Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Inspired by results in quantum information, we report the development of a formalism for optical sensing which abstracts the details of specific optical systems and allows us to form general bounds on measurement based only on the quantity to be measured. We find a universal bound that controls the performance of any passive optical system regardless of the technology used to construct it and that this bound is attained by a unique measurement scheme for each quantity of interest. Shockingly, our optical formalism is nearly identical to the quantum formalism, with essentially the same notions of the state to be measured and the operation of the measurement, along with an accompanying uncertainty principle.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Ish, Daniel, Ellis, Chase T.
Institution: United States Naval Research Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7215072685