A paradigm shift in quantum thermometry is proposed. To date, thermometry has relied on local estimation, which is useful to reduce statistical fluctuations once the temperature is very well known. In order to estimate temperatures in cases where few measurement data or no substantial prior knowledge are available, we build instead a method for global quantum thermometry. Based on scaling arguments, a mean logarithmic error is shown here to be the correct figure of merit for thermometry. Its full minimization provides an operational and optimal rule to postprocess measurements into a temperature reading, and it establishes a global precision limit. We apply these results to the simulated outcomes of measurements on a spin gas, finding that the local approach can lead to biased temperature estimates in cases where the global estimator converges to the true temperature. The global framework thus enables a reliable approach to data analysis in thermometry experiments.
A paradigm shift in quantum thermometry is proposed. To date, thermometry has relied on local estimation, which is useful to reduce statistical fluctuations once the temperature is very well known. In order to estimate temperatures in cases where few measurement data or no substantial prior knowledge are available, we build instead a method for global quantum thermometry. Based on scaling arguments, a mean logarithmic error is shown here to be the correct figure of merit for thermometry. Its full minimization provides an operational and optimal rule to postprocess measurements into a temperature reading, and it establishes a global precision limit. We apply these results to the simulated outcomes of measurements on a spin gas, finding that the local approach can lead to biased temperature estimates in cases where the global estimator converges to the true temperature. The global framework thus enables a reliable approach to data analysis in thermometry experiments.
Thermometry is a fundamental parameter estimation problem that is crucial for the advancement of natural sciences. One widely adopted approach to address this issue is the local thermometry theory, which employs classical and quantum Cramér-Rao bounds as benchmarks for thermometric precision. However, this theory is constrained to decrease temperature fluctuations around a known temperature value, hardly tackling the precision thermometry problem over a wide temperature range. To overcome this limitation, we derive two basic bounds on thermometry precision within a global framework, i.e., classical and quantum optimal biased bounds. By implementing energy measurements on a thermal equilibrium system, the quantum optimal biased bound can be saturated. Furthermore, we demonstrate their thermometry performance through two specific applications: a noninteracting spin- 1 / 2 gas and a thermalized quantum harmonic oscillator. Our results indicate that, compared to local thermometry, global thermometry provides superior temperature estimation performance. Notably, global error bound approaches its local approximation under asymptotic cases. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
We discuss the application of techniques of quantum estimation theory and quantum metrology to thermometry. The ultimate limit to the precision at which the temperature of a system at thermal equilibrium can be determined is related to the heat capacity when global measurements are performed on the system. We prove that if technical or practical limitations restrict our capabilities to local probing, the highest achievable accuracy to temperature estimation reduces to a sort of mesoscopic version of the heat capacity. Adopting a more practical perspective, we also discuss the relevance of qubit systems as optimal quantum thermometers, in order to retrieve the temperature, or to discriminate between two temperatures, characterizing a thermal reservoir. We show that quantum coherence and entanglement in a probe system can facilitate faster, or more accurate measurements of temperature. While not surprising given this has been demonstrated in phase estimation, temperature is not a conventional quantum observable, therefore these results extend the theory of parameter estimation to measurement of non-Hamiltonian quantities. Finally we point out the advantages brought by a less standard estimation technique based on sequential measurements, when applied to quantum thermometry.
Quantum thermometry aims to measure temperature in nanoscale quantum systems, paralleling classical thermometry. However, temperature is not a quantum observable, and most theoretical studies have therefore concentrated on analyzing fundamental precision limits set by the quantum Fisher information through the quantum Cramer-Rao bound. In contrast, whether a direct temperature readout can be achieved in quantum thermometry remains largely unexplored, particularly under the nonequilibrium conditions prevalent in real-world applications. To address this, we develop a direct temperature readout scheme based on a thermodynamic inference strategy. The scheme integrates two conceptual developments: (i) By applying the maximum entropy principle with the thermometer's mean energy as a constraint, we assign a reference temperature to the nonequilibrium thermometer. We demonstrate that this reference temperature outperforms a commonly used effective temperature defined through equilibrium analogy. (ii) We obtain positive semi-definite error functions that lower-bound the deviation of the reference temperature from the true temperature-in analogy to the quantum Cramer-Rao bound for the mean squared error-and vanish upon thermalization with the sample. Combining the reference temperature with these error functions, we introduce a notion of corrected dynamical temperature which furnishes a postprocessed temperature readout under nonequilibrium conditions. This corrected dynamical temperature can be evaluated adaptively without prior knowledge of the actual temperature. We validate the corrected dynamical temperature in a qubit-based thermometer under a range of nonequilibrium initial states, confirming its capability to estimate the true temperature. Importantly, we find that increasing quantum coherence can enhance the precision of this readout.
Abstract Quantum scale estimation, as introduced and explored here, establishes the most precise framework for the estimation of scale parameters that is allowed by the laws of quantum mechanics. This addresses an important gap in quantum metrology, since current practice focuses almost exclusively on the estimation of phase and location parameters. For given prior probability and quantum state, and using Bayesian principles, a rule to construct the optimal probability-operator measurement is provided. Furthermore, the corresponding minimum mean logarithmic error is identified. This is then generalised as to accommodate the simultaneous estimation of multiple scale parameters, and a procedure to classify practical measurements into optimal, almost-optimal or sub-optimal is highlighted. As a means of illustration, the new framework is exploited to generalise scale-invariant global thermometry, as well as to address the estimation of the lifetime of an atomic state. On a more conceptual note, the optimal strategy is employed to construct an observable for scale parameters, an approach which may serve as a template for a more systematic search of quantum observables. Quantum scale estimation thus opens a new line of enquire—the precise measurement of scale parameters such as temperatures and rates—within the quantum information sciences.
Abstract Quantum thermodynamics has emerged as a separate sub-discipline, revising the concepts and laws of thermodynamics, at the quantum scale. In particular, there has been a disruptive shift in the way thermometry, and thermometers are perceived and designed. Currently, we face two major challenges in quantum thermometry. First, all of the existing optimally precise temperature probes are local, meaning their operation is optimal only for a narrow range of temperatures. Second, aforesaid optimal local probes mandate complex energy spectrum with immense degeneracy, rendering them impractical. Here, we address these challenges by formalizing the notion of global thermometry leading to the development of optimal temperature sensors over a wide range of temperatures. We observe the emergence of different phases for such optimal probes as the temperature interval is increased. In addition, we show how the best approximation of optimal global probes can be realized in spin chains, implementable in ion traps and quantum dots.
In this work we propose a theory of temperature estimation of quantum systems, which is applicable in the regime of non-negligible prior temperature uncertainty and limited measurement data. In this regime the problem of establishing a well-defined measure of estimation precision becomes nontrivial. Furthermore, the construction of a suitable criterion for optimal measurement design must be reexamined to account for the prior uncertainty. We propose a fully Bayesian approach to temperature estimation based on the concept of thermodynamic length, which solves both these problems. As an illustration of this framework, we consider thermal spin-1/2 particles and investigate the fundamental difference between two cases: on the one hand, when the spins are probing the temperature of a heat reservoir and, on the other, when the spins themselves constitute the sample.