The workshop will be held at 19:00–23:30 Singapore time (GMT+8, same below) on 1st–2nd July 2021 over Zoom. If you would like to join or present, please register using the form below, and we will send you the Zoom link by email about an hour before the start of the event each day. Registration is free! Please use your academic or company email when registering.
The deadline if you’d like to give a talk is 18:00, 30 June 2021, and the deadline if you just want to join is 17:30 1st July 2021 2nd July 2021.
If you have registered but do not receive the Zoom link email by 18:00 for whatever reason, please email mankei@nus.edu.sg.
Convert to your time zone: deadline for talk submission, deadline for registration, day 1, day 2
Schedule
1st July 2021
- 19:00–19:30: Mikael Backlund, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
3D single-molecule localization microscopy in the context of quantum parameter estimation
Precise localization of single fluorescent molecules is an essential component of widely used chemical and biological microscopy techniques, including STORM-type super-resolution imaging and single-molecule tracking. Single-molecule microscopists have long appreciated that the depth (z) of the emitter is generally harder to extract than its lateral position, and have in turn invented a large library of augmented microscope designs to facilitate 3D localization. In this talk I will place such methods in the context of the fundamental bounds set by quantum parameter estimation theory, and I will speculate more generally on what similar lines of thinking might implicate for the field of single-molecule microscopy.
- 19:30–20:00: Michał Parniak, Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies, University of Warsaw
Optical-domain spectral super-resolution enabled by a quantum memory
We demonstrate super-resolving spectroscopy of light with 10 kHz-level resolution. The spectral-mode-sorting protocol is implemented in a multiplexed quantum memory, that enables both processing and interference, while its long coherence time enables high spectral resolution. The Rayleigh limit is beaten by a factor of 20 in terms of Fisher information for small narrowly separated spectral lines. [arXiv:2106.04450]
- 20:00–20:30: Michalis Skotiniotis, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona
Superresolution using collective measurements
We study the problem of estimating the separation and relative intensity of two incoherent point sources using symmetry inspired collective measurements. We derive a collective measurement for separation estimation that is asymptotically optimal whilst not requiring any knowledge of the centroid. Further coarse-graining of such collective measurements, which breaks the symmetry, provides further information regarding the relative intensity of the two incoherent point sources.
- 20:30–21:00: Zdenek Hradil, Department of Optics, Palacky University Olomouc
Exploring ultimate limits of super-resolution enhanced by partial coherence
The resolution of separation of two elementary signals forming a partially coherent superposition, defined by quantum Fisher information and normalised with respect to detection probabilities, is always limited by the resolution of incoherent mixtures. However, when the partially coherent superpositions are prepared in a controlled way the precision can be enhanced by up to several orders of magnitude above this limit. Coherence also allows the sorting of information about various parameters into distinct channels as demonstrated by parameter of separation linked with the anti-phase superposition and the centroid position linked with the in-phase superposition.
- 21:00–21:30: Break
- 21:30–22:00: Stanisław Kurdziałek, University of Warsaw
Intensity and phase fluctuations in super-resolution imaging
In the first part of my talk, I will present an estimation theory-based analysis of super-resolution imaging techniques that exploit temporal fluctuations of luminosity of the sources. In the second part, the role of coherence in optical imaging will be analyzed with particular emphasis on the fundamental role of losses caused by the imaging system.
- 22:00–22:30: Sultan Abdul Wadood, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester
Experimental demonstration of superresolution of partially coherent light sources using parity sorting
We investigate the effect of partial coherence on the sub-diffraction limit localization of two sources based on parity sorting. Special attention is paid to a priori assumptions about object plane photon number and how they affect the obtained Fisher Information. With the prior information of a negative and real-valued degree of coherence, higher Fisher information is obtained than that for the incoherent case.
- 22:30–23:00: Kevin Liang, The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester
Quantum Fisher information calculations for the estimation of general partially coherent sources
A quantum Fisher information analysis for the two-point separation problem is provided, with a focus on the effects of partial and full knowledge of the source’s degree of coherence. A generalization beyond two point sources to general partially coherent object distribution moments is also examined, resulting in a quantum signal-to-noise bound for object moments that scale more favorably compared to that of an incoherent object.
- 23:00–23:30: Marcin Jarzyna, University of Warsaw
Sub-Rayleigh resolution with coherent detection
I discuss how to attain superresolution of a binary source using coherent detection of light quadratures and give exact estimation algorithms.
