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arXiv:2311.01371 · Quantum Science and Technology

Metrological robustness of high photon number optical cat states

Philipp Stammer, Tomás Fernández Martos, Maciej Lewenstein, Grzegorz Rajchel-Mieldzioć

Published Sep 9, 2024• 15 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract In the domain of quantum metrology, cat states have demonstrated their utility despite their inherent fragility with respect to losses. Here, we introduce noise robust optical cat states which exhibit a metrological robustness for phase estimation in the regime of high photon numbers. These cat states are obtained from the intense laser driven process of high harmonic generation (HHG), and show a resilience against photon losses. Focusing on a realistic scenario including experimental imperfections we opt for the case in which we can maximize the lower bound of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) instead of analyzing the best case scenario. We show that the decrease of the QFI in the lossy case is suppressed for the HHG-cat state compared to the even and odd counterparts. In the regime of small losses of just a single photon, the HHG-cat state remains almost pure while the even/odd cat state counterparts rapidly decohere to the maximally mixed state. More importantly, this translates to a significantly enhanced robustness for the HHG-cat against photon loss, demonstrating that high photon number optical cat states can indeed be used for metrological applications even in the presence of losses.

DOI
10.1088/2058-9565/ad7881

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Abstract In the domain of quantum metrology, cat states have demonstrated their utility despite their inherent fragility with respect to losses. Here, we introduce noise robust optical cat states which exhibit a metrological robustness for phase estimation in the regime of high photon numbers. These cat states are obtained from the intense laser driven process of high harmonic generation (HHG), and show a resilience against photon losses. Focusing on a realistic scenario including experimental imperfections we opt for the case in which we can maximize the lower bound of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) instead of analyzing the best case scenario. We show that the decrease of the QFI in the lossy case is suppressed for the HHG-cat state compared to the even and odd counterparts. In the regime of small losses of just a single photon, the HHG-cat state remains almost pure while the even/odd cat state counterparts rapidly decohere to the maximally mixed state. More importantly, this translates to a significantly enhanced robustness for the HHG-cat against photon loss, demonstrating that high photon number optical cat states can indeed be used for metrological applications even in the presence of losses.
Quantum metrology exploits quantum correlations to make precise measurements with limited particle numbers. By utilizing inter- and intramode correlations in an optical interferometer, we find a state that combines entanglement and squeezing to give a sevenfold enhancement in the quantum Fisher information (QFI)---a metric related to the precision---over the shot-noise limit, for low photon numbers. Motivated by practicality we then look at the squeezed cat state, which has recently been made experimentally, and shows further precision gains over the shot-noise limit and a threefold improvement in the QFI over the optimal Gaussian state. We present a conceptually simple measurement scheme that saturates the QFI, and we demonstrate a robustness to loss for small photon numbers. The squeezed cat state can therefore give a significant precision enhancement in optical quantum metrology in practical and realistic conditions.
Optical interferometry is a cornerstone technique for precise phase measurements across various fields. In many applications, for example, biological imaging, it often necessitates stringent limits on light intensity to prevent adverse effects on light-sensitive samples, a condition known as dose-limited regimes. Maximizing the precision per dose is therefore crucial. In quantum metrology, quantum correlations enable high precision in phase estimation while adhering to dose constraints. Nevertheless, photon loss, including absorption by a sample, substantially diminishes the benefits of quantum enhancement in interferometry. In this work, we experimentally investigate a dose-efficient approach to quantum phase estimation using sequential strategies in the presence of loss. Performance of sequential strategies with and without control is evaluated through quantum Fisher information (QFI) per dose. Experimental results show that both sequential strategies exceed the classical limit and outperform the parallel strategy using unbalanced N00N states. Notably, the control-enhanced sequential strategy attains superior QFI per dose, approaching the quantum limit. These results highlight the promise of sequential strategy for imaging and sensing in resource-constrained scenarios, marking a significant step toward practical and efficient quantum metrology in lossy environments.
In optical interferometry path-entangled states such as NOON states have shown to give quantum-enhanced precision measurements, but these states are notoriously fragile to particle losses, which typically collapse the quantum state and destroy the phase information. A class of inherently robust states that show the potential for great improvements over the alternatives are the entangled coherent states (ECSs). We show that these states allow substantial improvements over unentangled `classical' states and highly-entangled NOON states for a wide range of loss values. We then describe a measurement scheme that can be used to measure these states with a precision close to the theoretical bound given by the quantum Fisher information. \nWe then look at the quantum mechanisms that lead to precise measurements. In optical interferometry multi-mode entanglement is often assumed to be the driving force behind quantum enhanced measurements. Recent work has shown this assumption to be false, and here we show that when photon losses occur multi-mode entanglement is actually detrimental to obtaining quantum enhanced measurements. We specifically apply this idea to a superposition of coherent states, demonstrating that these states show a robustness to loss that allows them to significantly outperform their competitors in realistic systems. A practically viable measurement scheme is then presented that allows measurements close to the theoretical bound, even with loss. \nIn this thesis we also consider superpositions of spin coherent states and their application to quantum metrology. Compared to optical states, spin systems have a distinctly different process of decoherence known as non-Markovian dephasing, which has shown to give greatly improved robustness to loss. We see that spin cat states give an enhanced scaling over the shot noise limit, even with dephasing, whilst being realisable with current technology.
