Generalized Quantum Measurements Research Articles

Robust Classical and Quantum Polarimetry with a Single Nanostructured Metagrating.

We formulate a new conceptual approach for one-shot complete polarization state measurement with nanostructured metasurfaces applicable to classical light and multiphoton quantum states by drawing on the principles of generalized quantum measurements based on positive operator-valued measures. Accurate polarization reconstruction from a combination of photon counts or correlations from several diffraction orders is robust with respect to even strong fabrication inaccuracies, requiring only a single classical calibration of the metasurface transmission. Furthermore, this approach operates with a single metagrating without interleaving, allowing for a reduction in metasurface size while preserving high transmission efficiency and output beam quality. We theoretically obtained original metasurface designs, fabricated the metasurface from amorphous silicon nanostructures deposited on glass, and experimentally confirmed accurate polarization reconstruction of laser beams. We also anticipate robust operation under changes in environmental conditions, opening new possibilities for space-based imaging and satellite optics.

Generalized Quantum Measurements on a Higher-Dimensional System via Quantum Walks.

Quantum measurements play a fundamental role in quantum mechanics. Especially, generalized quantum measurements provide a powerful and versatile tool to extract information from quantum systems. However, how to realize them on an arbitrary higher-dimensional quantum system remains a challenging task. Here we propose a simple recipe for the implementation of a general positive-operator valued measurement (POVM) on a higher-dimensional quantum system via a one-dimensional discrete-time quantum walk with a two-dimensional coin. Furthermore, using single photons and linear optics, we realize experimentally a symmetric, informationally complete (SIC) POVM on a three-dimensional system with high fidelity. As an application, we realize a qutrit state tomography with SIC-POVM and confirm that the infidelity scaling achieved by the qutrit SIC-POVM is as good as that based on mutually unbiased bases. Our study paves the way to explore physics and information in higher-dimensional quantum systems and finds applications in various quantum information processing tasks that rely on generalized quantum measurements.

General quantum measurements in relativistic quantum field theory

General quantum measurements in relativistic quantum field theory

Quantifying information extraction using generalized quantum measurements

Quantifying information extraction using generalized quantum measurements

Intrinsic randomness under general quantum measurements

Intrinsic randomness under general quantum measurements

Detecting coherence with respect to general quantum measurements

Detecting coherence with respect to general quantum measurements

Measurement Noise Susceptibility in Quantum Estimation.

Fisher information is a key notion in the whole field of quantum metrology. It allows for a direct quantification of the maximal achievable precision of the estimation of the parameters encoded in quantum states using the most general quantum measurement. It fails, however, to quantify the robustness of quantum estimation schemes against measurement imperfections, which are always present in any practical implementations. Here, we introduce a new concept of Fisher information measurement noise susceptibility that quantifies the potential loss of Fisher information due to small measurement disturbance. We derive an explicit formula for the quantity, and demonstrate its usefulness in the analysis of paradigmatic quantum estimation schemes, including interferometry and superresolution optical imaging.

Simulation of positive operator-valued measures and quantum instruments via quantum state-preparation algorithms

In Ref. [Phys. Rev. A 100, 062317 (2019)], the authors reported an algorithm to implement, in a circuit-based quantum computer, a general quantum measurement (GQM) of a two-level quantum system, a qubit. Even though their algorithm seems right, its application involves the solution of an intricate non-linear system of equations in order to obtain the angles determining the quantum circuit to be implemented for the simulation. In this article, we identify and discuss a simple way to circumvent this issue and implement GQMs on any $d$-level quantum system through quantum state preparation algorithms. Using some examples for one qubit, one qutrit and two qubits, we illustrate the easy of application of our protocol. Besides, we show how one can utilize our protocol for simulating quantum instruments, for which we also give an example. All our examples are demonstrated using IBM's quantum processors.

