arXiv subjects

Tuvia Gefen

Publications and source records attributed to Tuvia Gefen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Detection methods for optimal target reflectivity estimation with two-mode squeezed vacuum probes

Target reflectivity estimation using a two-mode squeezed vacuum (TMSV) probe offers a theoretical advantage over classical schemes, but realizing this potential under the measurement constraints of microwave platforms remains a central challenge. In this work, we study the precision limits for target reflectivity estimation across different energy and loss regimes, while accounting for realistic measurement restrictions. We characterize the optimal measurements and identify a transition in their structure: above a specific reflectivity threshold, a parametric amplifier receiver is optimal, whereas below it, the optimal observables are two-mode squeezing generators. We then study the performance of Gaussian measurements. When restricted to standard local homodyne detection, the TMSV probe is highly non-optimal. However, we show that suitable non-local Gaussian measurements can closely approach the quantum Cram\'er-Rao bound at the large noise limit. These results demonstrate that near-optimal quantum target reflectivity estimation is achievable in various relevant noisy regimes, even under the restriction of Gaussian measurements.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Gaussian Quantum Metrology with Realistic Linear Sensors

Quantum sensing promises enhanced precision, but the usual quantum Cramer Rao bound can be too optimistic for realistic linear sensors, where squeezing, filtering, and loss reshape quantum noise. We derive the tight Holevo Cramer Rao bound and show that realistic degradation yields a hierarchy with the usual bound and homodyne readout. This hierarchy already exists in gravitational-wave detectors. We propose a hardware-efficient readout that reaches the Holevo bound without extra signal loss, increasing compact-binary detection rates by up to 25% over the present LIGO homodyne readout.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Stochastic signal sensing with finite energy and dead time at the fundamental quantum limit

State preparation, measurement, and reset operations take finite time and use finite energy in realistic experiments, yet the impact of this on optimal quantum metrological protocols is not properly understood. We study the effect on sensing a stochastic signal, relevant for the detection of ultralight dark matter and other searches for fundamental physics. We prove that two-mode squeezed vacuum is the optimal probe state given a finite mean-energy constraint for a family of incoherent sensing problems, including noise sensing and quantum illumination. For estimating a gain independent of a loss, we show that entanglement is a required resource to achieve the fundamental quantum limit and observe a non-Gaussian to Gaussian transition in the optimal unentangled state as the dead time increases. We apply our results to bulk acoustic wave resonators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Optimal quantum metrology protocols with erasure qubits

We investigate the precision limits and optimal protocols for sensing single qubit signals in the presence of erasure noise. We study a hierarchy of precision limits achievable with metrological strategies of differing complexity, and identify the optimal protocol for each. The detectability of erasure noise is shown to lead to enhanced precision limits and simplified sensing protocols. For energy gap estimation, we demonstrate that a simple product-state continuous erasure detection strategy yields significant improvements, outperforming optimal entangled protocols even for large numbers of qubits. We show that for other single-qubit signals, quantum error correction provides a substantial advantage by correcting the dominant erasure processes, and can restore Heisenberg-limited precision in certain erasure configurations. As a byproduct of our analysis, we find erasure-conversion schemes for qubits subject to thermal noise that attain the corresponding ultimate precision limits.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Quantum superresolution and noise spectroscopy with quantum computing

Quantum metrology of an incoherent signal is a canonical sensing problem related to superresolution and noise spectroscopy. We show that quantum computing can accelerate searches for a weak incoherent signal when the signal and noise are not precisely known. In particular, we consider weak Schur sampling, density matrix exponentiation, and quantum signal processing for testing the rank, purity, and spectral gap of the unknown quantum state to detect the incoherent signal. We show that these algorithms are faster than full-state tomography, which scales with the dimension of the Hilbert space. We apply our results to detecting exoplanets, stochastic gravitational waves, ultralight dark matter, geontropic quantum gravity, and Pauli noise.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Extending the dynamic range in quantum frequency estimation with sequential weak measurements

