2019

Amit Rotem, Gefen, Tuvia , Oviedo-Casado, Santiago , Prior, Javier , Schmitt, Simon , Burak, Yoram , McGuiness, Liam , Jelezko, Fedor , and Retzker, Alex . 2019. “Limits On Spectral Resolution Measurements By Quantum Probes”. Physical Review Letters, 122, 6. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.122.060503. Publisher's Version
2019
Abstract
The limits of frequency resolution in nano-NMR experiments have been discussed extensively in recent years. It is believed that there is a crucial difference between the ability to resolve a few frequencies and the precision of estimating a single one. Whereas the efficiency of single frequency estimation gradually increases with the square root of the number of measurements, the ability to resolve two frequencies is limited by the specific timescale of the signal and cannot be compensated for by extra measurements. Here we show theoretically and demonstrate experimentally that the relationship between these quantities is more subtle and both are only limited by the Cramér-Rao bound of a single frequency estimation.
Daniel Cohen, Khodas, Maxim , Keneth, Oded , and Retzker, Alex . 3/1/2019. “Sensing Nano-Nmr Diffusion Spectra Using A Nitrogen Vacancy Center”. Optical, Opto-Atomic, And Entanglement-Enhanced Precision Metrology, 10934. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2516596. Publisher's Version
2019
Abstract
Nano nuclear magnetic resonance (nano‐NMR) spectroscopy with nitrogen‐vacancy (NV) centers holds the potential to provide high‐resolution spectra of minute samples. This is likely to have important implications for chemistry, medicine, and pharmaceutical engineering. One of the main hurdles facing the technology is that diffusion of unpolarized liquid samples broadens the spectral lines thus limiting resolution. Experiments in the field are therefore impeded by the efforts involved in achieving high polarization of the sample which is a challenging endeavor. Here, a scenario where the liquid is confined to a small volume is examined. It is shown that the confinement “counteracts” the effect of diffusion, thus overcoming a major obstacle to the resolving abilities of the NV‐NMR spectrometer.
Genko T Genov, Aharon, Nati , Jelezko, Fedor , and Retzker, Alex . 2019. “Mixed Dynamical Decoupling”. Quantum Science And Technology, 4, 3. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2058-9565/ab2afd. Publisher's Version
2019
Abstract
We propose a scheme for mixed dynamical decoupling (MDD), where we combine continuous dynamical decoupling with robust sequences of phased pulses. Specifically, we use two fields for decoupling, where the first continuous driving field creates dressed states that are robust to environmental noise. Then, a second field implements a robust sequence of phased pulses to perform inversions of the dressed qubits, thus achieving robustness to amplitude fluctuations of both fields. We show that MDD outperforms standard concatenated continuous dynamical decoupling in realistic numerical simulations for dynamical decoupling in NV centers in diamond. Finally, we also demonstrate how our technique can be utilized for improved sensing.
2019
Abstract
The field of quantum sensing explores the use of quantum phenomena to measure a broad range of physical quantities, of both static and time-dependent types. While for static signals the main figure of merit is sensitivity, for time dependent signals it is spectral resolution, i.e. the ability to resolve two different frequencies. Here we study this problem, and develop new superresolution methods that rely on quantum features. We first formulate a general criterion for superresolution in quantum problems. Inspired by this, we show that quantum detectors can resolve two frequencies from incoherent segments of the signal, irrespective of their separation, in contrast to what is known about classical detection schemes. The main idea behind these methods is to overcome the vanishing distinguishability in resolution problems by nullifying the projection noise.
Nati Aharon, Rotem, Amit , McGuinness, Liam P. , Jelezko, Fedor , Retzker, Alex , and Ringel, Zohar . 11/28/2019. “Nv Center Based Nano-Nmr Enhanced By Deep Learning”. Scientific Reports, 9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54119-9. Publisher's Version
2019
Abstract
The growing field of nano nuclear magnetic resonance (nano-NMR) seeks to estimate spectra or discriminate between spectra of minuscule amounts of complex molecules. While this field holds great promise, nano-NMR experiments suffer from detrimental inherent noise. This strong noise masks to the weak signal and results in a very low signal-to-noise ratio. Moreover, the noise model is usually complex and unknown, which renders the data processing of the measurement results very complicated. Hence, spectra discrimination is hard to achieve and in particular, it is difficult to reach the optimal discrimination. In this work we present strong indications that this difficulty can be overcome by deep learning (DL) algorithms. The DL algorithms can mitigate the adversarial effects of the noise efficiently by effectively learning the noise model. We show that in the case of frequency discrimination DL algorithms reach the optimal discrimination without having any pre-knowledge of the physical model. Moreover, the DL discrimination scheme outperform Bayesian methods when verified on noisy experimental data obtained by a single Nitrogen-Vacancy (NV) center. In the case of frequency resolution we show that this approach outperforms Bayesian methods even when the latter have full pre-knowledge of the noise model and the former has none. These DL algorithms also emerge as much more efficient in terms of computational resources and run times. Since in many real-world scenarios the noise is complex and difficult to model, we argue that DL is likely to become a dominant tool in the field.
Nati Aharon, Spethmann, Nicolas , Leroux, Ian D, Schmidt, Piet O, and Retzker, Alex . 8/2019. “Robust Optical Clock Transitions In Trapped Ions Using Dynamical Decoupling”. New Journal Of Physics, 21. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1367-2630/ab3871. Publisher's Version
2019
Abstract
We present a novel method for engineering an optical clock transition that is robust against external field fluctuations and is able to overcome limits resulting from field inhomogeneities. The technique is based on the application of continuous driving fields to form a pair of dressed states essentially free of all relevant shifts. Specifically, the clock transition is robust to magnetic field shifts, quadrupole and other tensor shifts, and amplitude fluctuations of the driving fields. The scheme is applicable to either a single ion or an ensemble of ions, and is relevant for several types of ions, such as ${}^{40}{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ , ${}^{88}{\mathrm{Sr}}^{+}$ , ${}^{138}{\mathrm{Ba}}^{+}$ and ${}^{176}{\mathrm{Lu}}^{+}$ . Taking a spherically symmetric Coulomb crystal formed by 400 ${}^{40}{\mathrm{Ca}}^{+}$ ions as an example, we show through numerical simulations that the inhomogeneous linewidth of tens of Hertz in such a crystal together with linear Zeeman shifts of order 10 MHz are reduced to form a linewidth of around 1 Hz. We estimate a two-order-of-magnitude reduction in averaging time compared to state-of-the art single ion frequency references, assuming a probe laser fractional instability of ${10}^{-15}$. Furthermore, a statistical uncertainty reaching 2.9 × 10−16 in 1 s is estimated for a cascaded clock scheme in which the dynamically decoupled Coulomb crystal clock stabilizes the interrogation laser for an ${}^{27}{\mathrm{Al}}^{+}$ clock.
2019
Abstract
State of the art quantum sensing experiments targeting frequency measurements or frequency addressing of nuclear spins require one to drive the probe system at the targeted frequency. In addition, there is a substantial advantage to performing these experiments in the regime of high magnetic fields, in which the Larmor frequency of the measured spins is large. In this scenario we are confronted with a natural challenge of controlling a target system with a very high frequency when the probe system cannot be set to resonance with the target frequency. In this contribution we present a set of protocols that are capable of confronting this challenge, even at large frequency mismatches between the probe system and the target system, both for polarization and for quantum sensing.