Sequential generalized measurements: Asymptotics, typicality, and emergent projective measurements

The relation between projective measurements and generalized quantum measurements is a fundamental problem in quantum physics, and clarifying this issue is also important to quantum technologies. While it has been intuitively known that projective measurements can be constructed from sequential generalized or weak measurements, there is still lack of a proof of this hypothesis in general cases. Here we prove it from the perspective of quantum channels. We show that projective measurements naturally arise from sequential generalized measurements in the asymptotic limit. Specifically, a selective projective measurement arises from a set of typical sequences of selective generalized measurements. We provide an explicit scheme to construct projective measurements of a quantum system with sequential generalized measurements. Remarkably, a single ancilla qubit is sufficient to mediate sequential generalized measurements for constructing arbitrary projective measurements of a generic system.

Certification of a non-projective qudit measurement using multiport beamsplitters

The most common form of measurement in quantum mechanics projects a wavefunction onto orthogonal states that correspond to definite outcomes. However, generalized quantum measurements that do not fully project quantum states are possible and have an important role in quantum information tasks. Unfortunately, it is difficult to certify that an experiment harvests the advantages made possible by generalized measurements, especially beyond the simplest two-level qubit system. Here we show that multiport beamsplitters allow for the robust realization of high-quality generalized measurements in higher-dimensional systems with more than two levels. Using multicore optical fibre technology, we implement a seven-outcome generalized measurement in a four-dimensional Hilbert space with a fidelity of 99.7%. We present a practical quantum communication task and demonstrate a success rate that cannot be simulated in any conceivable quantum protocol based on standard projective measurements on quantum messages of the same dimension. Our approach, which is compatible with modern photonic platforms, showcases an avenue for faithful and high-quality implementation of genuinely non-projective quantum measurements beyond qubit systems. Generalized measurements that do not correspond to conventional basis projections of the quantum wavefunction are a part of several important protocols in quantum information. These measurements can be certifiably performed on higher-dimensional systems using optical fibre technology.

Experimental certification of nonprojective quantum measurements under a minimum overlap assumption.

Certifying quantum measurements is increasingly important for foundational insights in quantum information science. Here, we report an experimental certification of unknown quantum measurements in a semi-device-independent setting. For the first time, we experimentally demonstrate that genuine three-outcome positive operator-valued measures (POVMs) can be certified under the assumption of a limited overlap between the prepared quantum states. The generalized quantum measurements are realized through discrete-time quantum walk and our experimental results clearly show that three-outcome POVMs can be certified even in the presence of noise. Finally, we experimentally investigate that optimal POVMs for performing unambiguous state discrimination can be self-tested. Our work opens new avenues for robust certification of quantum systems in the prepare-and-measure scenario.

Foundations of Quantum Computing: I-Demystifying ‎‎Quantum Paradoxes

Speedy developments in Quantum Technologies mandate that fundamentals of Quantum Computing are well explained and ‎understood. Meanwhile, paradigms of so-called quantum non-locality, wave function (WF) “collapse”, “Schrödinger cat” and ‎some other historically popular misconceptions continue to feed mysteries around quantum phenomena. Arguing that above ‎misinterpretations stem from classically minded and experimentally unverifiable perceptions, recasting Principle of ‎Superposition (PS) and key experimental details into classical notions. Revisiting main components of general quantum ‎measurement protocols (analyzers and detectors), and explaining paradoxes of WF collapse and Schrödinger cat. Reminding ‎that quantum measurements routinely reveal correlations dictated by conservation laws in each individual realization of the ‎quantum ensemble, manifesting “correlation-by-initial conditions” in contrast to traditional “correlation-by-interactions”. We ‎reiterate: Quantum Mechanics (QM) is not a dynamical theory in the same sense the Classical Mechanics (CM) is – it is a ‎statistical phenomenology, as established in 1926 by Born’s postulate. That is, while QM rests on conservation laws in each ‎individual outcome, it does not indicate how exactly a specific outcome is selected. This selection remains fundamentally ‎random and represents true randomness of QM, the latter being a statistical paradigm with a WF standing for a complex-‎valued distribution function. Finally, PS is the backbone of a quantum measurement process: PS can be conveniently viewed ‎as a composition of partial distributions into the total distribution – similar to classical probability mixtures – and is ‎effectuated experimentally by the analyzer part of a measuring device. ‎

