Ultracold atoms could soon become the most sensitive probes ever built for measuring tiny magnetic fields, accelerations, and frequencies. Quantum sensors exploit fragile properties like entanglement to outperform classical devices, but they lose those properties almost instantly when they interact with their environment. This project tackles that fundamental tradeoff: how to speed up the sensing process using optimal control techniques without consuming excessive energy or entanglement. The researchers will develop a quantitative framework to identify the most resource-efficient strategies for maintaining quantum advantage in noisy conditions. If successful, the work could lead to practical quantum sensors that are robust enough to leave the laboratory. Such devices would improve navigation systems where GPS is unavailable, enable more precise medical imaging, and refine measurements of fundamental constants. The project also addresses scalability—moving from controlling a handful of atoms to controlling many-body systems—and collaborates with experimental groups to design sensors based on ultracold atomic impurities that can be built with current technology. This is primarily fundamental science. The core aim is to understand the limits of quantum control in complex systems. Past work in this area has already transformed atomic clocks and magnetometry; deeper understanding here could unlock similarly unexpected applications.
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Quantum optimal control techniques have revolutionised the manipulation of complex quantum systems, enabling precise control over their constituents. This control is essential for applications like quantum-enhanced sensing, where quantum systems provide the ultimate precision in measuring tiny signals such as magnetic fields, accelerations, and frequencies. By leveraging quantum properties like entanglement and coherence, these probes can achieve sensitivities beyond the reach of classical systems, demonstrating a clear quantum advantage. Despite significant advancements, challenges remain in fully understanding and exploiting the limits of quantum control. This project will focus on enhancing controllability and its application to quantum sensing, particularly addressing the major challenges: complexity, scalability, and implementability. The project follows a "bottom-up" approach with three main objectives: Objective 1: Tradeoff between controllability and precision in few-body noisy quantum sensors. Quantum sensors interacting with their environment quickly lose their quantum properties. Optimal control techniques can speed up the sensing process to mitigate this, but require additional resources like energy and entanglement. This objective explores which resources are most crucial for achieving quantum-enhanced sensitivity while minimising resource consumption. Developing a quantitative framework for this tradeoff will help identify the most important requirements for accurate quantum sensors. Objective 2: Unravelling the synergy between scalability and controllability for critical quantum sensors. Controlling individual quantum entities is well-studied, but many-body systems introduce complexities that hinder straightforward application of existing techniques. This objective examines how collective effects, system size, and dimensionality impact the controllability of quantum systems used as sensors. By exploring diverse systems with emergent behaviours, the research aims to uncover strategies for effective control in many-body quantum sensors. Objective 3: Ultracold atoms sensors: a route for a practical quantum advantage. Ultracold atoms, exhibiting quantum features like condensation and superfluidity, can be manipulated to achieve highly correlated states. In collaboration with a cold atoms experimental group, this objective investigates how to achieve quantum-enhanced sensors with ultracold atoms using optimal control techniques, ensuring robustness against environmental effects. The goal is to design and simulate realistic implementations of quantum gas sensors based on atomic impurities that can be practically realised in current cold atom experiments. Through these objectives, the research seeks to advance the understanding of quantum control and its application to develop scalable, efficient quantum sensing devices.
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