Improved Quantum Magnetometry beyond the Standard Quantum Limit

Under ideal conditions, quantum metrology promises a precision gain over classical techniques scaling quadratically with the number of probe particles. At the same time, no-go results have shown that generic, uncorrelated noise limits the quantum advantage to a constant factor. In frequency estimation scenarios, however, there are exceptions to this rule and, in particular, it has been found that transversal dephasing does allow for a scaling quantum advantage. Yet, it has remained unclear whether such exemptions can be exploited in practical scenarios. Here, we argue that the transversal-noise model applies to the setting of recent magnetometry experiments and show that a scaling advantage can be maintained with one-axis-twisted spin-squeezed states and Ramsey-interferometry-like measurements. This is achieved by exploiting the geometry of the setup that, as we demonstrate, has a strong influence on the achievable quantum enhancement for experimentally feasible parameter settings. When, in addition to the dominant transversal noise, other sources of decoherence are present, the quantum advantage is asymptotically bounded by a constant, but this constant may be significantly improved by exploring the geometry.

Noisy metrology beyond the standard quantum limit

Parameter estimation is of fundamental importance in areas from atomic spectroscopy and atomic clocks to gravitational wave detection. Entangled probes provide a significant precision gain over classical strategies in the absence of noise. However, recent results seem to indicate that any small amount of realistic noise restricts the advantage of quantum strategies to an improvement by at most a multiplicative constant. Here, we identify a relevant scenario in which one can overcome this restriction and attain superclassical precision scaling even in the presence of uncorrelated noise. We show that precision can be significantly enhanced when the noise is concentrated along some spatial direction, while the Hamiltonian governing the evolution which depends on the parameter to be estimated can be engineered to point along a different direction. In the case of perpendicular orientation, we find superclassical scaling and identify a state which achieves the optimum.

Hybrid Quantum Repeater Protocol With Fast Local Processing

We propose a hybrid quantum repeater protocol combining the advantages of continuous and discrete variables. The repeater is based on the previous work of Brask et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 160501 (2010)] but we present two ways of improving this protocol. In the previous protocol entangled single-photon states are produced and grown into superpositions of coherent states, known as two-mode cat states. The entanglement is then distributed using homodyne detection. To improve the protocol, we replace the time-consuming non-local growth of cat states with local growth of single-mode cat states, eliminating the need for classical communication during growth. Entanglement is generated in subsequent connection processes. Furthermore the growth procedure is optimized. We review the main elements of the original protocol and present the two modifications. Finally the two protocols are compared and the modified protocol is shown to perform significantly better than the original protocol.