Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Individual quantum probes for optimal thermometry

Correa, Luis A.; Mehboudi, Mohammad; Adesso, Gerardo; Sanpera, Anna

Individual quantum probes for optimal thermometry Thumbnail


Authors

Luis A. Correa

Mohammad Mehboudi

Anna Sanpera



Abstract

© 2015 American Physical Society. The unknown temperature of a sample can be estimated with minimal disturbance by putting it in thermal contact with an individual quantum probe. If the interaction time is sufficiently long so that the probe thermalizes, the temperature can be read-out directly from its steady state. Here we prove that the optimal quantum probe, acting as a thermometer with maximal thermal sensitivity, is an effective two-level atom with a maximally degenerate excited state. When the total interaction time is insufficient to produce full thermalization, we optimize the estimation protocol by breaking it down into sequential stages of probe preparation, thermal contact, and measurement. We observe that frequently interrogated probes initialized in the ground state achieve the best performance. For both fully and partly thermalized thermometers, the sensitivity grows significantly with the number of levels, though optimization over their energy spectrum remains always crucial.

Citation

Correa, L. A., Mehboudi, M., Adesso, G., & Sanpera, A. (2015). Individual quantum probes for optimal thermometry. Physical Review Letters, 114(22), Article 220405. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.220405

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 11, 2015
Publication Date Jun 5, 2015
Deposit Date Feb 24, 2017
Publicly Available Date Feb 24, 2017
Journal Physical Review Letters
Print ISSN 0031-9007
Electronic ISSN 1079-7114
Publisher American Physical Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 114
Issue 22
Article Number 220405
DOI https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.220405
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/755097
Publisher URL http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.220405
Contract Date Feb 24, 2017

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations