No Arabic abstract
Phase measurement using a lossless Mach-Zehnder interferometer with certain entangled $N$-photon states can lead to a phase sensitivity of the order of 1/N, the Heisenberg limit. However, previously considered output measurement schemes are different for different input states to achieve this limit. We show that it is possible to achieve this limit just by the parity measurement for all the commonly proposed entangled states. Based on the parity measurement scheme, the reductions of the phase sensitivity in the presence of photon loss are examined for the various input states.
A promising result from optical quantum metrology is the ability to achieve sub-shot-noise performance in transmission or absorption measurements. This is due to the significantly lower uncertainty in light intensity of quantum beams with respect to their classical counterparts. In this work, we simulate the outcome of an experiment that uses a multiplexed single-photon source based on pair generation by continuous spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) followed by a time multiplexing set-up with a binary temporal division strategy, considering several types of experimental losses. With such source, the sub-Poissonian statistics of the output signal is the key for achieving sub-shot-noise performance. We compare the numerical results with two paradigmatic limits: the shot-noise limit (achieved using coherent sources) and the quantum limit (obtained with an ideal photon-number Fock state as the input source). We also investigate conditions in which threshold detectors can be used, and the effect of input light fluctuations on the measurement error. Results show that sub-shot-noise performance can be achieved, even without using number-resolving detectors, with improvement factors that range from 1.5 to 2. This technique would allow measurements of optical absorption of a sample with reasonable uncertainty using ultra-low light intensity and minimum disruption of biological or other fragile specimens.
Entanglement and wave function description are two of the core concepts that make quantum mechanics such a unique theory. A method to directly measure the wave function, using Weak Values, was demonstrated by Lundeen et al., Nature textbf{474}, 188(2011). However, it is not applicable to a scenario of two disjoint systems, where nonlocal entanglement can be a crucial element since that requires obtaining the Weak Values of nonlocal observables. Here, for the first time, we propose a method to directly measure a nonlocal wave function of a bipartite system, using Modular Values. The method is experimentally implemented for a photon pair in a hyper-entangled state, i.e. entangled both in polarization and momentum degrees of freedom.
By exploiting the quantised nature of light, we demonstrate a sub-shot-noise scanning optical transmittance microscope. Our microscope demonstrates, with micron scale resolution, a factor of improvement in precision of 1.76(9) in transmittance estimation gained per probe photon relative to an optimal classical version at the same optical power. This would allow us to observe photosensitive samples with nearly twice the precision,without sacrificing image resolution or increasing optical power to improve signal-to-noise ratio. Our setup uses correlated twin-beams produced by parametric down-conversion, and a hybrid detection scheme comprising photon-counting-based feed-forward and a highly efficient CCD camera.
Harnessing the unique properties of quantum mechanics offers the possibility to deliver new technologies that can fundamentally outperform their classical counterparts. These technologies only deliver advantages when components operate with performance beyond specific thresholds. For optical quantum metrology, the biggest challenge that impacts on performance thresholds is optical loss. Here we demonstrate how including an optical delay and an optical switch in a feed-forward configuration with a stable and efficient correlated photon pair source reduces the detector efficiency required to enable quantum enhanced sensing down to the detection level of single photons. When the switch is active, we observe a factor of improvement in precision of 1.27 for transmission measurement on a per input photon basis, compared to the performance of a laser emitting an ideal coherent state and measured with the same detection efficiency as our setup. When the switch is inoperative, we observe no quantum advantage.
Visible and infra-red light emitted at a Ag-Ag(111) junction has been investigated from tunneling to single atom contact conditions with a scanning tunneling microscope. The light intensity varies in a highly nonlinear fashion with the conductance of the junction and exhibits a minimum at conductances close to the conductance quantum. The data are interpreted in terms of current noise at optical frequencies, which is characteristic of partially open transport channels.