Exploring the ultimate limits: Super-resolution enhanced by partial coherence

Abstract

The resolution of separation of two elementary signals forming a partially coherent superposition, defined by quantum Fisher information and normalised with respect to detection probabilities, is always limited by the resolution of incoherent mixtures. However, when the partially coherent superpositions are prepared in a controlled way the precision can be enhanced by up to several orders of magnitude above this limit. Coherence also allows the sorting of information about various parameters into distinct channels as demonstrated by parameter of separation linked with the anti-phase superposition and the centroid position linked with the in-phase superposition.