We introduce a canonical decomposition of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for centered multimode Gaussian states into two additive pieces: an even part that captures changes in the symplectic spectrum and an odd part associated with correlation-generating dynamics. On the pure-state manifold, the even contribution vanishes identically, while the odd contribution coincides with the QFI derived from the natural metric on the Siegel upper half-space, revealing a direct geometric underpinning of pure-Gaussian metrology. This also provides a link between the graphical representation of pure Gaussian states and an explicit expression for the QFI in terms of graphical parameters. For evolutions completely generated by passive Gaussian unitaries (orthogonal symplectics), the odd QFI vanishes, while thermometric parameters contribute purely to the even sector with a simple spectral form; we also derive a state-dependent lower bound on the even QFI in terms of the purity-change rate. We extend the construction to the full QFI matrix, obtaining an additive even odd sector decomposition that clarifies when cross-parameter information vanishes. Applications to unitary sensing (beam splitter versus two-mode squeezing) and to Gaussian channels (loss and phase-insensitive amplification), including joint phase loss estimation, demonstrate how the decomposition cleanly separates resources associated with spectrum versus correlations. The framework supplies practical design rules for continuous-variable sensors and provides a geometric lens for benchmarking probes and channels in Gaussian quantum metrology.
We introduce a canonical decomposition of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for centered multimode Gaussian states into two additive pieces: an even part that captures changes in the symplectic spectrum and an odd part associated with correlation-generating dynamics. On the pure-state manifold, the even contribution vanishes identically, while the odd contribution coincides with the QFI derived from the natural metric on the Siegel upper half-space, revealing a direct geometric underpinning of pure-Gaussian metrology. This also provides a link between the graphical representation of pure Gaussian states and an explicit expression for the QFI in terms of graphical parameters. For evolutions completely generated by passive Gaussian unitaries (orthogonal symplectics), the odd QFI vanishes, while thermometric parameters contribute purely to the even sector with a simple spectral form; we also derive a state-dependent lower bound on the even QFI in terms of the purity-change rate. We extend the construction to the full QFI matrix, obtaining an additive even odd sector decomposition that clarifies when cross-parameter information vanishes. Applications to unitary sensing (beam splitter versus two-mode squeezing) and to Gaussian channels (loss and phase-insensitive amplification), including joint phase loss estimation, demonstrate how the decomposition cleanly separates resources associated with spectrum versus correlations. The framework supplies practical design rules for continuous-variable sensors and provides a geometric lens for benchmarking probes and channels in Gaussian quantum metrology.
Abstract We introduce a canonical decomposition of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for centered multimode Gaussian states into two additive pieces: an even part that captures changes in the symplectic spectrum and an odd part associated with correlation-generating dynamics. On the pure-state manifold, the even contribution vanishes identically, while the odd contribution coincides with the QFI derived from the natural metric on the Siegel upper half-space, revealing a direct geometric underpinning of pure-Gaussian metrology. This also provides a link between the graphical representation of pure Gaussian states and an explicit expression for the QFI in terms of graphical parameters. For evolutions completely generated by passive Gaussian unitaries (orthogonal symplectics), the odd QFI vanishes, while thermometric parameters contribute purely to the even sector with a simple spectral form; we also derive a state-dependent lower bound on the even QFI in terms of the purity-change rate. We extend the construction to the full QFI matrix, obtaining an additive even–odd sector decomposition that clarifies when cross-parameter information vanishes. Applications to unitary sensing (beam splitter versus two-mode squeezing) and to Gaussian channels (loss and phase-insensitive amplification), including joint phase–loss estimation, demonstrate how the decomposition cleanly separates resources associated with spectrum versus correlations. The framework supplies practical design rules for continuous-variable sensors and provides a geometric lens for benchmarking probes and channels in Gaussian quantum metrology.
