Bi-frequency illumination: a quantum-enhanced protocol

Abstract

Quantum-enhanced, idler-free sensing protocol to measure the response of a target object to the frequency of a probe in a noisy and lossy scenario is proposed. In this protocol, a target with frequency-dependent reflectivity embedded in a thermal bath is considered. The aim is to estimate the parameter $\lambda = \eta(\omega_2)-\eta(\omega_1)$, since it contains relevant information for different problems. For this, a bi-frequency quantum state is employed as the resource, since it is necessary to capture the relevant information about the parameter. Computing the quantum Fisher information $H$ relative to the parameter $\lambda$ in an assumed neighborhood of $\lambda \sim 0$ for a two-mode squeezed state ($H_Q$), and a coherent state ($H_C$), a quantum enhancement is shown in the estimation of $\lambda$. This quantum enhancement grows with the mean reflectivity of the probed object, and is noise-resilient. Explicit formulas are derived for the optimal observables, and an experimental scheme based on elementary quantum optical transformations is proposed. Furthermore, this work opens the way to applications in both radar and medical imaging, in particular in the microwave domain.