Overcoming resolution limits with quantum sensing

T Gefen, A Rotem, A Retzker - Nature communications, 2019 - nature.com
Nature communications, 2019nature.com
The field of quantum sensing explores the use of quantum phenomena to measure a broad
range of physical quantities, of both static and time-dependent types. While for static signals
the main figure of merit is sensitivity, for time dependent signals it is spectral resolution, ie
the ability to resolve two different frequencies. Here we study this problem, and develop new
superresolution methods that rely on quantum features. We first formulate a general criterion
for superresolution in quantum problems. Inspired by this, we show that quantum detectors …
Abstract
The field of quantum sensing explores the use of quantum phenomena to measure a broad range of physical quantities, of both static and time-dependent types. While for static signals the main figure of merit is sensitivity, for time dependent signals it is spectral resolution, i.e. the ability to resolve two different frequencies. Here we study this problem, and develop new superresolution methods that rely on quantum features. We first formulate a general criterion for superresolution in quantum problems. Inspired by this, we show that quantum detectors can resolve two frequencies from incoherent segments of the signal, irrespective of their separation, in contrast to what is known about classical detection schemes. The main idea behind these methods is to overcome the vanishing distinguishability in resolution problems by nullifying the projection noise.
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