Intrinsic Sensitivity Limits for Multiparameter Quantum Metrology

Aaron Z. Goldberg, Luis Sanchez-Soto, Hugo Ferretti

The quantum Cramér-Rao bound is a cornerstone of modern quantum metrology, as it provides the ultimate precision in parameter estimation. In the multiparameter scenario, this bound becomes a matrix inequality, which can be cast to a scalar form with a properly chosen weight matrix. Multiparameter estimation thus elicits tradeoffs in the precision with which each parameter<br>can be estimated. We show that, if the information is encoded in a unitary transformation, we can naturally choose the weight matrix as the metric tensor<br>linked to the geometry of the underlying algebra su(n). This ensures an intrinsic bound that is independent of the choice of parametrization.<br>

Microsphere kinematics from the polarization of tightly focused nonseparable light

Stefan Berg-Johansen, Martin Neugebauer, Andrea Aiello, Gerd Leuchs, Peter Banzer, Christoph Marquardt

Recently, it was shown that vector beams can be utilized for fast kinematic sensing via measurements of their global polarization state [Optica 2(10), 864 (2015)]. The method relies on correlations between the spatial and polarization degrees of freedom of the illuminating field which result from its nonseparable mode structure. Here, we extend the method to the nonparaxial regime. We study experimentally and theoretically the far-field polarization state generated by the scattering of a dielectric microsphere in a tightly focused vector beam as a function of the particle position. Using polarization measurements only, we<br>demonstrate position sensing of a Mie particle in three dimensions. Our work extends the concept of back focal plane interferometry and highlights the potential of polarization analysis in optical tweezers employing structured light.<br>

Microsphere kinematics from the polarization of tightly focused nonseparable light

Stefan Berg-Johansen, Martin Neugebauer, Andrea Aiello, Gerd Leuchs, Peter Banzer, Christoph Marquardt

Recently, it was shown that vector beams can be utilized for fast kinematic sensing via measurements of their global polarization state [Optica 2, 864 (2015)]. The method relies on correlations between the spatial and polarization degrees of freedom of the illuminating field which result from its nonseparable mode structure. Here, we extend the method to the nonparaxial regime. We study experimentally and theoretically the far-field polarization state generated by the scattering of a dielectric microsphere in a tightly focused vector beam as a function of the particle position. Using polarization measurements only, we demonstrate position sensing of a Mie particle in three dimensions. Our work extends the concept of back focal plane interferometry and highlights the potential of polarization analysis in optical tweezers employing structured light.

Rotation sensing at the ultimate limit

Aaron Z. Goldberg, Andrei B. Klimov, Gerd Leuchs, Luis Sanchez-Soto

Conventional classical sensors are approaching their maximum sensitivity<br>levels in many areas. Yet these levels still are far from the ultimate limits<br>dictated by quantum mechanics. Quantum sensors promise a substantial step ahead<br>by taking advantage of the salient sensitivity of quantum states to the<br>environment. Here, we focus on sensing rotations, a topic of broad application.<br>By resorting to the basic tools of estimation theory, we derive states that<br>achieve the ultimate sensitivities in estimating both the orientation of an<br>unknown rotation axis and the angle rotated about it. The critical enhancement<br>obtained with these optimal states should make of them an indispensable<br>ingredient in the next generation of rotation sensors that is now blossoming.<br>

Comment on “An encryption protocol for NEQR images based on one-particle quantum walks on a circle”

Markus Grassl

Axial superlocalization with vortex beams

D. Koutny, Z. Hradil, J. Rehacek, Luis Sanchez-Soto

Improving axial resolution is of paramount importance for three-dimensional optical imaging systems. Here, we investigate the ultimate precision in axial<br>localization using vortex beams. For Laguerre-Gauss beams, this limit can be achieved with just an intensity scan. The same is not true for superpositions<br>of Laguerre-Gauss beams, in particular for those with intensity profiles that rotate on defocusing. Microscopy methods based on rotating vortex beams may thus benefit from replacing traditional intensity sensors with advanced mode-sorting techniques.

Polarization of Light: In Classical, Quantum, and Nonlinear Optics

Maria V. Chekhova, Peter Banzer

This book starts with the description of polarization in classical optics, including also a chapter on crystal optics, which is necessary to understand the use of nonlinear crystals. In addition, spatially non-uniform polarization states are introduced and described. Further, the role of polarization in nonlinear optics is discussed. The final chapters are devoted to the description and applications of polarization in quantum optics and quantum technologies.