Creating quantum correlations in generalized entanglement swapping

We study how different types of quantum correlations can be established as the consequence of a generalized entanglement swapping protocol where, starting from two Bell pairs (1,2) and (3,4), a general quantum measurement [denoted by a positive operator-valued measure (POVM)] is performed on the pair (2,3), which results in creating quantum correlation in (1,4) shared between two spatially separated observers. Contingent upon using different kinds of POVMs, we show generation or destruction of different quantum correlations in the pairs (1,4), (1,2), and (3,4). This thus reflects nontrivial transfer of quantum correlations from the pairs (1,2) and (3,4) to the pair (1,4). As an offshoot, this paper provides an operational tool to generate different types of single parameter families of quantum correlated states [for example, entangled but not Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steerable, or EPR steerable but not Bell nonlocal, or Bell nonlocal] by choosing different quantum measurements in the basic entanglement swapping setup. We further extend our paper by taking mixed initial states shared by the pairs (1,2) and (3,4). Finally, we study network nonlocality in our scenario. Here, we find the appropriate POVM measurement for which the generated correlation demonstrates or does not demonstrate network nonlocality for the whole range of the measurement parameter.

Implementation of quantum measurements using classical resources and only a single ancillary qubit

We propose a scheme to implement general quantum measurements, also known as Positive Operator Valued Measures (POVMs) in dimension d using only classical resources and a single ancillary qubit. Our method is based on probabilistic implementation of d-outcome measurements which is followed by postselection of some of the received outcomes. We conjecture that success probability of our scheme is larger than a constant independent of d for all POVMs in dimension d. Crucially, this conjecture implies the possibility of realizing arbitrary nonadaptive quantum measurement protocol on d-dimensional system using a single auxiliary qubit with only a constant overhead in sampling complexity. We show that the conjecture holds for typical rank-one Haar-random POVMs in arbitrary dimensions. Furthermore, we carry out extensive numerical computations showing success probability above a constant for a variety of extremal POVMs, including SIC-POVMs in dimension up to 1299. Finally, we argue that our scheme can be favorable for experimental realization of POVMs, as noise compounding in circuits required by our scheme is typically substantially lower than in the standard scheme that directly uses Naimark’s dilation theorem.

Ancilla-free implementation of generalized measurements for qubits embedded in a qudit space

Informationally complete (IC) positive operator-valued measures (POVMs) are generalized quantum measurements that offer advantages over the standard computational basis readout of qubits. For instance, IC-POVMs enable efficient extraction of operator expectation values, a crucial step in many quantum algorithms. POVM measurements are typically implemented by coupling one additional ancilla qubit to each logical qubit, thus imposing high demands on the device size and connectivity. Here, we show how to implement a general class of IC-POVMs without ancilla qubits. We exploit the higher-dimensional Hilbert space of a qudit in which qubits are often encoded. POVMs can then be realized by coupling each qubit to two of the available qudit states, followed by a projective measurement. We develop the required control pulse sequences and numerically establish their feasibility for superconducting transmon qubits through pulse-level simulations. Finally, we present an experimental demonstration of a qudit-space POVM measurement on IBM Quantum hardware. This paves the way to making POVM measurements broadly available to quantum computing applications.

Generalized quantum measurements with matrix product states: Entanglement phase transition and clusterization

We propose a method, based on matrix product states, for studying the time evolution of many-body quantum lattice systems under continuous and site-resolved measurement. Both the frequency and the strength of generalized measurements can be varied within our scheme, thus allowing us to explore the corresponding two-dimensional phase diagram. The method is applied to one-dimensional chains of nearest-neighbor interacting hard-core bosons. A transition from an entangling to a disentangling (area-law) phase is found. However, by resolving time-dependent density correlations in the monitored system, we find important differences between different regions at the phase boundary. In particular, we observe a peculiar phenomenon of measurement-induced particle clusterization that takes place only for frequent moderately strong measurements, but not for strong infrequent measurements.

