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Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Resolving unattainable Cramer–Rao bounds for quantum sensors

Masahito Hayashi, Sai Vinjanampathy, L. C. Kwek

Published Nov 23, 2018• 28 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract In quantum metrology, it is widely believed that the quantum Cramér–Rao bound is an attainable bound. However, this is not always true. In order to clarify this point, we explain why the quantum Cramér–Rao bound cannot be attained. Here, we investigate noiseless channel estimation under energy constraint for states, using a physically reasonable error function, and present a state achieving the optimal rate as well as the attainable bound. We propose an experimental generation of the optimal states for enhanced metrology using squeezing transformations. This makes phase/unitary estimation physically implementable.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/aaf348

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Abstract In quantum metrology, it is widely believed that the quantum Cramér–Rao bound is an attainable bound. However, this is not always true. In order to clarify this point, we explain why the quantum Cramér–Rao bound cannot be attained. Here, we investigate noiseless channel estimation under energy constraint for states, using a physically reasonable error function, and present a state achieving the optimal rate as well as the attainable bound. We propose an experimental generation of the optimal states for enhanced metrology using squeezing transformations. This makes phase/unitary estimation physically implementable.
In quantum metrology, it is widely believed that the quantum Cramer-Rao bound is attainable bound while it is not true. In order to clarify this point, we explain why the quantum Cramer-Rao bound cannot be attained geometrically. In this manuscript, we investigate noiseless channel estimation under energy constraint for states, using a physically reasonable error function, and present the optimal state and the attainable bound. We propose the experimental generation of the optimal states for enhanced metrology using squeezing transformations. This makes the estimation of unitary channels physically implementable, while existing unitary estimation protocols do not work
This is a tutorial aimed at illustrating some recent developments in quantum parameter estimation beyond the Cramèr–Rao bound, as well as their applications in quantum metrology. Our starting point is the observation that there are situations in classical and quantum metrology where the unknown parameter of interest, besides determining the state of the probe, is also influencing the operation of the measuring devices, e.g. the range of possible outcomes. In those cases, nonregular statistical models may appear, for which the Cramèr–Rao theorem does not hold. In turn, the achievable precision may exceed the Cramèr–Rao bound, opening new avenues for enhanced metrology. We focus on quantum estimation of Hamiltonian parameters and show that an achievable bound to precision (beyond the Cramèr–Rao) may be obtained in a closed form for the class of so-called controlled energy measurements. Examples of applications of the new bound to various estimation problems in quantum metrology are worked out in some details.
This is a tutorial aimed at illustrating some recent developments in quantum parameter estimation beyond the Cramèr–Rao bound, as well as their applications in quantum metrology. Our starting point is the observation that there are situations in classical and quantum metrology where the unknown parameter of interest, besides determining the state of the probe, is also influencing the operation of the measuring devices, e.g. the range of possible outcomes. In those cases, nonregular statistical models may appear, for which the Cramèr–Rao theorem does not hold. In turn, the achievable precision may exceed the Cramèr–Rao bound, opening new avenues for enhanced metrology. We focus on quantum estimation of Hamiltonian parameters and show that an achievable bound to precision (beyond the Cramèr–Rao) may be obtained in a closed form for the class of so-called controlled energy measurements. Examples of applications of the new bound to various estimation problems in quantum metrology are worked out in some details.
The field of quantum metrology seeks to apply quantum techniques and/or resources to classical sensing approaches with the goal of enhancing the precision in the estimation of a parameter beyond what can be achieved with classical resources. Theoretically, the fundamental minimum uncertainty in the estimation of a parameter for a given probing state is bounded by the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. From a practical perspective, it is necessary to find physical measurements that can saturate this fundamental limit and to show experimentally that it is possible to perform measurements with the required precision to do so. Here we perform experiments that saturate the quantum Cramér-Rao bound for transmission estimation over a wide range of transmissions when probing the system under study with a continuous wave bright two-mode squeezed state. To properly take into account the imperfections in the generation of the quantum state, we extend our previous theoretical results to incorporate the measured properties of the generated quantum state. For our largest transmission level of 84%, we show a 62% reduction over the optimal classical protocol in the variance in transmission estimation when probing with a bright two-mode squeezed state with -8 dB of intensity-difference squeezing. Given that transmission estimation is an integral part of many sensing protocols, such as plasmonic sensing, spectroscopy, calibration of the quantum efficiency of detectors, etc., the results presented promise to have a significant impact on a number of applications in various fields of research.
Abstract Sensing and imaging are among the most important applications of quantum information science. To investigate their fundamental limits and the possibility of quantum enhancements, for decades researchers have relied on the quantum Cramér-Rao lower error bounds pioneered by Helstrom. Recent work, however, has called into question the tightness of those bounds for highly nonclassical states in the non-asymptotic regime, and better methods are now needed to assess the attainable quantum limits in reality. Here we propose a new class of quantum bounds called quantum Weiss-Weinstein bounds, which include Cramér-Rao-type inequalities as special cases but can also be significantly tighter to the attainable error. We demonstrate the superiority of our bounds through the derivation of a Heisenberg limit and phase estimation examples.
The quantum Cramér-Rao bound (QCRB) stands as a cornerstone of quantum metrology. Yet, akin to its classical counterpart, it provides only local information and overlooks higher-order details. We leverage the theory of higher-order asymptotics to circumvent these issues, providing corrections to the performance of estimators beyond the QCRB. While the QCRB often yields a whole family of optimal states and several optimal measurements, our approach allows us to identify optimal states and measurements within the family that are otherwise equivalent according to the QCRB alone; these are requisite for optimal metrology before reaching the asymptotic limit. These results are especially pertinent when dealing with unitary processes.