Quantum optics of frequency comb metrology

Quantum Physics arXiv:2605.16702 (quant-ph) [Submitted on 15 May 2026] Title:Quantum optics of frequency comb metrology Authors:Dong-Chel Shin, Edwin Ng, Myoung-Gyun Suh, Vivishek Sudhir View a PDF of the paper titled Quantum optics of frequency comb metrology, by Dong-Chel Shin and 3 other authors View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract:Frequency combs enable precision measurements across timekeeping, spectroscopy, ranging and astronomy, and are now extending to integrated and field-deployable platforms. Realizing their full performance demands a comprehensive account of the quantum noise that arises when broadband optical fields are converted into finite-bandwidth electrical signals. Here we present a rigorous first-principles quantum-mechanical framework for optical frequency-comb metrology based on continuous-mode field quantization and a comb-line-resolved description of quantum fluctuations. The theory describes how quantum fluctuations of the comb field are transduced into electrical measurement noise. We apply the framework to two canonical settings, optical frequency division (OFD) and dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS), where it reveals two effects beyond semiclassical reach: a dependence of the OFD standard quantum limit on the comb spectral envelope, and a cyclostationary noise penalty that obstructs straightforward squeezing in DCS. These insights identify practical, resource-efficient routes to quantum enhancement through engineered comb states, laying a foundation for the design of next-generation frequency combs operating at and beyond standard quantum limits. Subjects: Quantum Physics (quant-ph) Cite as: arXiv:2605.16702 [quant-ph] (or arXiv:2605.16702v1 [quant-ph] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.16702 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration) Submission history From: Dong-Chel Shin [view email] [v1] Fri, 15 May 2026 23:30:45 UTC (2,186 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View a PDF of the paper titled Quantum optics of frequency comb metrology, by Dong-Chel Shin and 3 other authorsView PDFHTML (experimental)TeX Source view license Current browse context: quant-ph new | recent | 2026-05 References & Citations INSPIRE HEP NASA ADSGoogle Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Loading... BibTeX formatted citation × loading... Data provided by: Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps (What is Litmaps?) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub (What is DagsHub?) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate (What is Replicate?) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender (What is CORE?) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them. Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs. Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)