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  • Open Access

Nonclassical Advantage in Metrology Established via Quantum Simulations of Hypothetical Closed Timelike Curves

David R. M. Arvidsson-Shukur1, Aidan G. McConnell2,3,4, and Nicole Yunger Halpern5,6

  • 1Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom
  • 2Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom
  • 3Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland
  • 4Department of Physics and Quantum Center, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland
  • 5Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science, NIST and University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
  • 6Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 150202 – Published 12 October, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.131.150202

Abstract

We construct a metrology experiment in which the metrologist can sometimes amend the input state by simulating a closed timelike curve, a worldline that travels backward in time. The existence of closed timelike curves is hypothetical. Nevertheless, they can be simulated probabilistically by quantum-teleportation circuits. We leverage such simulations to pinpoint a counterintuitive nonclassical advantage achievable with entanglement. Our experiment echoes a common information-processing task: A metrologist must prepare probes to input into an unknown quantum interaction. The goal is to infer as much information per probe as possible. If the input is optimal, the information gained per probe can exceed any value achievable classically. The problem is that, only after the interaction does the metrologist learn which input would have been optimal. The metrologist can attempt to change the input by effectively teleporting the optimal input back in time, via entanglement manipulation. The effective time travel sometimes fails but ensures that, summed over trials, the metrologist’s winnings are positive. Our Gedankenexperiment demonstrates that entanglement can generate operational advantages forbidden in classical chronology-respecting theories.

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Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 150202– Published 12 October, 2023
  • Received 3 September 2022
  • Revised 8 September 2023
  • Accepted 11 September 2023
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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