超冷原子系综的非高斯纠缠态与精密测量

量子精密测量是基于量子力学的基本原理对特定物理量实施测量,并利用量子效应提高测量精度的交叉科学.随着超冷原子实验技术的发展,超冷原子为量子精密测量提供了一个优异的研究平台.利用发展成熟的量子调控技术,人们可以基于超冷原子系综制备一些新奇的非高斯多粒子纠缠态.基于多体量子干涉,利用这些非高斯纠缠态作为输入,可以实现超越标准量子极限的高精度测量.本文简要综述这一研究领域的进展.     

Strategies for Positive Partial Transpose (PPT) States in Quantum Metrologies with Noise

Quantum metrology overcomes standard precision limits and has the potential to play a key role in quantum sensing. Quantum mechanics, through the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, imposes limits on the precision of measurements. Conventional bounds to the measurement precision such as the shot noise limit are not as fundamental as the Heisenberg limits, and can be beaten with quantum strategies that employ ‘quantum tricks’ such as squeezing and entanglement. Bipartite entangled quantum states with a positive partial transpose (PPT), i.e., PPT entangled states, are usually considered to be too weakly entangled for applications. Since no pure entanglement can be distilled from them, they are also called bound entangled states. We provide strategies, using which multipartite quantum states that have a positive partial transpose with respect to all bi-partitions of the particles can still outperform separable states in linear interferometers.     

光和原子关联与量子计量

物理量的测量与单位标准的统一推动了计量学的发展.量子力学的建立,激光技术的发明以及原子与分子物理学的发展,在原理与技术上进一步刷新了计量学的研究内涵,特别是激光干涉与原子频标技术的发展,引起了计量学革命性的飞跃.基于激光干涉的引力波测量、激光陀螺仪,基于原子干涉的原子钟、原子陀螺仪等精密测量技术相继诞生,一个以量子物理为基础,探索与开拓物理量精密测量方法与技术的新的科学分支——量子计量学(Quantum Metrology)已然兴起.干涉是计量学中最常用的相位测量方法.量子干涉技术,其相位测量精度能够突破标准量子极限的限制,是量子计量学与量子测量技术的核心研究内容.本文重点介绍近几年我们在量子干涉方面所取得的新开拓与新发展,主要内容包括基于原子系综中四波混频过程的SU(1,1)型光量子关联干涉仪和基于原子系综中拉曼散射过程的光-原子混合干涉仪.     

The parity operator in quantum optical metrology

Photon number states are assigned a parity of +1 if their photon number is even and a parity of ?1 if odd. The parity operator, which is minus one to the power of the photon number operator, is a Hermitian operator and thus a quantum mechanical observable although it has no classical analogue, the concept being meaningless in the context of classical light waves. In this paper we review work on the application of the parity operator to the problem of quantum metrology for the detection of small phase shifts with quantum optical interferometry using highly entangled field states such as the so-called N00N states, and states obtained by injecting twin Fock states into a beam splitter. With such states and with the performance of parity measurements on one of the output beams of the interferometer, one can breach the standard quantum limit, or shot-noise limit, of sensitivity down to the Heisenberg limit, the greatest degree of phase sensitivity allowed by quantum mechanics for linear phase shifts. Heisenberg limit sensitivities are expected to eventually play an important role in attempts to detect gravitational waves in interferometric detection systems such as LIGO and VIRGO.     

连续变量无条件纠缠交换 --纠缠态的量子离物传送

利用自行设计的两台非简并光学参量放大器，获得了一对具有经典相干性且量子起伏相互独立的连续变量纠缠态光场，并用它完成了连续变量的无条件纠缠交换，即纠缠态的量子离物传送．通过联合贝尔态探测与纠缠塌缩，使两个初始不纠缠而又从未发生过直接相互作用的光场产生了量子纠缠，其正交振幅和位相分量的量子起伏关联方差被直接测量，其测量值分别低于散离噪声极限1．23dB和1．12dB．理论计算与实验结果基本符合．     

Quantum metrology

The statistical error is ineluctable in any measurement. Quantum techniques, especially with the development of quantum information, can help us squeeze the statistical error and enhance the precision of measurement. In a quantum system, there are some quantum parameters, such as the quantum state, quantum operator, and quantum dimension, which have no classical counterparts. So quantum metrology deals with not only the traditional parameters, but also the quantum parameters. Quantum metrology includes two important parts： measuring the physical parameters with a precision beating the classical physics limit and measuring the quantum parameters precisely. In this review, we will introduce how quantum characters （e.g., squeezed state and quantum entanglement） yield a higher precision, what the research areas are scientists most interesting in, and what the development status of quantum metrology and its perspectives are.     

