Quantum-classical boundary for precision optical phase estimation
Quantum-classical boundary for precision optical phase estimation
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DOI：
10.1103/physreva.96.062109
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发表时间：
2016-02
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
P. Birchall;J. O'Brien;J. Matthews;H. Cable
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
P. Birchall;J. O'Brien;J. Matthews;H. Cable
对于科学和技术中使用的许多调查技术来说，了解光学相位估计的精度的基本限制是关键。我们研究了由具有相关光学损耗的样品引起的固定光学相移的估计，并比较了使用经典和非经典探测态的相位估计策略。这些比较是基于样品在整个传感过程中吸收或散射的光子数计算出的可获得的(量子)费舍尔信息。我们发现，对于给定数目的入射到未知相位上的光子，与多通光学系统中的理想经典技术相比，非经典技术原则上提供的均方根误差(RMSE)降低不到20%。在我们分析的一种新的光学装置中，使用经典技术，在传感过程中加入额外的干涉阶段，非经典技术提供的均方根误差仅降低到~4%。我们解释了在非理想的多程光学装置中，当非经典技术与经典探测态相比，由于测量装置的额外光子损失时，这些结论是如何改变的。
Understanding the fundamental limits on the precision to which an optical phase can be estimated is of key interest for many investigative techniques utilized across science and technology. We study the estimation of a fixed optical phase shift due to a sample which has an associated optical loss, and compare phase estimation strategies using classical and non-classical probe states. These comparisons are based on the attainable (quantum) Fisher information calculated per number of photons absorbed or scattered by the sample throughout the sensing process. We find that, for a given number of incident photons upon the unknown phase, non-classical techniques in principle provide less than a 20% reduction in root-mean-square-error (RMSE) in comparison with ideal classical techniques in multi-pass optical setups. Using classical techniques in a new optical setup we analyze, which incorporates additional stages of interference during the sensing process, the achievable reduction in RMSE afforded by non-classical techniques falls to only ~4%. We explain how these conclusions change when non-classical techniques are compared to classical probe states in non-ideal multi-pass optical setups, with additional photon losses due to the measurement apparatus.