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arXiv:2506.14115 · The European Physical Journal C

Entangled Unruh–DeWitt detectors amplify quantum coherence

Shu-Min Wu, Yu-Xuan Wang, Wentao Liu

Published Oct 3, 2025• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We explore the quantum coherence between a pair of entangled Unruh–DeWitt detectors, interacting with a quantum field, using a nonperturbative approach in a (3+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime with instantaneous switching ( $$\delta $$ δ -switching). It is intriguing to observe that for a maximally entangled state, increasing the coupling strength enhances the detectors’ initial quantum coherence while simultaneously causing a monotonic decrease in their initial entanglement. This reveals a remarkable phenomenon: through nonperturbative interactions, entangled Unruh–DeWitt detectors can exhibit a dual effect-amplifying quantum coherence while degrading quantum entanglement. This finding stands in stark contrast to previous studies based on perturbative methods or Gaussian switching functions, which generally concluded that interactions between detectors and the field lead to a simultaneous degradation of quantum coherence and entanglement due to environmental decoherence. Notably, while initially separable detectors successfully harvest quantum coherence from the vacuum, entanglement extraction remains fundamentally prohibited. These contrasting behaviors underscore the fundamental distinction between coherence and entanglement as quantum resources, and highlight their complementary roles in field-detector interactions.

