A promising practical application of entanglement is metrology, where quantum states can be used to make measurements beyond the shot noise limit. Here we consider how metrology schemes could be realised using atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in different potentials. In particular, we show that if a trapped BEC is rotated at just the right frequency, it can undergo a quantum phase transition characterised by large-scale entanglement spreading across the system. This simple process of stirring can generate interesting quantum states such as macroscopic superpositions of all the atoms flowing in opposite directions around a ring-shaped potential. We consider different trapping potentials and show how this leads to different entangled states. In particular, we find that by reducing the dimensionality of the system to one or two dimensions, it is possible to generate entangled states that are remarkably robust to the loss of atoms and so are ideally suited to precision measurement schemes.
A promising practical application of entanglement is metrology, where quantum states can be used to make measurements beyond the shot noise limit. Here we consider how metrology schemes could be realised using atomic Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) trapped in different potentials. In particular, we show that if a trapped BEC is rotated at just the right frequency, it can undergo a quantum phase transition characterised by large-scale entanglement spreading across the system. This simple process of stirring can generate interesting quantum states such as macroscopic superpositions of all the atoms flowing in opposite directions around a ring-shaped potential. We consider different trapping potentials and show how this leads to different entangled states. In particular, we find that by reducing the dimensionality of the system to one or two dimensions, it is possible to generate entangled states that are remarkably robust to the loss of atoms and so are ideally suited to precision measurement schemes.
We present the first exact diagonalisation study of a rotating Bose-Einstein condensate stirred by a quadratic anisotropic potential near the threshold of the first vortex nucleation beyond the lowest Landau level (LLL) approximation.
Although the nucleation of the first vortex in this system has been the focus of extensive experimental and theoretical research in both mean-field studies, as well as in exact diagonalisation ones, they have all relied on the assumption of the interaction strength being weak
enough so that the system is well described by the LLL approximation. The LLL approximation accurately predicts the rotation frequency at which the first vortex penetrates the gas, and correctly describes the appearance of a quantum phase transition at a critical rotation
frequency c, which leads to quantum correlations between the atoms and entanglement in the ground state at
c.
However, our research shows that the LLL approximation fails at describing the details of the entangled state and the quantum Fisher information, which bounds the accuracy of phase measurements in metrology schemes, even for weak interactions. Our results reveal a rich system that allows for the engineering of different promising entangled states for quantum metrology, which are also amenable to
experimental investigation.
Finally, we propose an inteferometric scheme that makes use of these entangled states, which is shown to have the potential of delivering nearly Heisenberg-limited precision for the measurement of small rotations. The scheme is conceptually very simple, and it is also within
reach of current experimental technologies.
The ability to make ultra-precise measurements is fundamentally important to science as it allows theories to be tested and refined. Interferometers offer unrivalled measurement precision and therefore form the basis of many metrology schemes. Research has shown that by using quantum states as inputs to interferometers, precisions better than anything possible classically can be achieved. Nevertheless, these states are difficult to produce and fragile to particle losses. Consequently, classical inputs, which are extremely robust, are used in experiments. Here, however, we propose experimentally accessible schemes to make quantum-limited measurements, in particular rotation measurements using Bose-Einstein condensates, that are robust to losses. We begin by describing how, by loading a Bose-Einstein condensate into an optical ring lattice, multiport beam splitters are created through a simple raising and lowering of potential barriers between sites. We then use these ‘splitters’ to create an atomic gyroscope. We demonstrate how to create several quantum states in the gyroscope, all capable of making rotation measurements. Whilst NOON states afford best precision in idealised set-ups, we find they are outperformed by ‘bat’ states for modest loss rates. However, bat states are not ideal as they are outperformed by classical states for large losses. A second gyroscope scheme is therefore developed. Using multiple momentum modes, rather than just two, we show quantum-limited precisions can be reached using states that have similar robustness to classical states. The final section focuses on the precision of linear interferometers. Recent work[1, 2] has calculated the theoretical optimum initial states for two-mode lossy interferometers. Here we present an experimental way to produce initial states that afford similar precisions to this optimum. We also consider lossy multimode interferometry and demonstrate a potential advantage over two-mode systems. It is thought with further investigation other advantages will be found.
By considering matter wave bright solitons from weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in a double-well potential, we study the formation of macroscopic non-classical states, including Schrödinger-cat superposition states and maximally path entangled N00N-states. We examine Mach- Zehnder interferometer in the context of parity measurements, in order to obtain Heisenberg limit accuracy for linear phase shift measurement. We reveal that the ratio between two-body scattering length and intra-well hopping parameter can be measured with the scaling beyond this limit by using nonlinear phase shift with interacting quantum solitons.
Entangled states of rotating, trapped ultracold bosons form a very promising scenario for quantum metrology. In order to employ such states for metrology, it is vital to understand their detailed form and the enhanced accuracy with which they could measure phase, in this case generated through rotation. In this work, we study the rotation of ultracold bosons in an asymmetric trapping potential beyond the lowest Landau level (LLL) approximation. We demonstrate that while the LLL can identify reasonably the critical frequency for a quantum phase transition and entangled state generation, it is vital to go beyond the LLL to identify the details of the state and quantify the quantum Fisher information (which bounds the accuracy of the phase measurement). We thus identify a new parameter regime for useful entangled state generation, amenable to experimental investigation.
Considering matter wave bright solitons from weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates trapped in a double-well potential, we study the formation of macroscopic non-classical states, including Schrödinger-cat superposition state and maximally path entangled N00N-state. We examine these macroscopic states by Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the context of parity measurements, which has been done to obtain Heisenberg limit accuracy for linear phase shift measurement. We reveal that the ratio of two-body scattering length to intra-well hopping parameter can be measured with the scaling beyond this limit by using nonlinear phase shift with interacting quantum solitons.
Entangled states of rotating, trapped ultracold bosons form a very promising scenario for quantum metrology. In order to employ such states for metrology, it is vital to understand their detailed form and the enhanced accuracy with which they could measure phase, in this case generated through rotation. In this work, we study the rotation of ultracold bosons in an asymmetric trapping potential beyond the lowest Landau level (LLL) approximation. We demonstrate that while the LLL can identify reasonably the critical frequency for a quantum phase transition and entangled state generation, it is vital to go beyond the LLL to identify the details of the state and quantify the quantum Fisher information (which bounds the accuracy of the phase measurement). We thus identify a new parameter regime for useful entangled state generation, amenable to experimental investigation.