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Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology II

From quantum coherence to nonclassicality and metrological power

Kok Chuan Tan, Hyunseok Jeong, Tyler J. Volkoff, Hyukjoon Kwon

Published Mar 1, 2019• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We discuss the relationship between quantum coherence of finite dimensional systems and nonclassical quantum light. We demonstrate that quantifying the quantum coherence between coherent states always leads to a quantifier of nonclassicality that monotonically decreases under linear optical operations. This allows us to introduce a resource theory of nonclassicality based on linear optics that closely parallels the resource theory of coherence. Finally, we discuss the metrological power of a quantum state, which quantifies how sensitive a quantum state is to displacement operations. It is then shown that the metrological power leads to a nonclassicality monotone.

DOI
10.1117/12.2512343

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We discuss the relationship between quantum coherence of finite dimensional systems and nonclassical quantum light. We demonstrate that quantifying the quantum coherence between coherent states always leads to a quantifier of nonclassicality that monotonically decreases under linear optical operations. This allows us to introduce a resource theory of nonclassicality based on linear optics that closely parallels the resource theory of coherence. Finally, we discuss the metrological power of a quantum state, which quantifies how sensitive a quantum state is to displacement operations. It is then shown that the metrological power leads to a nonclassicality monotone.
We establish the nonclassicality of continuous-variable states as a resource for quantum metrology. Based on the quantum Fisher information of multimode quadratures, we introduce the metrological power as a measure of nonclassicality with a concrete operational meaning of displacement sensitivity beyond the classical limit. This measure belongs to the resource theory of nonclassicality, which is nonincreasing under linear optical elements. Our Letter reveals that a single copy, highly nonclassical quantum state is intrinsically advantageous when compared to multiple copies of a quantum state with moderate nonclassicality. This suggests that metrological power is related to the degree of quantum macroscopicity. Finally, we demonstrate that metrological resources useful for nonclassical displacement sensing tasks can be always converted into a useful resource state for phase sensitivity beyond the classical limit.
In this Letter, we detail an orthogonalization procedure that allows for the quantification of the amount of coherence present in an arbitrary superposition of coherent states. The present construction is based on the quantum coherence resource theory introduced by Baumgratz, Cramer, and Plenio and the coherence resource monotone that we identify is found to characterize the nonclassicality traditionally analyzed via the Glauber-Sudarshan P distribution. This suggests that identical quantum resources underlie both quantum coherence in the discrete finite dimensional case and the nonclassicality of quantum light. We show that our construction belongs to a family of resource monotones within the framework of a resource theory of linear optics, thus establishing deeper connections between the class of incoherent operations in the finite dimensional regime and linear optical operations in the continuous variable regime.
Abstract It is well-known that the precision of a phase measurement with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer employing strong classic light can be greatly enhanced with the addition of weak nonclassical light. In the context of quantifying nonclassicality, the amount by which a nonclassical state can enhance precision in this way has been termed its ’metrological power’. To-date, the enhancement provided by weak nonclassical states has been calculated only for specific measurement configurations. Here we are able to optimize over all measurement configurations to obtain the maximum enhancement that can be achieved by any single or multi-mode nonclassical state together with strong classical states, for local and distributed quantum metrology employing any linear or nonlinear single-mode unitary transformation. Our analysis reveals that the quantum Fisher information for quadrature-displacement sensing is the sole property that determines the maximum achievable enhancement in all of these different scenarios, providing a unified quantification of the metrological power.
Quantum coherence and nonclassical correlation are key features of a quantum world. Quantifying coherence and nonclassical correlation are two key tasks in quantum information theory. First, we present a bona fide measure of quantum coherence by utilizing the Hellinger distance. This coherence measure is proven to fulfill all the criteria of a well-defined coherence measure, including the strong monotonicity in the resource theories of quantum coherence. In terms of this coherence measure, the distribution of quantum coherence in multipartite systems is studied and a corresponding polygamy relation is proposed. Its operational meanings and the relations between the generation of quantum correlations and the coherence are also investigated. Moreover, we present the Hellinger distance-based measure of nonclassical correlation, which not only inherits the nice properties of the Hellinger distance including contractivity, but also shows a powerful analytic computability for a large class of quantum states. We show that there is an explicit tradeoff relation satisfied by the quantum coherence and this nonclassical correlation.
The operational resource theory (ORT) measure is a nonclassicality measure for bosonic states, notable for its resource-theoretic properties and connection to metrology. However, it can be difficult to evaluate, being linked to an optimization problem for mixed states. Here, we present ORT measure calculations for mixed states with photon-number coherence. We give exact formulas governing the ORT measure of a broad class of rank-two mixed states, and numerical solutions for some higher-rank states. We also compare the nonclassicality of these states to their metrological power, thus showing in what regimes the metrological power manages to saturate the ORT bound. Throughout, we consider the role of coherence. In particular, we show that nonclassicality and metrological power never increase under bosonic dephasing, but may plateau in a manner similar to entanglement sudden death. Nevertheless, lowering photon-number coherence more freely can sometimes yield more nonclassical and metrologically useful states.
To describe certain facets of nonclassicality, it is necessary to quantify properties of operations instead of states. This is the case if one wants to quantify how well an operation detects nonclassicality, which is a necessary prerequisite for its use in quantum technologies. To do so rigorously, we build resource theories on the level of operations, exploiting the concept of resource destroying maps. We discuss the two basic ingredients of these resource theories, the free operations and the free superoperations, which are sequential and parallel concatenations with free operations. This leads to defining properties of functionals that are well suited to quantify the resources of operations. We introduce these concepts at the example of coherence. In particular, we present two measures quantifying the ability of an operation to detect, i.e., to use, coherence, one of them with an operational interpretation, and provide methods to evaluate them.