Quantum Estimation with State Symmetry-Induced Optimal Measurements

TL;DR

This paper introduces a symmetry-based framework for identifying optimal measurements in quantum metrology, enabling high-precision parameter estimation with local measurements and applying to graph states and stabilizer codes.

Contribution

It develops a general symmetry principle for optimal measurement design in quantum metrology, including local measurement strategies and applications to graph states and stabilizer-code subspaces.

Findings

Optimal measurements reduce to basis projections for certain encodings.

Local symmetries guide the construction of measurements achieving Heisenberg scaling.

Graph states and stabilizer codes provide practical platforms for high-precision metrology.

Abstract

A central challenge in quantum metrology is identifying optimal measurements that saturate the quantum Cramer-Rao bound under realistic constraints, e.g., local measurements. We show that symmetries of the probe state provide a general principle for identifying optimal measurement strategies. Building on this idea, we demonstrate that when a parameter is encoded in the real coefficients of a fixed-basis expansion, the optimal measurement reduces to projection in that basis, with an application to critical metrology. Under local-measurement constraints, we show that local state symmetries provide a systematic route to constructing optimal local measurements. We illustrate this framework using graph states, explicitly constructing optimal local measurements from their local symmetries. Furthermore, weak and strong connection rules are introduced to generate broader classes of graph states that achieve Heisenberg-scaling precision using local measurements. By relaxing the number of stabilizer generators, graph states are extended to a stabilizer-code subspace. Analytical and numerical results show that coherent states in these subspaces offer multiple metrological advantages: high precision, partial noise resilience, local-measurement accessibility, and built-in error correction. These findings advance the theory of optimal measurements in quantum metrology and underscore the central role of state symmetry.