Dynamic distributed quantum sensing of radio-frequency fields via time-bin entanglement
Abstract
We propose a novel framework for discrete-variable (DV) distributed quantum sensing, wherein traditional polarization-based probes are replaced with time-bin entangled qubits. We show that the intrinsic temporal structure of time-bin Bell states can be utilized as a tunable, built-in two-time differential sampling reference for sensing radio-frequency (RF) fields. Unlike existing protocols based on polarization Bell states, which are limited to static measurements, our proposed architecture enables the coherent mapping of dynamic RF phase signals onto static quantum optical phases. By matching the time-bin separation to the RF or intermediate frequency (IF) half-period (antipodal sampling), we theoretically demonstrate that our protocol provides a 6 dB sensitivity enhancement over one-sample static polarization encodings while preserving the 3 dB per-pair entanglement advantage over the separable standard quantum limit benchmark. The performance enhancement is validated with Monte Carlo simulations. This approach provides a solution for RF sensing in DV photonic quantum networks, offering a clear path toward quantum-enhanced and frequency-agile distributed sensor arrays and broader utilization of time-domain quantum probe encodings.
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BibTeX
@misc{nehra2026dynamic,
title = {{Dynamic distributed quantum sensing of radio-frequency fields via time-bin entanglement}},
author = {Vedansh Nehra and Richard Birrittella and Benjamin Malia and Nicholas J. Barton and Christopher Tison and James Schneeloch and David Hucul and Benjamin Kyle and Erin Sheridan},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.39831},
eprint = {2609.39831},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39831},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Dynamic distributed quantum sensing of radio-frequency fields via time-bin entanglement
AU - Vedansh Nehra
AU - Richard Birrittella
AU - Benjamin Malia
AU - Nicholas J. Barton
AU - Christopher Tison
AU - James Schneeloch
AU - David Hucul
AU - Benjamin Kyle
AU - Erin Sheridan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.39831
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39831
AB - We propose a novel framework for discrete-variable (DV) distributed quantum sensing, wherein traditional polarization-based probes are replaced with time-bin entangled qubits. We show that the intrinsic temporal structure of time-bin Bell states can be utilized as a tunable, built-in two-time differential sampling reference for sensing radio-frequency (RF) fields. Unlike existing protocols based on polarization Bell states, which are limited to static measurements, our proposed architecture enables the coherent mapping of dynamic RF phase signals onto static quantum optical phases. By matching the time-bin separation to the RF or intermediate frequency (IF) half-period (antipodal sampling), we theoretically demonstrate that our protocol provides a 6 dB sensitivity enhancement over one-sample static polarization encodings while preserving the 3 dB per-pair entanglement advantage over the separable standard quantum limit benchmark. The performance enhancement is validated with Monte Carlo simulations. This approach provides a solution for RF sensing in DV photonic quantum networks, offering a clear path toward quantum-enhanced and frequency-agile distributed sensor arrays and broader utilization of time-domain quantum probe encodings.
ER -