Quantum metrology: an overview on quantum enhancement in measurements
Rosario Lo Franco
Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università di Palermo, Italy
ABSTRACT
Quantum metrology is the study of making high-resolution and highly sensitive measurements of physical
parameters using quantum effects of the employed systems, which enable to supersede purely classical
approaches. Apart the fundamental Heisenberg uncertainty relation valid at the quantum scale, the accuracy
of most standard measurement techniques is limited by typical noise sources, such as the environmentinduced noise from vacuum fluctuations (the so-called shot noise limit) affecting the estimation of the
electromagnetic field amplitude, and the dynamically-induced noise in the position measurement of a free
mass (the so-called standard quantum limit). These conventional bounds to measurement performance are
avoidable in principle, since they stem from a nonoptimal measurement strategy and do not have a
fundamental character. Emerging quantum technology, exploiting quantum mechanical features as useful
resources, provides measurement strategies which outperform the limitations of classical ones and thus beat
the standard limits.
This talk has the aim of presenting the very basic ideas behind quantum metrology. Examples of how quantum
traits like entanglement and squeezing can enhance measurement precision, from phase difference in
interferometry to positioning and gravitational wave detection, will be discussed.
SPEAKER BIO
After his PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Palermo, Rosario held positions at the University
of Catania, the National Interuniversity Consortium for the Physical Sciences of Matter (CNISM), the University
of Nottingham and University of São Paulo. He is currently researcher, professor of Physics and member of
the doctorate board at the Department of Engineering of the University of Palermo, Italy. He leads a research
team on various aspects related to quantum correlations and open quantum systems within a quantum
information scenario.
Rosario is member of the Editorial Board of the journals Scientific Reports (Springer Nature) and Applied
Sciences (MDPI), and is Associate Editor in Chief of the journal Entropy (MDPI) for the section Quantum
Information. He co-organized a Discussion Meeting at the Royal Society and is often a speaker at popular
events to disseminate academic research.
His main research contributions concern the dynamics of quantum correlations and entanglement in open
systems and most recently the characterisation of composite systems of indistinguishable particles.
More info at: rosariolofranco.weebly.com