Minimum Entanglement Protocols for Function Estimation

We derive a family of optimal protocols, in the sense of saturating the quantum Cramér-Rao bound, for measuring a linear combination of d field amplitudes with quantum sensor networks, a key subprotocol of general quantum sensor networks applications. We demonstrate how to select different protocols from this family under various constraints via linear programming. Focusing on entanglement-based constraints, we prove the surprising result that highly entangled states are not necessary to achieve optimality in many cases. Specifically, we prove necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of optimal protocols using at most k-partite entangled cat-like states.