Optimal time estimation and the clock uncertainty relation for stochastic processes

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Prech, Kacper, Landi, Gabriel T., Meier, Florian, Nurgalieva, Nuriya, Potts, Patrick P., Silva, Ralph, Mitchison, Mark T.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Prech, Kacper
Landi, Gabriel T.
Meier, Florian
Nurgalieva, Nuriya
Potts, Patrick P.
Silva, Ralph
Mitchison, Mark T.
author_facet Prech, Kacper
Landi, Gabriel T.
Meier, Florian
Nurgalieva, Nuriya
Potts, Patrick P.
Silva, Ralph
Mitchison, Mark T.
contents Time estimation is a fundamental task that underpins precision measurement, global navigation systems, financial markets, and the organisation of everyday life. Many biological processes also depend on time estimation by nanoscale clocks, whose performance can be significantly impacted by random fluctuations. In this work, we formulate the problem of optimal time estimation for Markovian stochastic processes, and present its general solution in the asymptotic (long-time) limit. Specifically, we obtain a tight upper bound on the precision of any time estimate constructed from sustained observations of a classical, Markovian jump process. This bound is controlled by the mean residual time, i.e. the expected wait before the first jump is observed. As a consequence, we obtain a universal bound on the signal-to-noise ratio of arbitrary currents and counting observables in the steady state. This bound is similar in spirit to the kinetic uncertainty relation but provably tighter, and we explicitly construct the counting observables that saturate it. Our results establish ultimate precision limits for an important class of observables in non-equilibrium systems, and demonstrate that the mean residual time, not the dynamical activity, is the measure of freneticity that tightly constrains fluctuations far from equilibrium.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2406_19450
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Optimal time estimation and the clock uncertainty relation for stochastic processes
Prech, Kacper
Landi, Gabriel T.
Meier, Florian
Nurgalieva, Nuriya
Potts, Patrick P.
Silva, Ralph
Mitchison, Mark T.
Statistical Mechanics
Time estimation is a fundamental task that underpins precision measurement, global navigation systems, financial markets, and the organisation of everyday life. Many biological processes also depend on time estimation by nanoscale clocks, whose performance can be significantly impacted by random fluctuations. In this work, we formulate the problem of optimal time estimation for Markovian stochastic processes, and present its general solution in the asymptotic (long-time) limit. Specifically, we obtain a tight upper bound on the precision of any time estimate constructed from sustained observations of a classical, Markovian jump process. This bound is controlled by the mean residual time, i.e. the expected wait before the first jump is observed. As a consequence, we obtain a universal bound on the signal-to-noise ratio of arbitrary currents and counting observables in the steady state. This bound is similar in spirit to the kinetic uncertainty relation but provably tighter, and we explicitly construct the counting observables that saturate it. Our results establish ultimate precision limits for an important class of observables in non-equilibrium systems, and demonstrate that the mean residual time, not the dynamical activity, is the measure of freneticity that tightly constrains fluctuations far from equilibrium.
title Optimal time estimation and the clock uncertainty relation for stochastic processes
topic Statistical Mechanics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.19450