A variational toolbox for quantum multi-parameter estimation

Journal Article (2021)
Author(s)

Johannes Jakob Meyer (Freie Universität Berlin)

Johannes Borregaard (TU Delft - QuTech Advanced Research Centre, Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft, TU Delft - QN/Borregaard groep, University of Copenhagen)

Jens Eisert (Freie Universität Berlin)

Research Group
QN/Borregaard groep
Copyright
© 2021 Johannes Jakob Meyer, J. Borregaard, Jens Eisert
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41534-021-00425-y
More Info
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Publication Year
2021
Language
English
Copyright
© 2021 Johannes Jakob Meyer, J. Borregaard, Jens Eisert
Research Group
QN/Borregaard groep
Issue number
1
Volume number
7
Reuse Rights

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Abstract

With an ever-expanding ecosystem of noisy and intermediate-scale quantum devices, exploring their possible applications is a rapidly growing field of quantum information science. In this work, we demonstrate that variational quantum algorithms feasible on such devices address a challenge central to the field of quantum metrology: The identification of near-optimal probes and measurement operators for noisy multi-parameter estimation problems. We first introduce a general framework that allows for sequential updates of variational parameters to improve probe states and measurements and is widely applicable to both discrete and continuous-variable settings. We then demonstrate the practical functioning of the approach through numerical simulations, showcasing how tailored probes and measurements improve over standard methods in the noisy regime. Along the way, we prove the validity of a general parameter-shift rule for noisy evolutions, expected to be of general interest in variational quantum algorithms. In our approach, we advocate the mindset of quantum-aided design, exploiting quantum technology to learn close to optimal, experimentally feasible quantum metrology protocols.