Quantum metrology explores optimal quantum protocols for parameter estimation. In the context of optical atomic clocks, conventional protocols focus on optimal input states and measurements to achieve enhanced sensitivities. However, such protocols are typically limited by phase slip errors inflicted due to the decoherence of the local oscillator. Here, we study schemes to extend the dynamic range and overcome phase slip noise through weak measurements with ancilla qubits. Using coherent spin states, we find optimal weak measurements protocols: we identify optimal measurement strength for any given interrogation time and number of atoms. Then, we combine weak and projective measurements to construct a protocol that asymptotically saturates the noiseless precision limits, and outperforms previously proposed methods for phase slip noise suppression.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Bayesian frequency estimation at the fundamental quantum limit

Searching for a weak signal at an unknown frequency is a canonical task in experiments probing fundamental physics such as gravitational-wave observatories and ultra-light dark matter haloscopes. These state-of-the-art sensors are limited by quantum noise arising from the fundamental uncertainty about the state of the device. Classically, frequency estimation suffers from a threshold effect in the signal-to-noise ratio such that weak signals are extremely hard to localise in frequency. We show that this phenomenon persists at the fundamental quantum limit but that the classical approach, a quadrature measurement, can nevertheless be beaten by a coherent protocol of projecting onto the "quantum whitened" possible quantum states. Quantum whitening is a covariant measurement, and we examine it analytically in the wide-prior limit and numerically for finite-width priors. Beyond accelerating searches for unknown frequencies, quantum whitening may be used generally to sense the parameter of a unitary encoding given no prior information about the parameter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Heisenberg-limited Hamiltonian learning continuous variable systems via engineered dissipation

Discrete and continuous variables oftentimes require different treatments in many learning tasks. Identifying the Hamiltonian governing the evolution of a quantum system is a fundamental task in quantum learning theory. While previous works mostly focused on quantum spin systems, where quantum states can be seen as superpositions of discrete bit-strings, relatively little is known about Hamiltonian learning for continuous-variable quantum systems. In this work we focus on learning the Hamiltonian of a bosonic quantum system, a common type of continuous-variable quantum system. This learning task involves an infinite-dimensional Hilbert space and unbounded operators, making mathematically rigorous treatments challenging. We introduce an analytic framework to study the effects of strong dissipation in such systems, enabling a rigorous analysis of cat qubit stabilization via engineered dissipation. This framework also supports the development of Heisenberg-limited algorithms for learning general bosonic Hamiltonians with higher-order terms of the creation and annihilation operators. Notably, our scheme requires a total Hamiltonian evolution time that scales only logarithmically with the number of modes and inversely with the precision of the reconstructed coefficients. On a theoretical level, we derive a new quantitative adiabatic approximation estimate for general Lindbladian evolutions with unbounded generators. Finally, we discuss possible experimental implementations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Lindblad estimation with fast and precise quantum control

Enhancing precision sensors for stochastic signals using quantum techniques is a promising emerging field of physics. Estimating a weak stochastic waveform is the core task of many fundamental physics experiments including searches for stochastic gravitational waves, quantum gravity, and axionic dark matter. Simultaneously, noise spectroscopy and characterisation, e.g. estimation of various decay mechanisms in quantum devices, is relevant to a broad range of fundamental and technological applications. We consider the ultimate limit on the sensitivity of these devices for Lindblad estimation given any quantum state, fast and precise control sequence, and measurement scheme. We show that it is optimal to rapidly projectively measure and re-initialise the quantum state. We develop optimal protocols for a wide range of applications including stochastic waveform estimation, spectroscopy with qubits, and Lindblad estimation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Universal quantum operations and ancilla-based readout for tweezer clocks

