The presence of loss limits the precision of an approach to phase measurement using NOON states. A calculation using a simple beam-splitter model of loss shows that, for all nonzero values L of the loss, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing number N of entangled photons for N sufficiently large. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.785, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing N for all values of N. For L near zero, phase measurement precision improves with increasing N down to a limiting precision of approximately 1.018L radians, attained at N approximately equal to 2.218/L, and degrades as N increases beyond this value. Phase measurement precision with multiple measurements and a fixed total number of photons NT is optimized, for L near zero, by using approximately 1.279/L entangled photons in each measurement, yielding a precision of approximately 1.340 √ L/NT radians. 1 NOON States and the Heisenberg Limit The use of NOON states has been proposed as a means of performing phase measurements with a precision δφmin at the Heisenberg limit. In this limit, δφmin scales as δφmin ∼ 1/N, (1) This work was sponsored by the Air Force under Air Force Contract FA8721-05-C-0002. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Government. 1 with increasing photon number N, rather than at the standard quantum limit This fact can be seen as follows: NOON states are entangled states of the form
The presence of loss limits the precision of an approach to phase measurement using NOON states. A calculation using a simple beam-splitter model of loss shows that, for all nonzero values L of the loss, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing number N of entangled photons for N sufficiently large. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.785, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing N for all values of N. For L near zero, phase measurement precision improves with increasing N down to a limiting precision of approximately 1.018L radians, attained at N approximately equal to 2.218/L, and degrades as N increases beyond this value. Phase measurement precision with multiple measurements and a fixed total number of photons NT is optimized, for L near zero, by using approximately 1.279/L entangled photons in each measurement, yielding a precision of approximately 1.340 √ L/NT radians. 1 NOON States and the Heisenberg Limit The use of NOON states has been proposed as a means of performing phase measurements with a precision δφmin at the Heisenberg limit. In this limit, δφmin scales as δφmin ∼ 1/N, (1) This work was sponsored by the Air Force under Air Force Contract FA8721-05-C-0002. Opinions, interpretations, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Government. 1 with increasing photon number N, rather than at the standard quantum limit This fact can be seen as follows: NOON states are entangled states of the form
The presence of loss limits the precision of an approach to phase measurement using maximally entangled states, also referred to as NOON states. A calculation using a simple beam-splitter model of loss shows that, for all nonzero values L of the loss, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing number N of entangled photons for N sufficiently large. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.785, phase measurement precision degrades with increasing N for all values of N. For L near zero, phase measurement precision improves with increasing N down to a limiting precision of approximately 1.018Lradians, attained at N approximately equal to 2.218∕L, and degrades as N increases beyond this value. Phase measurement precision with multiple measurements and a fixed total number of photons NT is also examined. For L above a critical value of approximately 0.586, the ratio of phase measurement precision attainable with NOON states to that attainable by conventional methods using unentangled coherent states degrades with increasing N, the number of entangled photons employed in a single measurement, for all values of N. For L near zero this ratio is optimized by using approximately N=1.279∕L entangled photons in each measurement, yielding a precision of approximately 1.340L∕NTradians.
Abstract Multi-mode NOON states can quantum-enhance multiple-phase estimation in the absence of photon loss. However, a multi-mode NOON state is known to be vulnerable to photon loss, and its quantum-enhancement can be dissipated by lossy environment. In this work, we demonstrate that a quantum advantage in estimate precision can still be achieved in the presence of photon loss. This is accomplished by optimizing the weights of the multi-mode NOON states according to photon loss rates in the multiple modes, including the reference mode which defines the other phases. For practical relevance, we also show that photon-number counting via a multi-mode beam-splitter achieves the useful, albeit sub-optimal, quantum advantage. We expect this work to provide valuable guidance for developing quantum-enhanced multiple-phase estimation techniques in lossy environments.
We derive, and experimentally demonstrate, an interferometric scheme for unambiguous phase estimation with precision scaling at the Heisenberg limit that does not require adaptive measurements. That is, with no prior knowledge of the phase, we can obtain an estimate of the phase with a standard deviation that is only a small constant factor larger than the minimum physically allowed value. Our scheme resolves the phase ambiguity that exists when multiple passes through a phase shift, or NOON states, are used to obtain improved phase resolution. Like a recently introduced adaptive technique [Higgins et al 2007 Nature 450 393], our experiment uses multiple applications of the phase shift on single photons. By not requiring adaptive measurements, but rather using a predetermined measurement sequence, the present scheme is both conceptually simpler and significantly easier to implement. Additionally, we demonstrate a simplified adaptive scheme that also surpasses the standard quantum limit for single passes.
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. We derive, and experimentally demonstrate, an interferometric scheme for unambiguous phase estimation with precision scaling at the Heisenberg limit that does not require adaptive measurements. That is, with no prior knowledge of the phase, we can obtain an estimate of the phase with a standard deviation that is only a small constant factor larger than the minimum physically allowed value. Our scheme resolves the phase ambiguity that exists when multiple passes through a phase shift, or NOON states, are used to obtain improved phase resolution. Like a recently introduced adaptive technique [Higgins et al 2007 Nature 450 393], our experiment uses multiple applications of the phase shift on single photons. By not requiring adaptive measurements, but rather using a predetermined measurement sequence, the present scheme is both conceptually simpler and significantly easier to implement. Additionally, we demonstrate a simplified adaptive scheme that also surpasses the standard quantum limit for single passes. PACS numbers: 03.67.-a, 42.50.St, 03.65.TaHeisenberg-limited phase estimation without adaptive measts 2 1.
It is well known that classical states of light exhibit shot noise, characteristic of independent or uncorrelated particles. For phase estimation problems, this leads to a shot-noise limited uncertainty of 1/sqrt[N], where N is the number of particles detected. It is also well known that the shot-noise limit is not fundamental: squeezed states and entangled states can be used for sub-shot-noise phase measurements. The uncertainty principle sets a fundamental limit of 1/N, known as the "Heisenberg" limit. We have recently demonstrated a method, using parametric downconversion and post-selection, to generate entangled "NOON" states suitable for sub-shot-noise phase measurements [M.W. Mitchell et al, Nature 429, 161 (2004)]. We generated a three-photon NOON state and demonstrated three-fold improvement in phase resolution with this state. The relationship between phase resolution and phase uncertainty depends on prior information about the phase being estimated. As in the case of phase measurements with squeezed states, extra precision in one dimension is gained at the cost of reduced precision in other dimensions. Only when prior information is incorporated can entangled-state metrology be applied to beat the shot-noise limit. We illustrate this relationship and discuss adaptive strategies for phase estimation and the possibility of reaching the Heisenberg limit.