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arXiv:2506.20352 · Quantum Review Letters

Enhanced quantum sensing of gravitational acceleration constant

Giorgio Stucchi, Matteo G. A. Paris

Published Jan 1, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We investigate the use of quantum probes to accurately determine the strength of the local gravitational field on Earth. Our findings show that delocalized probes generally outperform localized ones, with the precision enhancement scaling quadratically with the separation between the two wavefunction components. This advantage persists under realistic position measurements, where performance are degraded by less than one order of magnitude with respect to the ultimate bound. We also discuss the influence of Earth’s surface, demonstrating that its effect can be neglected until shortly before the particle hits the floor. Finally, we address the joint estimation of the gravitational acceleration g and the probe mass m , proving that the excess estimation noise arising from their inherent incompatibility is negligible.

DOI
10.1016/j.qrl.2026.10.002

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We investigate the use of quantum probes to accurately determine the strength of the local gravitational field on Earth. Our findings show that delocalized probes generally outperform localized ones, with the precision enhancement scaling quadratically with the separation between the two wavefunction components. This advantage persists under realistic position measurements, where performance are degraded by less than one order of magnitude with respect to the ultimate bound. We also discuss the influence of Earth’s surface, demonstrating that its effect can be neglected until shortly before the particle hits the floor. Finally, we address the joint estimation of the gravitational acceleration g and the probe mass m , proving that the excess estimation noise arising from their inherent incompatibility is negligible.
Abstract We address the problem of estimating the mass of a quantum particle in a gravitational field and seek the ultimate bounds to precision of quantum-limited detection schemes. In particular, we study the effect of the field on the achievable sensitivity and address the question of whether quantumness of the probe state may provide a precision enhancement. The ultimate bounds to precision are quantified in terms of the corresponding quantum Fisher information. Our results show that states with no classical limit perform better than semiclassical ones and that a non-trivial interplay exists between the external field and the statistical model. More intense fields generally lead to a better precision, with the exception of position measurements in the case of freely-falling systems.
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