Trade-off between complexity and energy in quantum phase estimation

Abstract:Quantifying the energetic cost of implementing quantum operations is essential for assessing the efficiency and scalability of quantum sensing and information-processing technologies. Here, we introduce a framework for analysing the interplay between complexity and energy cost of quantum processes. In particular, we apply our framework to a sequential quantum phase estimation protocol, where a phase of physical significance is encoded in a quantum channel. The channel is applied to a probe state repeatedly until the probe is measured and the outcome leads to an estimate on the phase. We establish a trade-off relation between the total energy cost of the protocol and the number of times the channel is applied (complexity), while reaching a desired estimation precision. A sweet spot is located where the two quantities are co-optimised. The principles of our analysis can be adapted to benchmark the energetic requirements in other quantum protocols and devices.

arXiv:2511.05458 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2511.05458v4 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2511.05458 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

https://doi.org/10.1103/zlhs-7m9m Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources

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