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arXiv:1701.04602 · Physical Review A

Quantum amplification and purification of noisy coherent states

Xiaobin Zhao, Giulio Chiribella

Published Apr 4, 2017• 13 citations
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Abstract

Quantum-limited amplifiers increase the amplitude of quantum signals at the price of introducing additional noise. Quantum purification protocols operate in the reverse way, by reducing the noise while attenuating the signal. Here we investigate a scenario that interpolates between these two extremes. We search for the optimal physical process that generates $M$ approximate copies of a pure and amplified coherent state, starting from $N$ copies of a noisy coherent state with Gaussian modulation. We prove that the optimal deterministic processes are always Gaussian, whereas non-Gaussianity powers up probabilistic advantages in suitable parameter regimes. The optimal processes are experimentally realizable with current technology, both in the deterministic and in the probabilistic scenario. In view of this fact, we provide benchmarks that can be used to certify the experimental demonstration of the quantum-enhanced amplification and purification of coherent states.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.95.042303

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Quantum-limited amplifiers increase the amplitude of the signal at the price of introducing additional noise. Quantum purification protocols operate in the reverse way, by reducing the noise while attenuating the signal. Here we investigate a scenario that interpolates between these two extremes. We search for the physical process that produces the best approximation of a pure and amplified coherent state, starting from multiple copies of a noisy coherent state with Gaussian modulation. We identify the optimal quantum processes, considering both the case of deterministic and probabilistic processes. And we give benchmarks that can be used to certify the experimental demonstration of genuine quantum-enhanced amplification.
We establish the ultimate quantum limits to the amplification of an unknown coherent state, both in the deterministic and probabilistic case, investigating the realistic scenario where the expected photon number is finite. In addition, we provide the benchmark that experimental realizations have to surpass in order to beat all classical amplification strategies and to demonstrate genuine quantum amplification. Our result guarantees that a successful demonstration is in principle possible for every finite value of the expected photon number.
Traditionally, quantum amplification limit refers to the property of inevitable noise addition on canonical variables when the field amplitude of an unknown state is linearly transformed through a quantum channel. Recent theoretical studies have determined amplification limits for cases of probabilistic quantum channels or general quantum operations by specifying a set of input states or a state ensemble. However, it remains open how much excess noise on canonical variables is unavoidable and whether there exists a fundamental trade-off relation between the canonical pair in a general amplification process. In this paper we present an uncertainty-product form of amplification limits for general quantum operations by assuming an input ensemble of Gaussian-distributed coherent states. It can be derived as a straightforward consequence of canonical uncertainty relations and retrieves basic properties of the traditional amplification limit. In addition, our amplification limit turns out to give a physical limitation on probabilistic reduction of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen uncertainty. In this regard, we find a condition that probabilistic amplifiers can be regarded as local filtering operations to distill entanglement. This condition establishes a clear benchmark to verify an advantage of non-Gaussian operations beyond Gaussian operations with a feasible input set of coherent states and standard homodyne measurements.
Quantum technologies are rapidly enhancing our ability to generate and manipulate coherent superpositions of different energy levels. Envisaging a new generation of energy-efficient quantum devices, here we ask how well coherence can be manipulated without drawing energy from the surrounding environment. We start from the task of converting a coherent superposition of energy eigenstates into another. For this task we identify the optimal energy-preserving operations, both in the deterministic and in the probabilistic scenario. We then design a recursive protocol, wherein a branching sequence of probabilistic filters increase the probability of success while reaching maximum fidelity at each iteration. Building on the recursive protocol, we construct efficient approximations of the optimal fidelity-probability tradeoff, by taking coherent superpositions of the different branches generated by probabilistic filtering. The benefits of this construction are illustrated in a number of applications to phase estimation, quantum cloning, coherent state amplification, and ancilla-driven computation. Finally, we extend our results to transitions where the input state is generally mixed and we apply our findings to the task of purifying quantum coherence.
Abstract Quantum state purification is crucial in quantum communication and computation, aiming to recover a purified state from multiple copies of an unknown noisy state. This work introduces a general state purification framework designed to achieve the highest fidelity with a specified probability and characterize the associated trade-offs. For i.i.d. quantum states under depolarizing noise, our framework can replicate the purification protocol proposed by Barenco et al (1997 SIAM J. Comput. 26 1541–57) and further provide exact formulas for the purification fidelity and probability with explicit trade-offs. We prove the protocols’ optimality for two copies of noisy states with any dimension and confirm its optimality for higher numbers of copies and dimensions through numerical analysis. Our methodological approach paves the way for proving the protocol’s optimality in more general scenarios and leads to optimal protocols for other noise models. Furthermore, we present a systematic implementation method via block encoding and parameterized quantum circuits, providing explicit circuits for purifying three-copy and four-copy states under depolarizing noise. Finally, we estimate the sample complexity and generalize the protocol to a recursive form, demonstrating its practicality for quantum computers with limited memory.