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arXiv:1802.07892 · Physical Review A

Improving sensitivity to magnetic fields and electric dipole moments by using measurements of individual magnetic sublevels

Cheng Tang, Teng Zhang, David S. Weiss

Published Mar 8, 2018• 5 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We explore ways to use the ability to measure the populations of individual magnetic sublevels to improve the sensitivity of magnetic field measurements and measurements of atomic electric dipole moments (EDMs). When atoms are initialized in the $m=0$ magnetic sublevel, the shot-noise-limited uncertainty of these measurements is $1/\sqrt{2F(F+1)}$ smaller than that of a Larmor precession measurement. When the populations in the even (or odd) magnetic sublevels are combined, we show that these measurements are independent of the tensor Stark shift and the second order Zeeman shift. We discuss the complicating effect of a transverse magnetic field and show that when the ratio of the tensor Stark shift to the transverse magnetic field is sufficiently large, an EDM measurement with atoms initialized in the superposition of the stretched states can reach the optimal sensitivity.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.97.033404

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The characterization of electric and magnetic dipole moments (EDM and MDM) in quantum systems is central to fundamental physics and quantum sensing. While EDM searches provide powerful probes of CP violation within and beyond the Standard Model, precise MDM estimation is crucial for high-precision magnetometry and the development of quantum sensors. In this work, we address the ultimate precision limits for separate and simultaneous estimation of both dipole moments in a generic two-level system coupled to electromagnetic fields. We analyze three classes of quantum probes/strategies: unitary and depolarizing dynamics, and thermal equilibrium states. For each, we derive the quantum Fisher information (matrix), identify optimal probes, and determine the ideal operating conditions, such as evolution times and temperatures, that maximize estimation precision. We further assess the compatibility and sloppiness of the statistical models, showing that orthogonal dipole moments configurations enable joint estimation of EDM and MDM, whereas parallel configurations are intrinsically sloppy, permitting only the estimation of a single parameter combination. Our results provide a unified metrological framework for estimation schemes ranging from neutron EDM searches to molecular magnetometry, and highlight the distinct roles of coherence, noise, and thermalization in multiparameter quantum sensing of dipole moments.
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