Quantum channels model many physical processes. For this reason, hypothesis testing between quantum channels is a fundamental task in quantum information theory. Here we consider the paradigmatic case of channel position finding, where the aim is to determine the position of a target quantum channel within a sequence of background channels. We explore this model in the setting of bosonic systems, considering Gaussian channels with the same transmissivity (or gain) but different levels of environmental noise. Thus the goal of the problem becomes detecting the position of a target environment among a number of identical background environments, all acting on an input multi-mode system. We derive bounds for the ultimate error probability affecting this multi-ary discrimination problem and find an analytic condition for quantum advantage over protocols involving classical input states. We also design an explicit protocol that gives numerical bounds on the ultimate error probability and often achieves quantum advantage. Finally, we consider direct applications of the model for tasks of thermal imaging (finding a warmer pixel in a colder background) and quantum communication (for localizing a different level of noise in a sequence of lines or a frequency spectrum).
Quantum channels model many physical processes. For this reason, hypothesis testing between quantum channels is a fundamental task in quantum information theory. Here we consider the paradigmatic case of channel position finding, where the aim is to determine the position of a target quantum channel within a sequence of background channels. We explore this model in the setting of bosonic systems, considering Gaussian channels with the same transmissivity (or gain) but different levels of environmental noise. Thus the goal of the problem becomes detecting the position of a target environment among a number of identical background environments, all acting on an input multi-mode system. We derive bounds for the ultimate error probability affecting this multi-ary discrimination problem and find an analytic condition for quantum advantage over protocols involving classical input states. We also design an explicit protocol that gives numerical bounds on the ultimate error probability and often achieves quantum advantage. Finally, we consider direct applications of the model for tasks of thermal imaging (finding a warmer pixel in a colder background) and quantum communication (for localizing a different level of noise in a sequence of lines or a frequency spectrum).
Quantum hypothesis testing is a central task in the entire field of quantum information theory. Understanding its ultimate limits will give insight into a wide range of quantum protocols and applications, from sensing to communication. Although the limits of hypothesis testing between quantum states have been completely clarified by the pioneering works of Helstrom in the 1970s, the more difficult problem of hypothesis testing with quantum channels, i.e., channel discrimination, is less understood. This is mainly due to the complications coming from the use of input entanglement and the possibility of employing adaptive strategies. In this Letter, we establish a lower limit for the ultimate error probability affecting the discrimination of an arbitrary number of quantum channels. We also show that this lower bound is achievable when the channels have certain symmetries. As an example, we apply our results to the problem of channel position finding, where the goal is to identify the location of a target channel among multiple background channels. In this general setting, we find that the use of entanglement offers a great advantage over strategies without entanglement, with nontrivial implications for data readout, target detection, and quantum spectroscopy.
Quantum channel discrimination presents a fundamental task in quantum information theory, with critical applications in quantum reading, illumination, data readout, and more. The extension to multiple quantum channel discrimination has seen a recent focus to characterize potential quantum advantage associated with quantum-enhanced discriminatory protocols. In this paper, we study thermal imaging as an environment localization task, in which thermal images are modeled as ensembles of Gaussian phase insensitive channels with identical transmissivity, and pixels possess properties according to background (cold) or target (warm) thermal channels. Via the teleportation stretching of adaptive quantum protocols, we derive ultimate limits on the precision of pattern classification of abstract, binary thermal image spaces, and show that quantum-enhanced strategies may be used to provide significant quantum advantage over known optimal classical strategies. The environmental conditions and necessary resources for which advantage may be obtained are studied and discussed. We then numerically investigate the use of quantum-enhanced statistical classifiers, where quantum sensors are used in conjunction with machine-learning image classification methods. Proving definitive advantage in the low-loss regime, this work motivates the use of quantum-enhanced sources for short-range thermal imaging and detection techniques for future quantum technologies.
From the perspective of quantum information theory, the effect of Unruh radiation on a two-level accelerated detector can be modeled as a quantum channel. In this work we employ the tools of channel-position finding to locate Unruh channels. The signal-idler and idler-free protocols are explored to determine the position of the target Unruh channel within a sequence of background channels. We derive the fidelity-based bounds for the ultimate error probability of each strategy and obtain the conditions where the signal-idler protocol is superior to the protocol involving idler-free states. It is found that the lower bound of the error probability for the signal-idler scheme exhibits clear advantages in all cases, while the idler-free scheme can only be implemented when the temperatures of the two channels are very close and the number of initial states is insufficient. Interestingly, it is shown that the optimal detection protocol relies on the residual correlations shared between the emitted probe state and the retained idler modes.
Abstract Quantum hypothesis testing has been greatly advanced for the binary discrimination of two states, or two channels. In this setting, we already know that quantum entanglement can be used to enhance the discrimination of two bosonic channels. Here, we remove the restriction of binary hypotheses and show that entangled photons can remarkably boost the discrimination of multiple bosonic channels. More precisely, we formulate a general problem of channel-position finding where the goal is to determine the position of a target channel among many background channels. We prove that, using entangled photons at the input and a generalized form of conditional nulling receiver at the output, we may outperform any classical strategy. Our results can be applied to enhance a range of technological tasks, including the optical readout of sparse classical data, the spectroscopic analysis of a frequency spectrum, and the determination of the direction of a target at fixed range.
Quantum hypothesis testing has been greatly advanced for the binary discrimination of two states, or two channels. In this setting, we already know that quantum entanglement can be used to enhance the discrimination of two bosonic channels. Here, we remove the restriction of binary hypotheses and show that entangled photons can remarkably boost the discrimination of multiple bosonic channels. More precisely, we formulate a general problem of channel-position finding where the goal is to determine the position of a target channel among many background channels. We prove that, using entangled photons at the input and a generalized form of conditional nulling receiver at the output, we may outperform any classical strategy. Our results can be applied to enhance a range of technological tasks, including the optical readout of sparse classical data, the spectroscopic analysis of a frequency spectrum, and the determination of the direction of a target at fixed range.
Channel-position finding is the task of determining the location of a single target channel among an ensemble of background channels. It has many potential applications, including quantum sensing, quantum reading, and quantum spectroscopy. In particular, it could allow for simple detection protocols to be extended to ones of measurement, for example, target ranging with quantum illumination. The use of quantum states and entanglement in such protocols has shown to yield quantum advantages over their optimal classical counterparts. Here we consider quantum channel-position finding using sources specified by at most one single photon on average per mode, using the discrete-variable formalism. By considering various quantum sources, it is shown through the derivation of performance bounds that a quantum enhancement may be realized.