English

Quantum state estimation when qubits are lost: A no-data-left-behind approach

Quantum Physics 2017-04-26 v2

Abstract

We present an approach to Bayesian mean estimation of quantum states using hyperspherical parametrization and an experiment-specific likelihood which allows utilization of all available data, even when qubits are lost. With this method, we report the first closed-form Bayesian mean estimate for the ideal single qubit. Due to computational constraints, we utilize numerical sampling to determine the Bayesian mean estimate for a photonic two-qubit experiment in which our novel analysis reduces burdens associated with experimental asymmetries and inefficiencies. This method can be applied to quantum states of any dimension and experimental complexity.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1610.03714,
  title  = {Quantum state estimation when qubits are lost: A no-data-left-behind approach},
  author = {Brian P. Williams and Pavel Lougovski},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1610.03714},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

28 pages. Revision includes, in part, changes to the ideal single-qubit MLE section

R2 v1 2026-06-22T16:18:45.269Z