Abstract The precision of quantum measurements can be effectively improved by using both photon-added non-Gaussian operations and Kerr nonlinear phase shift. Here, we employ a coherent state mixed with a photon-added squeezed vacuum state as the input to a Mach–Zehnder interferometer with parity detection, thereby achieving a significant enhancement in phase measurement precision. Our research focuses on the phase sensitivity of linear phase shift under both ideal conditions and photon loss, as well as quantum Fisher information (QFI). The results demonstrate that employing the photon addition operations can markedly enhance phase sensitivity and QFI, and under optimal conditions, the measurement precision can approach the Heisenberg limit for the linear phase shift case. In addition, we delve deeper into the scenario of replacing the linear phase shift with a Kerr nonlinear one and systematically analyze the QFI under both ideal and photon loss conditions. By comparison, it is evident that employing both the photon addition operations and the Kerr nonlinear phase shift can further significantly enhance phase measurement precision while effectively improving the system’s robustness against photon loss. These findings are instrumental in facilitating the development and practical application of quantum metrology.
Quantum metrology exploits quantum correlations to perform measurements with precision higher than can be achieved with classical approaches [1]. Photonic approaches promise transformative advances in the family of interferometric phase measurement techniques, a vital toolset used to precisely determine quantities including distance, velocity, acceleration and materials properties. Without quantum enhancement, the precision limit in optical phase sensing (i.e. the minimum uncertainty) is the shot noise limit (SNL): 1/sqrt(N) where N is the number of resources (e.g. photons) used. Entangled photons promise sensitivity surpassing the shot noise limit achievable with classical probes. The maximally phase-sensitive state is the NOON state [2], a path-entangled state of definite photon number N. Despite theoretical proposals stretching back decades [3], no measurement using such photonic (i.e. definite photon number) states has unconditionally surpassed the shot noise limit: by contrast, all such demonstrations employed postselection to discount photon loss in the source, interferometer or detectors. Here, we use the state of art single photon generation and detection technology to respectively make and measure a two-photon NOON state, and use it to perform unconditional phase sensing beyond the shot noise limit — that is, without artificially correcting for loss or any other source of imperfection [4]. We performed a two-photon NOON state polarisation interferometry measurement on a birefringent test phase. We use photons generated from a high-heralding-efficiency, high purity source of telecom-wavelength photon pairs [5], and we employ high efficiency superconducting photon detectors. Unlike previous experiments, our apparatus does not require postselection to achieve phase uncertainty below that achievable in an ideal, lossless classical interferometer. Our results show a clear violation (for a range of phases) of the stringent SNL Fisher-information bound, F_{SNL} = 2.09635, that takes into account the information in unrecorded trials arising from loss and higher order terms — making our demonstration unconditional. We also performed a direct phase sensing measurement and observed phase uncertainties more than 10 standard deviations below the SNL [4]. Our results enable quantum-enhanced phase measurements at low photon flux and open the door to the next generation of optical quantum metrology advances. References [1] V. Giovannetti, S. Lloyd, and L. Maccone, “Advances in quantum metrology,” Nat. Photon. 5, 222–229 (2011). [2] J. P. Dowling, “Quantum optical metrology–the lowdown on high-N00N states,” Contemp. Phys. 49, 125–143 (2008). [3] R. Demkowicz-Dobrzanski, M. Jarzyna, and J. Kołodynski, “Quantum limits in optical interferometry,” Prog. Opt. 60, 345–435 (2015). [4] S. Slussarenko, M. M.Weston, H. M. Chrzanowski, L. K. Shalm, V. B. Verma, S.W. Nam, and G. J. Pryde, “Unconditional violation of the shot noise limit in photonic quantum metrology,” Nat. Photon. 11, 700-703 (2017). [5] M. M. Weston, H. M. Chrzanowski, S. Wollmann, A. Boston, J. Ho, L. K. Shalm, V. B. Verma, M. S. Allman, S. W. Nam, R. B. Patel, S. Slussarenko, and G. J. Pryde, “Efficient and pure femtosecond-pulse length source of polarization-entangled photons,” Opt. Express 24, 10,869–10,879 (2016).
We study the precise phase estimation using squeezed states in the presence of photon loss. Our exact quantum Fisher information calculation shows significant enhancement even though the loss is very large and sets a benchmark for experimental realization. We show that if we blindly use the existing parity measurement scheme [Anisimov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 103602 (2010)] for the ideal case, the result will be even worse than the classical case given very small loss. Using our formulas, we can optimize the measurement result by making loss-dependent phase shift and choosing appropriate squeezed states (average photon number of squeezed states).