Spin-orbit coupling plays an important role in both fundamental physics and technological applications. Precise estimation of the spin-orbit coupling is necessary for accurate designing across various physical setups such as solid state devices and quantum hardware. Here, we exploit quantum features in a 1D quantum wire for estimating the Rashba spin-orbit coupling with enhanced sensitivity beyond the capability of classical probes. The Heisenberg limited enhanced precision is achieved across a wide range of parameters and does not require fine tuning. Such advantage is directly related to the gap-closing nature of the probe across the entire relevant range of parameters. This provides clear advantage over conventional criticality-based quantum sensors in which quantum enhanced sensitivity can only be achieved through fine-tuning around the phase transition point. We have demonstrated quantum enhanced sensitivity for both single particle and interacting many-body probes. In addition to extending our results to thermal states and the multi-parameter scenario, we have provided an measurement basis to perform close to the ultimate precision.
Spin-orbit coupling plays an important role in both fundamental physics and technological applications. Precise estimation of the spin-orbit coupling is necessary for accurate designing across various physical setups such as solid state devices and quantum hardware. Here, we exploit quantum features in a 1D quantum wire for estimating the Rashba spin-orbit coupling with enhanced sensitivity beyond the capability of classical probes. The Heisenberg limited enhanced precision is achieved across a wide range of parameters and does not require fine tuning. Such advantage is directly related to the gap-closing nature of the probe across the entire relevant range of parameters. This provides clear advantage over conventional criticality-based quantum sensors in which quantum enhanced sensitivity can only be achieved through fine-tuning around the phase transition point. We have demonstrated quantum enhanced sensitivity for both single particle and interacting many-body probes. In addition to extending our results to thermal states and the multi-parameter scenario, we have provided an measurement basis to perform close to the ultimate precision.
Quantum many-body systems undergoing phase transitions have been proposed as probes enabling beyond-classical enhancement of sensing precision. However, this enhancement is usually limited to a very narrow region around the critical point. Here, we systematically develop a modular approach for introducing multiple phase transitions in a many-body system. This naturally allows us to enlarge the region of quantum-enhanced precision by encompassing the newly created phase boundaries. Our approach is general and can be applied to both symmetry-breaking and topological quantum sensors. In symmetry-breaking sensors, we show that the newly created critical points inherit the original universality class and a simple total magnetization measurement already suffices to locate them. In topological sensors, our modular construction creates multiple bands which leads to a rich phase diagram. In both cases, Heisenberg scaling for Hamiltonian parameter estimation is achieved at all the phase boundaries. This can be exploited to create a global sensor which significantly outperforms a uniform probe.
Exploiting quantum features allows for estimating external parameters with precision well beyond the capacity of classical sensors, a phenomenon known as quantum-enhanced precision. Quantum criticality has been identified as a resource for achieving such enhancements with respect to the probe size. However, such protocols demand complex probe preparation and measurement, and the achievable enhancement is ultimately restricted to narrow parameter regimes. On the other hand, non-equilibrium probes harness dynamics, enabling quantum-enhanced precision with respect to time over a wide range of parameters through simple probe initialization. Here, we unify these approaches through a Stark-Wannier localization platform, where competition between a linear gradient field and particle tunneling enables quantum-enhanced sensitivity across an extended parameter regime. The probe is implemented on a 9-qubit superconducting quantum device, in both single- and double-excitation subspaces, where we explore its performance in the extended phase, the critical point and the localized phase. Despite employing only computational-basis measurements, we have been able to achieve near-Heisenberg-limited precision by combining outcomes at distinct evolution times. In addition, we demonstrate that the performance of the probe in the entire extended phase significantly outperforms the performance in the localized regime. Our results highlight Stark-Wannier systems as versatile platforms for quantum sensing, where the combination of criticality and non-equilibrium dynamics enhances precision over a wide range of parameters without stringent measurement requirements.
Quantum sensors based on critical many-body systems are known to exhibit enhanced sensing capability. Such enhancements typically scale algebraically with the probe size. Going beyond algebraic advantage and reaching exponential scaling has remained elusive when all the resources, such as the preparation time, are taken into account. In this work, we show that many-body systems featuring first order quantum phase transitions can indeed achieve exponential scaling of sensitivity, thanks to their exponential energy gap closing. Remarkably, even after considering the preparation time using local adiabatic driving, the exponential scaling is sustained. Our results are demonstrated through comprehensive analysis of three paradigmatic models exhibiting first order phase transitions, namely Grover, p-spin, and biclique models. We show that this scaling survives moderate decoherence during state preparation and also can be optimally measured in experimentally available basis. Our findings comply with the fundamental bounds and we show that one can harness the exponential advantage through an adaptive strategy even away from the phase transition point.
Quantum sensors outperform their classical counterparts in their estimation precision, given the same amount of resources. So far, quantum-enhanced sensitivity has been achieved by exploiting the superposition principle. This enhancement has been obtained for particular forms of entangled states, adaptive measurement basis change, critical many-body systems, and steady state of periodically driven systems. Here, we introduce a different approach to obtain quantum-enhanced sensitivity in a many-body probe through utilizing the nature of quantum measurement and its subsequent wave function collapse without demanding prior entanglement. Our protocol consists of a sequence of local measurements, without reinitialization, performed regularly during the evolution of a many-body probe. As the number of sequences increases, the sensing precision is enhanced beyond the standard limit, reaching the Heisenberg bound asymptotically. The benefits of the protocol are multifold as it uses a product initial state and avoids complex initialization (e.g., prior entangled states or critical ground states) and allows for remote quantum sensing.
Quantum phenomena offer the possibility of measuring physical quantities with precision beyond classical limits. However, current progress is constrained by scalability, environmental noise, and challenges in practical integration. This highlights the necessity for novel approaches. An emerging paradigm in this direction is , which harnesses the enhanced susceptibility and nonclassical correlations that naturally occur near quantum phase transitions as resources for quantum-enhanced precision. This tutorial provides a pedagogical introduction to key concepts and a detailed overview of prominent quantum sensing strategies that exploit critical phenomena in metrology. Through examples of increasing complexity, the reader is guided through various critical quantum sensing protocols applied to different critical systems. Special emphasis is placed on the optimal scaling of estimation precision with respect to fundamental resources. Finally, we discuss how critical quantum metrology extends from idealized models to realistic open-system, dissipative regimes, and strongly correlated fermionic systems, outlining both the challenges and opportunities for future quantum technologies.
Multimode squeezing and entanglement are important resources in quantum metrology and sensing. For spin-1/2 Bose-Einstein condensates subject to spin-orbit coupling (SOC), previous studies on spin squeezing have been limited to two-mode systems. In this work, we demonstrate that such a system can naturally construct a four-mode model spanning an su(4) algebra with six SU(2) subspaces. Using spin squeezing parameters and quantum Fisher information matrices, we analyze the dynamical evolution of coherent spin states. The results show that, beyond two-mode models, the SOC-induced four-mode couplings give rise to richer entanglement-enhanced sensing approaching the Heisenberg limit across various SU(2) subspaces. Additionally, by tuning a single system parameter (the Raman Rabi frequency), one can selectively control the optimal measurement across different subspaces.