Thermodynamic Constraints on Quantum Information Gain and Error Correction: A Triple Trade-Off

Quantum error correction (QEC) is a procedure by which the quantum state of a system is protected against a known type of noise, by preemptively adding redundancy to that state. Such a procedure is commonly used in quantum computing when thermal noise is present. Interestingly, thermal noise has also been known to play a central role in quantum thermodynamics (QTD). This fact hints at the applicability of certain QTD statements in the QEC of thermal noise, which has been discussed previously in the context of Maxwell's demon. In this article, we view QEC as a quantum heat engine with a feedback controller (i.e., a demon). We derive an upper bound on the measurement heat dissipated during the error-identification stage in terms of the Groenewold information gain, thereby providing the latter with a physical meaning also when it is negative. Further, we derive the second law of thermodynamics in the context of this QEC engine, operating with general quantum measurements. Finally, we show that, under a set of physically motivated assumptions, this leads to a fundamental triple trade-off relation, which implies a trade-off between the maximum achievable fidelity of QEC and the super-Carnot efficiency that heat engines with feedback controllers have been known to possess. A similar trade-off relation occurs for the thermodynamic efficiency of the QEC engine and the efficacy of the quantum measurement used for error identification.

Proposal for a solid-state magnetoresistive Larmor quantum clock

We propose a solid-state implementation of the Larmor clock that exploits tunnel magnetoresistance to distill information on how long itinerant spins take to traverse a barrier embedded in it. Keeping in mind that the tunnelling time innately involves pristine pre-selection and post-selection, our proposal takes into account the detrimental aspects of multiple reflections by incorporating multiple contacts, multiple current measurements and suitably defined magnetoresistance signals. Our analysis provides a direct mapping between the magnetoresistance signals and the tunneling times and aligns well with the interpretation in terms of generalized quantum measurements and quantum weak values. By means of an engineered pre-selection in one of the ferromagnetic contacts, we also elucidate how one can make the measurement "weak" by minimizing the back-action, while keeping the tunneling time unchanged. We then analyze the resulting interpretations of the tunneling time and the measurement back action in the presence of phase breaking effects that are intrinsic to solid state systems. We unravel that while the time-keeping aspect of the Larmor clock is reasonably undeterred due to momentum and phase relaxation processes, it degrades significantly in the presence of spin-dephasing. We believe that the ideas presented here also open up a fructuous solid state platform to encompass emerging ideas in quantum technology such as quantum weak values and its applications, that are currently exclusive to quantum optics and cold atoms.

Estimating coherence with respect to general quantum measurements

The conventional coherence is defined with respect to a fixed orthonormal basis, i.e., to a von Neumann measurement. Recently, generalized quantum coherence with respect to general positive operator-valued measurements has been presented. Several well-defined coherence measures, such as the relative entropy of coherence \(C_{r}\), the \(l_{1}\) norm of coherence \(C_{l_{1}}\) and the coherence \(C_{T,\alpha }\) based on Tsallis relative entropy with respect to general POVMs have been obtained. In this work, we investigate the properties of \(C_{r}\), \(C_{l_{1}}\) and \(C_{T,\alpha }\). We estimate the upper bounds of \(C_{l_{1}}\); we show that the minimal error probability of the least square measurement state discrimination is given by \(C_{T,1/2}\); we derive the uncertainty relations given by \(C_{r}\), and calculate the average values of \(C_{r}\), \(C_{T,\alpha }\) and \(C_{l_{1}}\) over random pure quantum states. All these results include the corresponding results of the conventional coherence as special cases.

Direct characterization of coherence of quantum detectors by sequential measurements

The quantum properties of quantum measurements are indispensable resources in quantum information processing and have drawn extensive research interest. The conventional approach to reveal the quantum properties relies on the reconstruction of the entire measurement operators by quantum detector tomography. However, many specific properties can be determined by a part of matrix entries of the measurement operators, which provides us the possibility to simplify the process of property characterization. Here, we propose a general framework to directly obtain individual matrix entries of the measurement operators by sequentially measuring two non-compatible observables. This method allows us to circumvent the complete tomography of the quantum measurement and extract the useful information for our purpose. We experimentally implement this scheme to monitor the coherent evolution of a general quantum measurement by determining the off-diagonal matrix entries. The investigation of the measurement precision indicates the good feasibility of our protocol to the arbitrary quantum measurements. Our results pave the way for revealing the quantum properties of quantum measurements by selectively determining the matrix entries of the measurement operators.