We investigate the use of twin-mode quantum states of light with symmetric statistical features in their photon number for improving intensity-sensitive surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors. For this purpose, one of the modes is sent into a prism setup where the Kretschmann configuration is employed as a sensing platform and the analyte to be measured influences the SPR excitation conditions. This influence modifies the output state of light that is subsequently analyzed by an intensity-difference measurement scheme. We show that quantum noise reduction is achieved not only as a result of the sub-Poissonian statistical nature of a single mode, but also as a result of the non-classical correlation of the photon number between the two modes. When combined with the high sensitivity of the SPR sensor, we show that the use of twin-mode quantum states of light notably enhances the estimation precision of the refractive index of an analyte. With this we are able to identify a clear strategy to further boost the performance of SPR sensors, which are already a mature technology in biochemical and medical sensing applications.

Reducing the noise below the shot-noise limit in sensing devices is one of the key promises of quantum technologies. Here, we study quantum plasmonic sensing based on an attenuated total reflection configuration with single photons as input. Our sensor is the Kretschmann configuration with a gold film, and a blood protein in an aqueous solution with different concentrations serves as an analyte. The estimation of the refractive index is performed using heralded single photons. We also determine the estimation error from a statistical analysis over a number of repetitions of identical and independent experiments. We show that the errors of our plasmonic sensor with single photons are below the shot-noise limit even in the presence of various experimental imperfections. Our results demonstrate a practical application of quantum plasmonic sensing is possible given certain improvements are made to the setup investigated, and pave the way for a future generation of quantum plasmonic applications based on similar techniques.

We perform experimental quantum polarimetry by relying on heralded single-photon to analyze the optical activity for linearly polarized light traversing a chiral medium. Three kind of measurable quantities are considered to estimate the concentration of sucrose solutions from measuring the rotation angle of the linear polarization of the output photons. Through repetition of independent and identical measurements performed for each individual scheme and different concentrations of sucrose solutions, we compare the estimation errors among the three schemes. Results are also compared to classical benchmarks for which a coherent state of light is taken into account. The quantum enhancement in the estimation error is evaluated and the impact of experimental and technical imperfections is discussed. With our work, we lay out a route for future applications relying on quantum polarimetry.

In a network of interacting quantum systems, achieving fast coherent energy transfer is a challenging task. While quantum systems are susceptible to a wide range of environmental factors, in many physical settings their interactions with quantized vibrations, or phonons, of a supporting structure are the most prevalent. This leads to noise and decoherence in the network, ultimately impacting the energy-transfer process. In this work, we introduce a novel type of coherent energy-transfer mechanism for quantum systems, where phonon interactions are able to actually enhance the energy transfer. Here, a shared phonon interacts with the systems and dynamically adjusts their resonances, providing remarkable directionality combined with quantum speed-up. We call this mechanism phonon-induced dynamic resonance energy transfer and show that it enables long-range coherent energy transport even in highly disordered systems.S Online supplementary data available from stacks.iop.org/njp/16/053018/mmedia is the excitonic polaron energy operator and J jk is the dipolar coupling New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al 4 1 2 ). In an opposite way, when the New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al 7 New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al 8 Directionality can also be induced in a chain of molecules. In figure 5, we consider a threemolecule linear chain with = = J J J 12 23 New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al 9 New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al 10 Figure 5. Directionality of dynamic resonance energy transfer in a chain of molecules. Here we consider a three-molecule linear chain and take = ≡ J J J 12 23 New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al . In the above, the reduced electronic New J. Phys. 16 (2014) 053018 J Lim et al