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Applied Physics Letters

Fundamental quantum limit for linear measurements with instability

Haixing Miao, J. D. Bentley, Hendra I. Nurdin, Yanbei Chen

Published Mar 27, 2023• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The fundamental quantum limit, or the quantum Cramér-Rao bound, defines the sensitivity limit for quantum measurements. For linear measurement systems, such as gravitational-wave detectors, it is inversely proportional to the noise spectrum of the dynamical variable that couples to the measured signal. Defining a physically meaningful spectrum, however, requires that the system is stable and a steady state exists. We relax such a stability requirement and prove that the fundamental quantum limit can be derived simply by considering the open-loop dynamics in the Fourier domain.

DOI
10.1063/5.0139740

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The fundamental quantum limit, or the quantum Cramér-Rao bound, defines the sensitivity limit for quantum measurements. For linear measurement systems, such as gravitational-wave detectors, it is inversely proportional to the noise spectrum of the dynamical variable that couples to the measured signal. Defining a physically meaningful spectrum, however, requires that the system is stable and a steady state exists. We relax such a stability requirement and prove that the fundamental quantum limit can be derived simply by considering the open-loop dynamics in the Fourier domain.
The quantum Cramér-Rao bound (QCRB) sets a fundamental limit for the measurement of classical signals with detectors operating in the quantum regime. Using linear-response theory and the Heisenberg uncertainty relation, we derive a general condition for achieving such a fundamental limit. When applied to classical displacement measurements with a test mass, this condition leads to an explicit connection between the QCRB and the standard quantum limit that arises from a tradeoff between the measurement imprecision and quantum backaction; the QCRB can be viewed as an outcome of a quantum nondemolition measurement with the backaction evaded. Additionally, we show that the test mass is more a resource for improving measurement sensitivity than a victim of the quantum backaction, which suggests a new approach to enhancing the sensitivity of a broad class of sensors. We illustrate these points with laser interferometric gravitational-wave detectors.
Sensing a classical signal using a linear quantum device is a pervasive application of quantum-enhanced measurement. The fundamental precision limits of linear waveform estimation, however, are not fully understood. In certain cases, there is an unexplained gap between the known waveform-estimation quantum Cramér-Rao bound and the optimal sensitivity from quadrature measurement of the outgoing mode from the device. We resolve this gap by establishing the fundamental precision limit, the waveform-estimation Holevo Cramér-Rao bound, and how to achieve it using a nonstationary measurement. We apply our results to detuned gravitational-wave interferometry to accelerate the search for postmerger remnants from binary neutron-star mergers. If we have an unequal weighting between estimating the signal's power and phase, then we propose how to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of sqrt[2] using this nonstationary measurement.
We derive a quantum Cramér-Rao bound (QCRB) on the error of estimating a time-changing signal. The QCRB provides a fundamental limit to the performance of general quantum sensors, such as gravitational-wave detectors, force sensors, and atomic magnetometers. We apply the QCRB to the problem of force estimation via continuous monitoring of the position of a harmonic oscillator, in which case the QCRB takes the form of a spectral uncertainty principle. The bound on the force-estimation error can be achieved by implementing quantum noise cancellation in the experimental setup and applying smoothing to the observations.
Although measuring the deterministic waveform of a weak classical force is a well-studied problem, estimating a random waveform, such as the spectral density of a stochastic signal field, is much less well understood despite it being a widespread task at the frontier of experimental physics. State-of-the-art precision sensors of random forces must account for the underlying quantum nature of the measurement but the optimal quantum protocol for interrogating such linear sensors is not known. We derive the fundamental precision limit: the extended-channel quantum Cramér-Rao bound. In the experimentally relevant regime in which losses dominate, we prove that non-Gaussian-state preparation and measurement are required to achieve this fundamental limit and we determine numerically the optimal non-Gaussian protocol. We discuss how this scheme could accelerate searches for signatures of quantum gravity, stochastic gravitational waves, and axionic dark matter.
Critical quantum metrology with equilibrium states predicts quantum-enhanced sensitivity only in the vicinity of criticality, where large prior information about the parameter is required. By employing quantum Ziv-Zakai bounds, we derive a limit on the mean-square error in critical quantum metrology. For second-order quantum phase transitions, we show that the precision predicted by the Cramér-Rao bound offers no substantial improvement over the prior standard deviation. Thus, the critical quantum sensor's precision can only achieve a constant gain compared to the prior standard deviation, even without performing any measurement. We elucidate the fundamental limitation on the achievable precision in critical quantum metrology in the context of local sensing, even without considering state-preparation costs or noise. Thus, the super-Heisenberg-limited sensitivity at criticality arises from precise prior knowledge rather than a genuine gain due to criticality. Our work provides a practical framework for assessing critical quantum metrology and a routine for studying quantum sensing with many-body systems.
Quantum metrology employs nonclassical systems to improve the sensitivity of measurements. The ultimate limit of this sensitivity is dictated by the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. On the other hand, the quantum speed limit bounds the speed of dynamics of any quantum process. We show that the speed limit of quantum dynamics sets a fundamental bound on the minimum attainable phase estimation error through the quantum Cramér-Rao bound, relating the precision directly to the underlying dynamics of the system. In particular, various metrologically important states are considered, and their dynamical speeds are analyzed. We find that the bound could, in fact, be related to the nonclassicality of quantum states through the Mandel Q parameter.