamical evolution. In particular, we analytically study the distinguishability of two different stochastic measurement sequences in terms of a Fisher information measure depending on the variation of a function, instead of a finite set of parameters. We find a characterization of Zeno phenomena as the physical result of the random observation of the quantum system, linked to the sensitivity of the survival probability to an arbitrary small perturbation of the measurement stochasticity. Finally, the implications on the Cram\'er-Rao bound and the Zeno time are discussed, together with a numerical example.
How precisely can we estimate cosmological parameters by performing a quantum measurement on a cosmological quantum state? In quantum estimation theory, the variance of an unbiased parameter estimator is bounded from below by the inverse of measurement-dependent Fisher information and ultimately by quantum Fisher information, which is the maximization of the former over all positive operator-valued measurements. Such bound is known as the quantum Cramer –Rao bound. We consider the evolution of a massless scalar field with Bunch–Davies vacuum in a spatially flat FLRW spacetime, which results in a two-mode squeezed vacuum out-state for each field wave number mode. We obtain the expressions of the quantum Fisher information as well as the Fisher informations associated to occupation number measurement and power spectrum measurement, and show the specific results of their evolution for pure de Sitter expansion and de Sitter expansion followed by a radiation-dominated phase as examples. We will discuss these results from the point of view of the quantum-to-classical transition of cosmological perturbations and show quantitatively how this transition and the residual quantum correlations affect the bound on the precision.
We derive an alternative formulation of the stochastic master equation describing the evolution of quantum systems continuously measured via homodyne detection in a squeezed-thermal environment. This formulation allows us to identify two distinct collapse operators, corresponding respectively to the monitored and unmonitored channels, and to express the quantum state evolution directly in terms of Kraus-like operators. As a consequence, it facilitates the application of advanced numerical methods that account for higher-order corrections and discrete-time monitoring, and it also enables the efficient numerical evaluation of Cramér-Rao bounds in parameter estimation problems. To demonstrate the latter, we evaluate the Fisher information of the continuous homodyne monitoring for qubit frequency estimation in the presence of a squeezed-thermal bath. Our results show that exponential scaling of the steady-state Fisher information rate with squeezing is retained even at non-zero temperature.