Enhancing the precision of measurements by harnessing entanglement is a long-sought goal in the field of quantum metrology. Yet attaining the best sensitivity allowed by quantum theory in the presence of noise is an outstanding challenge, requiring optimal probe-state generation and readout strategies. Neutral atom optical clocks, leading systems for measuring time, have shown recent progress in terms of entanglement generation, but currently lack the control capabilities to realize such schemes. Here we show universal quantum operations and ancilla-based readout for ultranarrow optical transitions of neutral atoms. Our demonstration in a tweezer clock platform enables a circuit-based approach to quantum metrology with neutral atom optical clocks. To this end, we demonstrate two-qubit entangling gates with 99.62(3)% fidelity - averaged over symmetric input states - via Rydberg interactions and dynamical connectivity for optical clock qubits, which we combine with local addressing to implement universally programmable quantum circuits. Using this approach, we generate a near-optimal entangled probe state, a cascade of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states of different sizes, and perform dual-quadrature GHZ readout. We also show repeated fast phase detection with non-destructive conditional reset of clock qubits and minimal dead time between repetitions by implementing ancilla-based quantum logic spectroscopy (QLS) for neutral atoms. Finally, we extend this to multi-qubit parity checks and measurement-based, heralded, Bell state preparation. Our work lays the foundation for hybrid processor-clock devices with neutral atoms and more generally points to a future of practical applications for quantum processors linked with quantum sensors.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Heisenberg-limited Bayesian phase estimation with low-depth digital quantum circuits

Optimal phase estimation protocols require complex state preparation and readout schemes, generally unavailable or unscalable in many quantum platforms. We develop and analyze a scheme that achieves near-optimal precision up to a constant overhead for Bayesian phase estimation, using simple digital quantum circuits with depths scaling logarithmically with the number of qubits. We find that for Gaussian prior phase distributions with arbitrary widths, the optimal initial state can be approximated with products of Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states with varying number of qubits. Using local, adaptive measurements optimized for the prior distribution and the initial state, we show that Heisenberg scaling is achievable and that the proposed scheme outperforms known schemes in the literature that utilize a similar set of initial states. For an example prior width, we present a detailed comparison and find that is also possible to achieve Heisenberg scaling with a scheme that employs non-adaptive measurements, with the right allocation of copies per GHZ state and single-qubit rotations. We also propose an efficient phase unwinding protocol to extend the dynamic range of the proposed scheme, and show that it outperforms existing protocols by achieving an enhanced precision with a smaller number of additional atoms. Lastly, we discuss the impact of noise and imperfect gates.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Stochastic waveform estimation at the fundamental quantum limit

Although measuring the deterministic waveform of a weak classical force is a well-studied problem, estimating a random waveform, such as the spectral density of a stochastic signal field, is much less well-understood despite it being a widespread task at the frontier of experimental physics. State-of-the-art precision sensors of random forces must account for the underlying quantum nature of the measurement, but the optimal quantum protocol for interrogating such linear sensors is not known. We derive the fundamental precision limit, the extended channel quantum Cramér-Rao bound, and the optimal protocol that attains it. In the experimentally relevant regime where losses dominate, we prove that non-Gaussian state preparation and measurements are required for optimality. We discuss how this non-Gaussian protocol could improve searches for signatures of quantum gravity, stochastic gravitational waves, and axionic dark matter.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Achieving the fundamental quantum limit of linear waveform estimation

Sensing a classical signal using a linear quantum device is a pervasive application of quantum-enhanced measurement. The fundamental precision limits of linear waveform estimation, however, are not fully understood. In certain cases, there is an unexplained gap between the known waveform-estimation Quantum Cramér-Rao Bound and the optimal sensitivity from quadrature measurement of the outgoing mode from the device. We resolve this gap by establishing the fundamental precision limit, the waveform-estimation Holevo Cramér-Rao Bound, and how to achieve it using a nonstationary measurement. We apply our results to detuned gravitational-wave interferometry to accelerate the search for post-merger remnants from binary neutron-star mergers. If we have an unequal weighting between estimating the signal's power and phase, then we propose how to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of $\sqrt2$ using this nonstationary measurement.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Quantum precision limits of displacement noise free interferometers