Abstract Gaussian quantum channels constitute a cornerstone of continuous-variable quantum information science, underpinning a wide array of protocols in quantum optics and quantum metrology. While the action of such channels on arbitrary states is well-characterized under full channel knowledge, we address the inverse problem, namely, the precise estimation of fundamental channel parameters, including the beam splitter transmissivity and the two-mode squeezing amplitude. Employing the quantum Fisher information (QFI) as a benchmark for metrological sensitivity, we demonstrate that the symmetry inherent in mode mixing critically governs the amplification of QFI, thereby enabling high-precision parameter estimation. In addition, we investigate quantum thermometry by estimating the average photon number of thermal states, revealing that the transmissivity parameter significantly modulates estimation precision. Our results underscore the metrological utility of two-mode Gaussian states and establish a robust framework for parameter inference in noisy and dynamically evolving quantum systems.
Understanding how thermal fluctuations modify or suppress quantum-enhanced sensing is a central problem in quantum metrology. Closely related questions arise in quantum thermodynamics, particularly regarding the relation between the work induced by a signal and the information acquired by a sensor. Here, we establish general relations among the sensitivity of thermal quantum states, as quantified by different quantum Fisher information metrics, their temperature dependence, and the work induced by a unitary signal. We further show that, at high temperature, all monotone QFI metrics coincide to leading order with a universal quantity that can be expressed as the variance of a simple observable and itself defines a lesser-known QFI metric. This emergent uniqueness is reminiscent of the uniqueness of classical Fisher information in information geometry. In continuous-variable systems, the infinite-temperature limit is finite and generically non-zero for quadratic Gaussian signals, while it diverges for higher-degree signals. Remarkably, for any purely quadratic signal generator, the infinite-temperature QFI is at least twice the zero-temperature SLD QFI or, equivalently, at least eight times the ground-state variance of the generator. Consequently, the Cramér--Rao lower bound on the estimator variance is reduced by at least a factor of two. We illustrate these results using harmonic chains of bosonic modes relevant to trapped-ion platforms and quantum field-theoretic models.
We define a local Riemannian metric tensor in the manifold of Gaussian channels and the distance that it induces. We adopt an information-geometric approach and define a metric derived from the Bures-Fisher metric for quantum states. The resulting metric inherits several desirable properties from the Bures-Fisher metric and is operationally motivated by distinguishability considerations: It serves as an upper bound to the attainable quantum Fisher information for the channel parameters using Gaussian states, under generic constraints on the physically available resources. Our approach naturally includes the use of entangled Gaussian probe states. We prove that the metric enjoys some desirable properties like stability and covariance. As a by-product, we also obtain some general results in Gaussian channel estimation that are the continuous-variable analogs of previously known results in finite dimensions. We prove that optimal probe states are always pure and bounded in the number of ancillary modes, even in the presence of constraints on the reduced state input in the channel. This has experimental and computational implications. It limits the complexity of optimal experimental setups for channel estimation and reduces the computational requirements for the evaluation of the metric: Indeed, we construct a converging algorithm for its computation. We provide explicit formulas for computing the multiparametric quantum Fisher information for dissipative channels probed with arbitrary Gaussian states and provide the optimal observables for the estimation of the channel parameters (e.g., bath couplings, squeezing, and temperature).
We derive a computable analytical formula for the quantum fidelity between two arbitrary multimode Gaussian states which is simply expressed in terms of their first- and second-order statistical moments. We also show how such a formula can be written in terms of symplectic invariants and used to derive closed forms for a variety of basic quantities and tools, such as the Bures metric, the quantum Fisher information, and various fidelity-based bounds. Our result can be used to extend the study of continuous-variable protocols, such as quantum teleportation and cloning, beyond the current one-mode or two-mode analyses, and paves the way to solve general problems in quantum metrology and quantum hypothesis testing with arbitrary multimode Gaussian resources.
Quantum optical metrology aims to identify ultimate sensitivity bounds for the estimation of parameters encoded into quantum states of the electromagnetic field. In many practical applications, including imaging, microscopy, and remote sensing, the parameter of interest is not only encoded in the quantum state of the field, but also in its spatio-temporal distribution, i.e. in its mode structure. In this mode-encoded parameter estimation setting, we derive an analytical expression for the quantum Fisher information valid for arbitrary multimode Gaussian fields. To illustrate the power of our approach, we apply our results to the estimation of the transverse displacement of a beam and to the temporal separation between two pulses. For these examples, we show how the estimation sensitivity can be enhanced by adding squeezing into specific modes.