2nd July 2021
- 19:00–19:30: Alexander Lvovsky, University of Oxford (invited)
Super-resolution linear optical imaging in the far field
- 19:30–20:00: Jose Inacio da Costa Filho, University of Oxford (invited)
2D imaging of incoherent sources with spatial modes of light
- 20:00–20:30: Animesh Datta, University of Warwick
Quantum limits of localisation microscopy
Localisation microscopy of multiple weak, incoherent point sources with possibly different intensities in one spatial dimension is equivalent to estimating the amplitudes of a classical mixture of coherent states of a simple harmonic oscillator. This enables us to bound the multi-parameter covariance matrix for an unbiased estimator for the locations in terms of the quantum Fisher information matrix, which we obtained analytically. In the regime of arbitrarily small separations we find it to be no more than rank two—implying that no more than two independent parameters can be estimated irrespective of the number of point sources.
- 20:30–21:00: Gerardo Adesso, University of Nottingham
Discrete quantum imaging: Analytical progress
We derive general expressions for the quantum Fisher information matrix which bypass matrix diagonalization and do not require the expansion of operators in orthonormal bases. We apply our method to find analytical solutions for the full quantum estimation problem of two incoherent point sources with different intensities and for specific examples with three point sources.
- 21:00–21:30: Break
- 21:30–22:00: Giacomo Sorelli, Laboratoir Kastler Brossel
Moments based super-resolution
In practical situations, it is often unclear how to choose suitable observables and estimators to reach the ultimate resolution limits. In this talk I will show how estimators saturating the Cramer-Rao bound for the distance between two thermal point sources can be constructed using an optimally designed observable in the presence of practical imperfections, such as misalignment, crosstalk and detector noise.
- 22:00–22:30: Zixin Huang, Macquarie University
Quantum hypothesis testing for exoplanet detection
Detecting the faint emission of a secondary source in the proximity of the much brighter one has been the most severe obstacle for using direct imaging in searching for exoplanets. Using quantum state discrimination and quantum imaging techniques, we show that one can significantly reduce the probability of error for detecting the presence of a weak secondary source, even when the two sources have small angular separations. If the weak source has intensity $\epsilon \ll 1 $ relative to the bright source, we find that the error exponent can be improved by a factor of $1/\epsilon$.
- 22:30–23:00: Manuel Bojer, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
A quantitative comparison of amplitude versus intensity interferometry for astronomy
Astronomical imaging can be broadly classified into two types. The first type is amplitude interferometry, which includes conventional optical telescopes and Very Large Baseline Interferometry (VLBI). The second type is intensity interferometry, which relies on Hanbury Brown and Twiss-type measurements. At optical frequencies, where direct phase measurements are impossible, amplitude interferometry has an effective numerical aperture that is limited by the distance from which photons can coherently interfere. Intensity interferometry, on the other hand, correlates only photon fluxes and can thus support much larger numerical apertures, but suffers from a reduced signal due to the low average photon number per mode in thermal light. It has hitherto not been clear which method is superior under realistic conditions. Here, we give a comparative analysis of the performance of amplitude and intensity interferometry, and we relate this to the fundamental resolution limit that can be achieved in any physical measurement. Using the benchmark problem of determining the separation between two distant thermal point sources, e.g., two adjacent stars, we give a short tutorial on optimal estimation theory and apply it to stellar interferometry. We find that for very small angular separations the large baseline achievable in intensity interferometry can more than compensate for the reduced signal strength. We also explore options for practical implementations of Very Large Baseline Intensity Interferometry (VLBII).
- 23:00–23:30: Michael R Grace, University of Arizona
Quantum-Limited Object Discrimination in Sub-Diffraction Incoherent Imaging
Using the quantum Chernoff bound, we analytically find the ultimate achievable asymptotic error rate for symmetric hypothesis tests between **any** two incoherent 2D objects when the imaging system is dominated by optical diffraction. Furthermore, we show that a SPADE measurement exactly saturates this quantum limit, enabling a quadratic improvement over the asymptotic error rate of direct imaging as the objects become more severely diffraction-limited. We extend our results an arbitrary number of candidate objects, resulting in a complete theoretical treatment of the ultimate quantitative limits on passive, sub-diffraction, incoherent object discrimination that is readily applicable to a multitude of real-world applications.