Current laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors suffer from a fundamental limit to their precision due to the displacement noise of optical elements contributed by various sources. Several schemes for Displacement-Noise Free Interferometers (DFI) have been proposed to mitigate their effects. The idea behind these schemes is similar to decoherence-free subspaces in quantum sensing i.e. certain modes contain information about the gravitational waves but are insensitive to the mirror motion (displacement noise). In this paper, we derive quantum precision limits for general DFI schemes, including optimal measurement basis and optimal squeezing schemes. We introduce a triangular cavity DFI scheme and apply our general bounds to it. Precision analysis of this scheme with different noise models shows that the DFI property leads to interesting sensitivity profiles and improved precision due to noise mitigation and larger gain from squeezing.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Optimal protocols for quantum metrology with noisy measurements

Measurement noise is a major source of noise in quantum metrology. Here, we explore preprocessing protocols that apply quantum controls to the quantum sensor state prior to the final noisy measurement (but after the unknown parameter has been imparted), aiming to maximize the estimation precision. We define the quantum preprocessing-optimized Fisher information, which determines the ultimate precision limit for quantum sensors under measurement noise, and conduct a thorough investigation into optimal preprocessing protocols. First, we formulate the preprocessing optimization problem as a biconvex optimization using the error observable formalism, based on which we prove that unitary controls are optimal for pure states and derive analytical solutions of the optimal controls in several practically relevant cases. Then we prove that for classically mixed states (whose eigenvalues encode the unknown parameter) under commuting-operator measurements, coarse-graining controls are optimal, while unitary controls are suboptimal in certain cases. Finally, we demonstrate that in multi-probe systems where noisy measurements act independently on each probe, the noiseless precision limit can be asymptotically recovered using global controls for a wide range of quantum states and measurements. Applications to noisy Ramsey interferometry and thermometry are presented, as well as explicit circuit constructions of optimal controls.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Heisenberg-limited Hamiltonian learning for interacting bosons

We develop a protocol for learning a class of interacting bosonic Hamiltonians from dynamics with Heisenberg-limited scaling. For Hamiltonians with an underlying bounded-degree graph structure, we can learn all parameters with root mean squared error $ε$ using $\mathcal{O}(1/ε)$ total evolution time, which is independent of the system size, in a way that is robust against state-preparation and measurement error. In the protocol, we only use bosonic coherent states, beam splitters, phase shifters, and homodyne measurements, which are easy to implement on many experimental platforms. A key technique we develop is to apply random unitaries to enforce symmetry in the effective Hamiltonian, which may be of independent interest.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2022

Quantum metrology with imperfect measurements

The impact of measurement imperfections on quantum metrology protocols has not been approached in a systematic manner so far. In this work, we tackle this issue by generalising firstly the notion of quantum Fisher information to account for noisy detection, and propose tractable methods allowing for its approximate evaluation. We then show that in canonical scenarios involving $N$ probes with local measurements undergoing readout noise, the optimal sensitivity depends crucially on the control operations allowed to counterbalance the measurement imperfections -- with global control operations, the ideal sensitivity (e.g.~the Heisenberg scaling) can always be recovered in the asymptotic $N$ limit, while with local control operations the quantum-enhancement of sensitivity is constrained to a constant factor. We illustrate our findings with an example of NV-centre magnetometry, as well as schemes involving spin-$1/2$ probes with bit-flip errors affecting their two-outcome measurements, for which we find the input states and control unitary operations sufficient to attain the ultimate asymptotic precision.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

On the robustness of the NV-NMR spectrometer setup to magnetic field inhomogeneities

The NV-NMR spectrometer is a promising candidate for detection of NMR signals at the nano scale. Field inhomogeneities, however, are a major source of noise that limits spectral resolution in state of the art NV - NMR experiments and constitutes a major bottleneck in the development of nano scale NMR. Here we propose, a route in which this limitation could be circumvented in NV-NMR spectrometer experiments, by utilising the nanometric scale and the quantumness of the detector.

quant-ph↗