Optimal probes for global quantum thermometry

• Published in: Communications physics 2021-03, Vol.4 (1), p.1-8, Article 62
• Main Authors: Mok, Wai-Keong, Bharti, Kishor, Kwek, Leong-Chuan, Bayat, Abolfazl
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/766/483/1255; 639/766/483/481; Energy spectra; Ion traps (instrumentation); Legal issues; Low temperature; Optimization; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Quantum dots; Temperature; Temperature probes; Temperature sensors; Thermodynamics; Thermometers; Thermometry
• ISSN: 2399-3650; 2399-3650
• DOI: 10.1038/s42005-021-00572-w

Quantum thermodynamics has emerged as a separate sub-discipline, revising the concepts and laws of thermodynamics, at the quantum scale. In particular, there has been a disruptive shift in the way thermometry, and thermometers are perceived and designed. Currently, we face two major challenges in quantum thermometry. First, all of the existing optimally precise temperature probes are local, meaning their operation is optimal only for a narrow range of temperatures. Second, aforesaid optimal local probes mandate complex energy spectrum with immense degeneracy, rendering them impractical. Here, we address these challenges by formalizing the notion of global thermometry leading to the development of optimal temperature sensors over a wide range of temperatures. We observe the emergence of different phases for such optimal probes as the temperature interval is increased. In addition, we show how the best approximation of optimal global probes can be realized in spin chains, implementable in ion traps and quantum dots. Existing low-temperature thermometers can only perform with high precision within a narrow range. Here, the authors provide a bound for global thermometry across a wide range, including the design of optimal thermometers with the state-of-the-art quantum technologies.