Effects of coherence on temporal resolution

Syamsundar De, Jano Gil-Lopez, Benjamin Brecht, Christine Silberhorn, Luis Sanchez-Soto, Z. Hradil, J. Rehacek

Measuring small separations between two optical sources, either in space or in time, constitute an important metrological challenge as standard<br>intensity-only measurements fail for vanishing separations. Contrarily, it has been established that appropriate coherent mode projections can appraise<br>arbitrarily small separations with quantum-limited precision. However, the question of whether the optical coherence brings any metrological advantage to<br>mode projections is still a point of debate. Here, we elucidate this problem by experimentally investigating the effect of varying coherence on estimating the<br>temporal separation between two single-photon pulses. We show that, for an accurate interpretation, special attention must be paid to properly normalize<br>the quantum Fisher information to account for the strength of the signal. Our experiment demonstrates that coherent mode projections are optimal for any<br>degree of coherence.<br>

Benchmarking quantum tomography completeness and fidelity with machine learning

Yong Siah Teo, Seongwook Shin, Hyunseok Jeong, Yosep Kim, Yoon-Ho Kim, Gleb I. Struchalin, Egor V. Kovlakov, Stanislav S. Straupe, Sergei P. Kulik, et al.

We train convolutional neural networks to predict whether or not a set of measurements is informationally complete to uniquely reconstruct any given quantum state with no prior information. In addition, we perform fidelity benchmarking based on this measurement set without explicitly carrying out state tomography. The networks are trained to recognize the fidelity and a<br>reliable measure for informational completeness through collective encoding of quantum measurements, data and target states into grayscale images. By<br>gradually accumulating measurements and data, these convolutional networks can efficiently certify a low-measurement-cost quantum-state characterization<br>scheme. We confirm the potential of this machine-learning approach by presenting experimental results for both spatial-mode and multiphoton systems<br>of large dimensions. These predictions are further shown to improve with noise recognition when the networks are trained with additional bootstrapped training sets from real experimental data.<br>

Agile and versatile quantum communication: Signatures and secrets

Stefan Richter, Matthew Thornton, Imran Khan, Hamish Scott, Kevin Jaksch, Ulrich Vogl, Birgit Stiller, Gerd Leuchs, Christoph Marquardt, et al.

Agile cryptography allows for a resource-efficient swap of a cryptographic core in case the security of an underlying classical cryptographic algorithm becomes compromised. Conversely, versatile cryptography allows the user to switch the cryptographic task without requiring any knowledge of its inner workings.<br>In this paper, we suggest how these related principles can be applied to the field of quantum cryptography by explicitly demonstrating two quantum cryptographic protocols, quantum digital signatures (QDS) and quantum secret sharing (QSS), on the same hardware sender and receiver platform. Crucially, the protocols differ only in their classical postprocessing. The system is also suitable for quantum key distribution (QKD) and is highly compatible with deployed telecommunication infrastructures, since it uses standard quadrature phase-shift keying encoding and heterodyne detection. For the first time, QDS protocols are modified to allow for postselection at the receiver, enhancing protocol performance. The cryptographic primitives QDS and QSS are inherently multipartite, and we prove that they are secure not only when a player internal to the task is dishonest, but also when (external) eavesdropping on the quantum channel is allowed. In our first proof-of-principle demonstration of an agile and versatile quantum communication system, the quantum states are distributed at GHz rates. A 1-bit message may be securely signed using our QDS protocols in less than 0.05 ms over a 2-km fiber link and in less than 0.2 s over a 20-km fiber link. To our knowledge, this also marks the first demonstration of a continuous-variable direct QSS protocol.

SU(1, 1) covariant s-parametrized maps

Andrei B. Klimov, Ulrich Seyfarth, Hubert de Guise, Luis Sanchez-Soto

We propose a practical recipe to compute the s-parametrized maps for systems with SU(1, 1) symmetry using a connection between the Q- and P-symbols through the action of an operator invariant under the group. This establishes equivalence relations between s-parametrized SU(1, 1)-covariant maps. The particular case of the self-dual (Wigner) phase-space functions, defined on the upper sheet of the two-sheet hyperboloid (or, equivalently, inside the Poincaré disc) are analysed.

Achieving the ultimate quantum timing resolution

Vahid Ansari, Benjamin Brecht, Jano Gil-López, John M. Donohue, Jaroslav Řeháček, Zdeněk Hradil, Luis Sanchez-Soto, Christine Silberhorn

Accurate time-delay measurement is at the core of many modern technologies.<br>Here, we present a temporal-mode demultiplexing scheme that achieves the<br>ultimate quantum precision for the simultaneous estimation of the temporal<br>centroid, the time offset, and the relative intensities of an incoherent<br>mixture of ultrashort pulses at the single-photon level. We experimentally<br>resolve temporal separations ten times smaller than the pulse duration, as well<br>as imbalanced intensities differing by a factor of 10^2. This represents an<br>improvement of more than an order of magnitude over the best standard methods<br>based on intensity detection.<br>