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arXiv:2108.11397 · Physical Review Letters

Quantum Wheatstone Bridge

Kasper Poulsen, Alan C. Santos, Nikolaj Thomas Zinner

Published Jun 13, 2022• 18 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We propose a quantum Wheatstone bridge as a fully quantum analog to the classical version. The bridge is a few-body boundary-driven spin chain exploiting quantum effects to gain an enhanced sensitivity to an unknown coupling. The sensitivity is explained by a drop in population of an entangled Bell state due to destructive interference as the controllable coupling approaches the unknown coupling. A simple criterion for the destructive interference is found, and an approximate expression for the width of the drop is derived. The sensitivity to the unknown coupling is quantified using the quantum Fisher information, and we show that the state of the bridge can be measured indirectly through the spin current. Our results are robust toward calibration errors and generic in the sense that several of the current state-of-the-art quantum platforms could be used as a means of realization. The quantum Wheatstone bridge may thus find use in fields such as sensing and metrology using near-term quantum devices.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.128.240401

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We propose a quantum Wheatstone bridge as a fully quantum analog to the classical version. The bridge is a few-body boundary-driven spin chain exploiting quantum effects to gain an enhanced sensitivity to an unknown coupling. The sensitivity is explained by a drop in population of an entangled Bell state due to destructive interference as the controllable coupling approaches the unknown coupling. A simple criterion for the destructive interference is found, and an approximate expression for the width of the drop is derived. The sensitivity to the unknown coupling is quantified using the quantum Fisher information, and we show that the state of the bridge can be measured indirectly through the spin current. Our results are robust toward calibration errors and generic in the sense that several of the current state-of-the-art quantum platforms could be used as a means of realization. The quantum Wheatstone bridge may thus find use in fields such as sensing and metrology using near-term quantum devices.
Quantum effects in metrology can in principle enhance measurement precision from the so-called standard quantum limit to the Heisenberg limit. Further advancements in quantum metrology largely rely on innovative metrology protocols that can avoid a number of known obstacles, including the challenge of preparing entangled states with sufficient fidelity, the readout noise in measuring highly entangled states, and no-go theorems for quantum metrology under noisy environments. In this Letter, exploiting some peculiar but experimentally feasible dynamical features of a collection of spins with all-to-all time-periodic interactions, we propose a metrology protocol that can circumvent all three mentioned obstacles and yet still make good use of time as a resource for metrology. Specifically, by mapping the dynamics of such a periodically driven spin system to that of a paradigm of quantum chaos but tuned to some high-order quantum resonance, it is shown that a simple SU(2) coherent state can, after evolving to highly entangled states in the ensuing dynamics, be dynamically brought back to the same initial coherent state. The associated quantum Fisher information is found to exhibit quadratic scaling with both the number of spins and the duration of the metrology protocol. The achieved Heisenberg scaling can also largely survive in the presence of Markovian noise. Representing a previously unknown strategy for quantum metrology, the protocol proposed here can be tested on available experimental platforms.
The quantum version of a special classical Wheatstone bridge built with a boundary-driven spin system has recently been proposed. We propose a quantum Wheatstone bridge consisting of Bose systems, which can simulate the general classical Wheatstone bridge. Unknown coupling can be obtained when the quantum Wheatstone bridge is balanced, which can be determined simply by homodyne detection. When the expectation value of the homodyne detection is 0, the quantum Wheatstone bridge is unbalanced. When the expectation value of the homodyne detection is proportional to the square root of the initial number of bosons by regulating a known coupling strength, the quantum Wheatstone bridge is balanced. By calculating the quantum Fisher information, we show that the measurement precision is optimal when the quantum Wheatstone bridge is balanced. And the homodyne detection is close to the optimal measurement in the case of low-temperature baths.
Robust quantum control can achieve noise resilience of quantum systems and quantum technological devices. While the need for noise resilience grows with the number of fluctuating quantities, and thus typically with the number of qubits, most numerically exact optimal control techniques are limited to systems of few interacting qubits. This paper exploits quantum control that avoids explicit reference to quantum states in exponentially large Hilbert space. Exemplary control protocols for spin chains are discussed in terms of noise-resilient preparation of highly entangled states.
Quantum mechanics dictates the band structure of materials that is essential for functional electronic components. With increased miniaturization of devices, it becomes possible to exploit the full potential of quantum mechanics through the principles of superposition and entanglement. We propose a class of quantum rectifiers that can leverage entanglement to dramatically increase performance by coupling two small spin chains through an effective double-slit interface. Simulations show that rectification is enhanced by several orders of magnitude even in small systems, and that the effect survives in a noisy environment. Realizable using several of the quantum technology platforms currently available, our findings reveal the importance of quantum entanglement in seemingly contradictory applications such as heat and noise control.
Abstract We investigate a simple fermionic system designed to detect an unknown hopping rate between two sites by analyzing current circulation. The system exploits geometric asymmetry and utilizes the connection between the additional energy degeneracy point (AEDP) and current circulation for precise parameter detection. In the low-temperature, low-bias regime, with baths’ chemical potentials aligned near the degenerate energy, a balanced Wheatstone bridge condition emerges when the direction of current circulation reverses, providing a direct means to determine the unknown hopping strength. We further examine the impact of environmental interactions, demonstrating that the device remains functional under moderately strong dephasing and particle losses, though extreme environmental effects eventually degrade performance. Extending the analysis to general operating conditions, it is seen that the device continues to function effectively at higher voltages and temperatures. Finally, an analysis of the quantum Fisher information qualitatively supports our findings, revealing a sharp increase in the coherence contribution and a corresponding decrease in the population contribution near the AEDP. These results highlight geometric asymmetry as a robust and practical tool for quantum metrology.
Abstract Microwave-induced couplings to nearby Rydberg levels are usually regarded as a source of gate imperfections in neutral-atom quantum processors. Here we show that the same mechanism can instead be exploited as a metrological resource for microwave electrometry. We consider a laser-driven Rydberg controlled- Z gate subjected to an additional microwave coupling during the gate operation. The microwave field modifies the gate dynamics through coherent population leakage into an auxiliary Rydberg state, imprinting its amplitude and detuning onto the final two-qubit state. We characterize this response through the output-state fidelity, quantum Fisher information, and classical Fisher information. The results reveal parameter regimes in which enhanced sensitivity of the gate dynamics to microwave perturbations gives rise to increased estimation precision. Representative Rb and Cs implementations are used to illustrate the generality of the approach and to provide concrete sensitivity estimates. More broadly, our results demonstrate that calibrated quantum-gate dynamics can serve as a metrological resource, suggesting a gate-based sensing paradigm at the interface between quantum information processing and quantum sensing.