多个量子节点确定性纠缠的建立

量子纠缠是一种重要的量子资源,在多个空间分离的量子存储器间建立确定性的量子纠缠,然后在用户控制的时刻将所存储的量子纠缠转移到量子信道中进行信息的分发和传送,这对于实现量子信息网络是至关重要的.本文介绍了用光学参量放大器制备与铷原子D1吸收线对应的非经典光场,而且在三个空间分离的原子系综中确定性量子纠缠的产生、存储和转移.利用电磁感应透明光和原子相互作用的原理,将制备的多组分光场纠缠态模式映射到三个远距离的原子系综以建立原子自旋波之间的纠缠.然后,存储在原子系综中的纠缠态通过三个量子通道,纠缠态的量子噪声被转移到三束空间分离的正交纠缠光场.三束释放的光场间纠缠的存在验证了该系统具有保持多组分纠缠的能力.这个方案实现了三个量子节点间的纠缠,并且可以直接扩展到具有更多节点的量子网络,为未来实现大型量子网络通信奠定了基础.     

连续变量量子态的光学操控

量子态的光学操控是指在光场的传输、存储和频率变换等过程中用光学方法对光场的量子态进行操作与控制.量子态操控是量子通讯及量子态制备和应用的基础.在简要介绍连续变量多组份纠缠态光场制备的基础上,概述基于多组份纠缠态光场的连续变量量子通讯网络及在执行压缩态和纠缠态光场操控方面的实验研究进展.     

Quantum multiparameter estimation with multi-mode photon catalysis entangled squeezed state

We propose a method to generate the multi-mode entangled catalysis squeezed vacuum states (MECSVS) by embedding the cross-Kerr nonlinear medium into the Mach−Zehnder interferometer. This method realizes the exchange of quantum states between different modes based on Fredkin gate. In addition, we study the MECSVS as the probe state of multi-arm optical interferometer to realize multi-phase simultaneous estimation. The results show that the quantum Cramer−Rao bound (QCRB) of phase estimation can be improved by increasing the number of catalytic photons or decreasing the transmissivity of the optical beam splitter using for photon catalysis. In addition, we also show that even if there is photon loss, the QCRB of our photon catalysis scheme is lower than that of the ideal entangled squeezed vacuum states (ESVS), which shows that by performing the photon catalytic operation is more robust against photon loss than that without the catalytic operation. The results here can find applications in quantum metrology for multiparatmeter estimation.     

Quantum information capsule in multiple-qudit systems and continuous-variable systems

Quantum correlations in an entangled many-body system are capable of storing information. Even when the information is injected by a local unitary operation to the system, the entanglement delocalizes it. In a recent study on multiple-qubit systems, it is shown that a virtual qubit defined in the correlation space plays a role of perfect storage of delocalized information, which is called a quantum information capsule (QIC). To enhance the capacity of quantum information storage, it is crucial to formulate the cases for multiple-qudit systems and continuous-variable (CV) systems. We analytically prove that it is possible to construct a QIC for general write operations of the systems. It turns out that the extension to quantum field theory is achievable. For Gaussian states, we explicitly construct a QIC for shift write operations. We analyze the time-evolution of QIC in a CV system to demonstrate the diffusion of information in entangled pure states.     

Useful multiparticle entanglement and sub-shot-noise sensitivity in experimental phase estimation

We experimentally demonstrate a general criterion to identify entangled states useful for the estimation of an unknown phase shift with a sensitivity higher than the shot-noise limit. We show how to exploit this entanglement on the examples of a maximum likelihood as well as of a Bayesian phase estimation protocol. Using an entangled four-photon state we achieve a phase sensitivity clearly beyond the shot-noise limit. Our detailed comparison of methods and quantum states for entanglement enhanced metrology reveals the connection between multiparticle entanglement and sub-shot-noise uncertainty, both in a frequentist and in a Bayesian phase estimation setting.     

Mach–Zehnder interferometer with squeezed and EPR entangled optical fields

We study a scheme for Mach-Zehnder(MZ) interferometer as a quantum linear device by injecting two-mode squeezed input states into two ports of interferometer.Two-mode squeezed states can be changed into two types of inputs for MZ interferometer:two squeezed states and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen(EPR) entangled states.The interference patterns of the MZ interferometer vary periodically as the relative phase of the two arms of the interferometer is scanned,and are measured by the balanced homodyne detection system.Our experiments show that there are different interference patterns and periodicity of the output quantum states for two cases which depend on the relative phase of input optical fields.Since MZ interferometer can be used to realize some quantum operations,this work will have the important applications in quantum information and metrology.     

从引力波探测中的压缩光到光原子钟

2020 年度“墨子量子奖”授予量子精密测量领域, 获奖科学家是 Carlton Caves, 香取秀俊和叶军. 香取秀俊和叶军又获得2021 年基础物理学突破奖. 对于引力波探测中的量子噪声,Caves 分析了海森堡不确定关系所带来的测量精度极限, 并且提出用压缩光来克服这个极限. 这个方法已经被探测引力波的激光干涉仪实际采用. 原子钟基于原子中电子改变能量状态时, 发射或吸收的电磁波, 提供了最精确的时间和频率标准. 与基于微波的原子钟相比. 光原子钟, 特别是光晶格上的大量原子, 可以达到更好的精度. 叶军的研究组将约1 万个锶原子放在3 维光晶格中, 实现光原子钟, 相对精度达到2.5 × 10-19 . 香取秀俊的研究组搭建的两个可移动光原子钟, 精度达到了5 ×10-18 , 并用来测量了引力红移, 达到地面测量的最好精度.     

