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Exotic Light States Boost Precision of Quantum Measurements Beyond Limits

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This study examines quantum phase estimation using an SU(1,1) interferometer with photon-added even and odd coherent states as input. The researchers found that adding photons to these quantum states significantly improves phase sensitivity beyond the standard quantum limit, approaching Heisenberg-limited precision as more photons are added. Photon-added even coherent states perform slightly better than odd states, though this difference diminishes with increasing photon number, indicating that photon addition reduces the importance of the initial state's parity.


Enhanced phase estimation has direct applications in precision measurement technologies, including gravitational wave detection, quantum sensing, and optical communications. The demonstration that photon addition can achieve near-Heisenberg-limited sensitivity provides a practical pathway for improving quantum metrology devices without requiring exotic quantum states.


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⚠️ Preprint – Noch nicht peer-reviewed

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Abstract: We investigate phase estimation in an SU(1,1) interferometer employing $m$-photon-added even and odd coherent states as nonclassical input resources. The phase sensitivity is evaluated through intensity detection and the error propagation method, while the ultimate precision limit is determined from the quantum Cram’er-Rao bound with the quantum Fisher information serving as the relevant metrological quantity. Our results demonstrate that photon addition significantly enhances the phase sensitivity, increases the quantum Fisher information, and reduces the quantum Cram’er-Rao bound, leading to a clear improvement over the corresponding even and odd coherent states. Furthermore, the achievable sensitivity exceeds the standard quantum limit and gradually approaches the Heisenberg scaling with increasing photon-addition number. We also find that the $m$-photon-added even coherent states exhibit a modest advantage over their odd counterparts. As $m$ increases, however, this distinction becomes progressively weaker, suggesting that photon addition diminishes the role of the initial parity of the coherent state in determining the interferometric performance.

Source: Quantum-Enhanced Phase Estimation with Photon-Added Even and Odd Coherent States in an SU(1,1) Interferometer