Phys.org May 4, 2024
Researchers in the UK developed a high sensitivity quantum sensing scheme for transverse displacement between two photons interfering at a balanced beam splitter. It is based on transverse-momentum sampling measurements at the output. They showed that their interferometric technique achieved the ultimate spatial precision in nature irrespective of the overlap of the two displaced photonic wave packets. The precision of the technique was marginally reduced when dealing with photons differing in nonspatial degrees of freedom. Their work could lead to enhanced high-precision nanoscopic techniques, such as super-resolved single-molecule localization microscopy with quantum dots, by circumventing the requirements in standard direct imaging of camera resolution at the diffraction limit, and of highly magnifying objectives. It may open a new research paradigm based on the interface between spatially resolved quantum interference and quantum-enhanced spatial sensitivity… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Two single photons, centered in positions x01 and x02 in their respective transverse planes… Credit: Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 180802, 30 April 2024