Quantum metrology matrix

Various strategies exist in quantum metrology, such as with or without ancillary system, with a fixed or optimized measurement, with or without monitoring the environment, etc. Different set of tools are usually needed for different strategies. In this article, we provide a unified framework for these different settings, in particular we introduce a quantum metrology matrix and show that the precision limits of different settings can all be obtained from the trace or the trace norm of the quantum metrology matrix. Furthermore, the probe state enters into the quantum metrology matrix linearly, which makes the identification of the optimal probe states, one of the main quests in quantum metrology, much more efficient than conventional methods.