No Arabic abstract
Quantum criticality, as a fascinating quantum phenomenon, may provide significant advantages for quantum sensing. Here we propose a dynamic framework for quantum sensing with a family of Hamiltonians that undergo quantum phase transitions (QPT). By giving the formalism of the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for quantum sensing based on critical quantum dynamics, we demonstrate its divergent feature when approaching the critical point. We illustrate the basic principle and the details of experimental implementation using quantum Rabi model. The framework is applicable to a variety of examples and does not rely on the stringent requirement for particular state preparation or adiabatic evolution. It is expected to provide a route towards the implementation of criticality-enhanced quantum sensing.
Present protocols of criticality enhanced sensing with open quantum sensors assume direct measurement of the sensor and omit the radiation quanta emitted to the environment, thereby omitting potentially valuable information. Here we propose a protocol for criticality enhanced sensing via continuous observation of the emitted radiation quanta. Under general assumptions, we establish a scaling theory for the global quantum Fisher information of the joint system and environment state at a dissipative critical point. We demonstrate that it obeys universal scaling laws featuring transient and long-time behavior governed by the underlying critical exponents. Importantly, such scaling laws exceed the standard quantum limit and can in principle satuarate the Heisenberg limit. To harness such advantageous scaling, we propose a practical sensing scheme based on continuous detection of the emitted quanta. In such a scheme a single interrogation corresponds to a (stochastic) quantum trajectory of the open system evolving under the non-unitary dynamics dependent on the parameter to be sensed and the back-action of the continuous measurement. Remarkably, we demonstrate that the associated precision scaling significantly exceeds that based on direct measurement of the critical steady state, thereby establishing the metrological value of detection of the emitted quanta at dissipative criticality. We illustrate our protocol via counting the photons emitted by the open Rabi model, a paradigmatic model for the study of dissipative phase transition with finite components. Our protocol is applicable to diverse open quantum sensors permitting continuous readout, and may find applications at the frontier of quantum sensing such as human-machine interface, magnetic diagnosis of heart disease and zero-field nuclear magnetic resonance.
Quantum resources can enhance the sensitivity of a device beyond the classical shot noise limit and, as a result, revolutionize the field of metrology through the development of quantum-enhanced sensors. In particular, plasmonic sensors, which are widely used in biological and chemical sensing applications, offer a unique opportunity to bring such an enhancement to real-life devices. Here, we use bright entangled twin beams to enhance the sensitivity of a plasmonic sensor used to measure local changes in refractive index. We demonstrate a 56% quantum enhancement in the sensitivity of state-of-the-art plasmonic sensor with measured sensitivities on the order of $10^{-10}$RIU$/sqrt{textrm{Hz}}$, nearly 5 orders of magnitude better than previous proof-of-principle implementations of quantum-enhanced plasmonic sensors. These results promise significant enhancements in ultratrace label free plasmonic sensing and will find their way into areas ranging from biomedical applications to chemical detection.
We study the dynamic sensitivity of the quantum Rabi model, which exhibits quantum criticality in the finite-component-system case. This dynamic sensitivity can be detected by introducing an auxiliary two-level atom far-off-resonantly coupled to the cavity field of the quantum Rabi model. We find that when the quantum Rabi model goes through the critical point, the auxiliary atom experiences a sudden decoherence, which can be characterised by a sharp decay of the Loschmidt echo. Our scheme will provide a reliable way to observe quantum phase transition in ultrastrongly coupled quantum systems.
We use the quantum Fisher information (QFI) to diagnose a dynamical phase transition (DPT) in a closed quantum system, which is usually defined in terms of non-analytic behaviour of a time-averaged order parameter. Employing the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model as an illustrative example, we find that the DPT correlates with a peak in the QFI that can be explained by a generic connection to an underlying excited-state quantum phase transition that also enables us to also relate the scaling of the QFI with the behaviour of the order parameter. Motivated by the QFI as a quantifier of metrologically useful correlations and entanglement, we also present a robust interferometric protocol that can enable DPTs as a platform for quantum-enhanced sensing.
We present a method of sensing AC magnetic fields. The method is based on the construction of a robust qubit by the application of continuous driving fields. Specifically, magnetic noise and power fluctuations of the driving fields do not operate within the robust qubit subspace, and hence, robustness to both external and controller noise is achieved. We consider trapped-ion based implementation via the dipole transitions, which is relevant for several types of ions, such as the $^{40}{rm{Ca}}^{+}$, $^{88}{rm{Sr}}^{+}$, and the $^{138}{rm{Ba}}^{+}$ ions. Taking experimental errors into account, we conclude that the coherence time of the robust qubit can be improved by up to $sim 4$ orders of magnitude compared to the coherence time of the bare states. We show how the robust qubit can be utilized for the task of sensing AC magnetic fields, leading to an improvement of $sim 2$ orders of magnitude of the sensitivity. In addition, we present a microwave based sensing scheme that is suitable for ions with a hyperfine structure, such as the $^{9}{rm{Be}}^{+}$,$^{25}{rm{Mg}}^{+}$,$^{43}{rm{Ca}}^{+}$,$^{87}{rm{Sr}}^{+}$,$^{137}{rm{Ba}}^{+}$,$^{111}{rm{Cd}}^{+}$,$^{171}{rm{Yb}}^{+}$, and the $^{199}{rm{Hg}}^{+}$ ions. This scheme enables the enhanced sensing of high frequency fields at the GHz level.