Restoring Quantum Superiority of Noisy Quantum Illumination

TL;DR

This paper proposes a method to restore the quantum advantage in noisy quantum illumination by leveraging the energy spectrum, specifically the presence of bound states, to maintain high resolution despite quantum noise.

Contribution

It introduces a physical principle based on the energy spectrum to preserve quantum superiority in noisy environments, surpassing previous assumptions about noise destroying quantum advantage.

Findings

Quantum resolution is highly sensitive to the energy spectrum of the system.

Presence of a bound state in the spectrum allows resolution to approach its ideal form.

The method enables high-resolution quantum illumination in noisy conditions.

Abstract

Quantum illumination uses quantum entanglement as a resource to enable higher-resolution detection of low-reflectivity targets than is possible with classical techniques. This revolutionary technology could transform modern radar. However, it is widely believed that the decoherence induced by the ubiquitous quantum noise destroys the superiority of quantum illumination, severely constraining its performance and application in our present noisy intermediate-scale quantum era. Here, we propose a method to restore the quantum superiority of the quantum illumination in the presence of quantum noises. Going beyond the widely used Born-Markov approximation, we discover that the resolution of noisy quantum illumination is highly sensitive to the energy spectrum of the composite system formed by each of the two light modes and its local quantum noise. When a bound state is present in the energy spectrum, the resolution asymptotically approaches its ideal form. Our result establishes a physical principle to preserve the quantum superiority and paves the way for the realization of high-resolution quantum illumination in noisy situations.