Non-Markovian effect on the precision of parameter estimation

Abstract

We study the non-Markovian effect on the dynamics of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) by exactly solving a model consisting of a qubit system subjects to a zero-temperature reservoir for two different non-Markovian conditions: a high-Q cavity slightly off-resonant with the qubit transition frequency and a nonperfect photonic band gap, respectively. The phenomenon that the QFI, namely, the precision of estimation, changes dramatically with the environment structure and is affected by the environment memory effects. We find that revivals and retardation of QFI loss may occur by adjusting the cavity-qubit detuning, in the first case, while partial QFI trapping occurs in nonideal photonic band gaps and the decreasing gap width seriously destroys coherence, thus reducing the precision of estimation. These features make the qubit system in non-Markovian environments a good candidate for implementation of quantum optics schemes and information with high precision. © 2013 American Physical Society.