Demonstration of eight-partite two-diamond shape cluster state for continuous variables

Multipartite entangled state is the basic resource for implementing quantum information networks and quantum computation. In this paper, we present the experimental demonstration of the eight-partite two-diamond shape cluster states for continuous variables, which consist of eight spatially separated and entangled optical modes. Eight resource squeezed states of light with classical coherence are produced by four nondegenerate optical parametric amplifiers and then they are transformed to the eight-partite two-diamond shape cluster states by a specially designed linear optical network. Since the spatially separated multipartite entangled state can be prepared off-line, it can be conveniently applied in the future quantum technology.     

能够突破标准量子极限的原子双数态的制备研究

所有经典的双模(两路径)干涉仪的相位测量精度都受限于1/N/(1/2)(其中N为参与干涉测量的总粒子数),这一极限被称为经典极限或标准量子极限.量子计量学最重要的目标之一是探索如何通过量子纠缠实现超越经典极限的测量精度.双数态是一种能突破经典极限的纠缠态,它由数目相等、不可区分的自旋朝上和朝下(双模)玻色粒子组成.通过光学自发参量下转换或囚禁离子内态的操控手段已实现了不到十个光子或离子的双数态.利用玻色-爱因斯坦凝聚体中原子的自旋混合过程,近年来也能产生多达几千个原子的双数态.但是这样制备的双数态的总粒子数的随机涨落过大,限制了它们的实际应用潜力.最近,我们通过调控原子凝聚体中的量子相变,实现了超过一万个原子的双数态的确定性制备.本文简要综述这一研究进展.     

A Method to Compute the Schrieffer–Wolff Generator for Analysis of Quantum Memory

Quantum illumination uses entangled light that consists of signal and idler modes to achieve higher detection rate of a low-reflective object in noisy environments. The best performance of quantum illumination can be achieved by measuring the returned signal mode together with the idler mode. Thus, it is necessary to prepare a quantum memory that can keep the idler mode ideal. To send a signal towards a long-distance target, entangled light in the microwave regime is used. There was a recent demonstration of a microwave quantum memory using microwave cavities coupled with a transmon qubit. We propose an ordering of bosonic operators to efficiently compute the Schrieffer–Wolff transformation generator to analyze the quantum memory. Our proposed method is applicable to a wide class of systems described by bosonic operators whose interaction part represents a definite number of transfer in quanta.     

量子相空间纠缠轨线力学

量子相空间理论已用来研究物理学、化学等有关问题, 并为人们研究经典物理和量子物理的对应关系提供了一种有力工具. 在量子相空间中, 基于Wigner表象下的量子刘维尔方程, 建立分子纠缠轨线力学. 与经典分子力学方法不同, 分子纠缠轨线力学中的轨线不再是独立的, 而是“纠缠”在一起的, 这正是体系量子效应的体现. 这种半经典 的理论方法能给出体系的量子效应及具有启示意义的物理图像. 分子纠缠轨线力学被用来研究量子隧穿效应、分子光解反应动力学、自关联函数等. 本文综述了分子纠缠轨线力学最近的发展. 关键词： 纠缠轨线 量子相空间 半经典理论     

Multiparty quantum secret conference based on quantum encryption with pure entangled states

We present a scheme for multiparty quantum remote secret conference (MQRSC) with pure entangled states, not maximally entangled multipartite quantum systems. The conferees first share a private quantum key, a sequence of pure entangled states and then use them to encode and decode the secret messages. The conferees exploit the decoy-photon technique to ensure the security of the transmission of qubits. This MQRSC scheme is more feasible and efficient than others.     

基于绝热捷径快速实现远距离的四维纠缠态的制备

作为量子信息处理的载体,量子纠缠态一直以来都是量子信息领域的研究热点.相比于低维纠缠态,高维纠缠态使得量子通信具有更快的传输速度、更强的安全性、更高的噪声容忍阈值等特点.另外,绝热技术因其对实验参数起伏不敏感而被广泛应用于纠缠态的制备,然而绝热过程需要相当长的演化时间,因此绝热捷径应运而生.本文提出了一种采用无跃迁量子驱动构建绝热捷径实现快速制备两个原子的四维纠缠态的理论方案,该系统中的两个原子分别被囚禁在两个由光纤连接的双模腔中.为了获得一个技术上可操作的物理系统,本方案采用能级失谐设计出一个可精确驱动系统沿着某一个系统的瞬时本征态演化的哈密顿.该方案所采用的无跃迁量子驱动构建绝热捷径不仅大大缩短了演化时间,而且在实验上也比较容易实现.本文还数值模拟了消相干因素对四维纠缠态保真度的影响,结果表明,只要脉冲参数选取在一定范围内,光纤耗散、腔场耗散和原子自发辐射等不利因素都会被大大抑制.     

Screening of Quantum States of an Optical Field from a Resonant Perturbing Subsystem

Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics - We predict theoretically the effect of screening the quantum states (including entangled ones) of an optical field from interaction with a resonant perturbing...