Heisenberg-Limited Atom Clocks Based on Entangled Qubits

E.M. Kessler, P. Kómár, M. Bishof, L. Jiang, Anders Søndberg Sørensen, J. Ye, M.D. Lukin

62 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present a quantum-enhanced atomic clock protocol based on groups of sequentially larger Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states that achieves the best clock stability allowed by quantum theory up to a logarithmic correction. Importantly the protocol is designed to work under realistic conditions where the drift of the phase of the laser interrogating the atoms is the main source of decoherence. The simultaneous interrogation of the laser phase with a cascade of GHZ states realizes an incoherent version of the phase estimation algorithm that enables Heisenberg-limited operation while extending the coherent interrogation time beyond the laser noise limit. We compare and merge the new protocol with existing state of the art interrogation schemes, and identify the precise conditions under which entanglement provides an advantage for clock stabilization: it allows a significant gain in the stability for short averaging time.

Original languageEnglish
Article number190403
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume112
Issue number19
ISSN0031-9007
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 May 2014

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