Time uncertainty and fundamental sensitivity limits in quantum sensing: application to optomechanical gravimetry

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Wani, Salman Sajad, Al-Kuwari, Saif, Shabir, Arshid, Vezio, Paolo, Marino, Francesco, Faizal, Mir
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Wani, Salman Sajad
Al-Kuwari, Saif
Shabir, Arshid
Vezio, Paolo
Marino, Francesco
Faizal, Mir
author_facet Wani, Salman Sajad
Al-Kuwari, Saif
Shabir, Arshid
Vezio, Paolo
Marino, Francesco
Faizal, Mir
contents High-sensitivity accelerometers and gravimeters, achieving the ultimate limits of measurement sensitivity are key tools for advancing both fundamental and applied physics. While numerous platforms have been proposed to achieve this goal, from atom interferometers to optomechanical systems, all of these studies neglect the effects of intrinsic quantum uncertainty in time estimation. Starting from the Hamiltonian of a generic linear quantum sensor, we derive the two-parameter quantum Fisher information matrix and establish the corresponding Cram'er-Rao bound, treating time as an uncertain (nuisance) parameter. Our analysis reveals a fundamental coupling between time and signal estimation that inherently degrades measurement sensitivity, with the standard single-parameter quantum limit recovered only at specific interrogation times or under special decoupling conditions. We then apply these results to an optomechanical gravimeter and explicitly derive an optimal decoupling condition under which the effects of time uncertainty are averaged out in a continuous measurement scheme. Our approach is general and can be readily extended to a broad class of quantum sensors.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_18524
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Time uncertainty and fundamental sensitivity limits in quantum sensing: application to optomechanical gravimetry
Wani, Salman Sajad
Al-Kuwari, Saif
Shabir, Arshid
Vezio, Paolo
Marino, Francesco
Faizal, Mir
Quantum Physics
High-sensitivity accelerometers and gravimeters, achieving the ultimate limits of measurement sensitivity are key tools for advancing both fundamental and applied physics. While numerous platforms have been proposed to achieve this goal, from atom interferometers to optomechanical systems, all of these studies neglect the effects of intrinsic quantum uncertainty in time estimation. Starting from the Hamiltonian of a generic linear quantum sensor, we derive the two-parameter quantum Fisher information matrix and establish the corresponding Cram'er-Rao bound, treating time as an uncertain (nuisance) parameter. Our analysis reveals a fundamental coupling between time and signal estimation that inherently degrades measurement sensitivity, with the standard single-parameter quantum limit recovered only at specific interrogation times or under special decoupling conditions. We then apply these results to an optomechanical gravimeter and explicitly derive an optimal decoupling condition under which the effects of time uncertainty are averaged out in a continuous measurement scheme. Our approach is general and can be readily extended to a broad class of quantum sensors.
title Time uncertainty and fundamental sensitivity limits in quantum sensing: application to optomechanical gravimetry
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18524