DOI
10.1140/epjc/s10052-025-14832-4

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Abstract We explore the quantum coherence between a pair of entangled Unruh–DeWitt detectors, interacting with a quantum field, using a nonperturbative approach in a (3+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime with instantaneous switching ( δ\delta δ δ -switching). It is intriguing to observe that for a maximally entangled state, increasing the coupling strength enhances the detectors’ initial quantum coherence while simultaneously causing a monotonic decrease in their initial entanglement. This reveals a remarkable phenomenon: through nonperturbative interactions, entangled Unruh–DeWitt detectors can exhibit a dual effect-amplifying quantum coherence while degrading quantum entanglement. This finding stands in stark contrast to previous studies based on perturbative methods or Gaussian switching functions, which generally concluded that interactions between detectors and the field lead to a simultaneous degradation of quantum coherence and entanglement due to environmental decoherence. Notably, while initially separable detectors successfully harvest quantum coherence from the vacuum, entanglement extraction remains fundamentally prohibited. These contrasting behaviors underscore the fundamental distinction between coherence and entanglement as quantum resources, and highlight their complementary roles in field-detector interactions.
We investigate how entangled inertial Unruh-DeWitt detectors are affected by interaction with a quantum field using a nonperturbative method. Inertial detectors in a (3+13+13+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime with instantaneous switching ($\ensuremath{\delta}$-switching) experience degradation of their initial entanglement as their coupling strength with a scalar field increases. Somewhat surprisingly, initially separable or weakly entangled detectors can extract mutual information from the vacuum. We also find that entanglement degradation is not reduced if communication via the field is possible; rather this only changes the manner in which entanglement is degraded.
The degradation of quantum resources due to environmental noise is a fundamental challenge in quantum information science. In relativistic settings, this noise is intrinsically linked to vacuum fluctuations. Here, we investigate this connection using a model of two Unruh-DeWitt detectors interacting with a scalar field in Minkowski spacetime. Specifically, we focus on Bell nonlocality, quantum coherence, the nonlocal advantage of quantum coherence, and measured uncertainty, examining their dependence on the detector-field energy ratio, the inter-detector distance, and the initial state parameter. Notably, our central finding is that vacuum fluctuations are the primary mechanism of decoherence. Moreover, while spatial separation induces decoherence, all quantum resources converge to a non-zero steady state at large distances, confirming the robustness of nonlocality. These insights provide a deeper understanding of quantumness in a relativistic framework and may contribute to the ongoing discussion on the black hole information paradox.
Abstract In this paper, we investigate the quantum coherence extraction between two accelerating Unruh–DeWitt detectors, coupling to a scalar field in (3 + 1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. We find that quantum coherence as a nonclassical correlation can be generated through the Markovian evolution of the detector system, just like quantum entanglement. However, with growing Unruh temperature, in contrast to monotonously degrading entanglement, we find that quantum coherence exhibits a striking revival phenomenon. For certain detectors’ initial state choices, the coherence measure will reduce to zero at first and then grow to an asymptotic value. We verify such coherence revival by inspecting its metrological advantage on the quantum Fisher information (QFI) enhancement. Since the maximal QFI bounds the accuracy of quantum parameter estimation, we conclude that the extracted coherence can be utilized as a physical resource in quantum metrology.
Abstract We study, in the framework of open quantum systems, the entanglement dynamics for a quantum system composed of two uniformly accelerated Unruh-Dewitt detectors interacting with a bath of massive scalar fields in the Minkowski vacuum. We find that the entanglement evolution for the quantum system coupled with massive fields is always slower compared with that of the one coupled with massless fields, and this time-delay effect brought about by the field being massive can however be counteracted by a large enough acceleration, in contrast to the case of a static quantum system in a thermal bath, where this time delay is not affected by the temperature. Remarkably, the maximal concurrence of the quantum system generated during evolution may increase with acceleration for any inter-detector separation while that for static ones in a thermal bath decreases monotonically with temperature, and this can be considered as an anti-Unruh effect in terms of the entanglement generated.
A bstract We study the extraction of quantum coherence by three static Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) detectors that interact locally with a massless scalar vacuum field in the vicinity of an infinite perfectly reflecting boundary. Depending on the setup, the detectors are positioned either parallel or orthogonal to the boundary, with their energy gaps chosen to satisfy the hierarchy Ω C ≥ Ω B ≥ Ω A . Our analysis reveals that decreasing the detector-boundary separation leads to a monotonic degradation of quantum coherence, whereas the same boundary effect can simultaneously preserve and even amplify the harvested quantum entanglement. Moreover, when the detectors possess distinct energy gaps, coherence extraction is further inhibited; strikingly, such non-identical configurations substantially enhance the efficiency of entanglement harvesting and markedly extend the range of detector separations over which non-negligible entanglement can be generated. Nevertheless, the harvesting of nonlocal quantum coherence is achievable over a significantly broader range of detector separations than that of quantum entanglement. Despite exhibiting similar overall behavior, orthogonal detector configurations outperform parallel ones in coherence harvesting, highlighting the quantitative influence of detector geometry. Overall, our study reveals a hierarchical distinction between quantum coherence and entanglement as operational resources in structured vacuum fields: quantum coherence is not only more readily accessible across space but also more robust than entanglement, whereas entanglement exhibits richer features and can be selectively activated and enhanced through boundary effects and detector non-uniformity.
We study the extraction of quantum coherence by three static Unruh-DeWitt (UDW) detectors that interact locally with a massless scalar vacuum field in the vicinity of an infinite perfectly reflecting boundary. Depending on the setup, the detectors are positioned either parallel or orthogonal to the boundary, with their energy gaps chosen to satisfy the hierarchy ΩC≥ΩB≥ΩAΩ_C\geq Ω_B\geq Ω_AΩC​≥ΩB​≥ΩA​. Our analysis reveals that decreasing the detector-boundary separation leads to a monotonic degradation of quantum coherence, whereas the same boundary effect can simultaneously preserve and even amplify the harvested quantum entanglement. Moreover, when the detectors possess distinct energy gaps, coherence extraction is further inhibited; strikingly, such non-identical configurations substantially enhance the efficiency of entanglement harvesting and markedly extend the range of detector separations over which non-negligible entanglement can be generated. Nevertheless, the harvesting of nonlocal quantum coherence is achievable over a significantly broader range of detector separations than that of quantum entanglement. Despite exhibiting similar overall behavior, orthogonal detector configurations outperform parallel ones in coherence harvesting, highlighting the quantitative influence of detector geometry. Overall, our study reveals a hierarchical distinction between quantum coherence and entanglement as operational resources in structured vacuum fields: quantum coherence is not only more readily accessible across space but also more robust than entanglement, whereas entanglement exhibits richer features and can be selectively activated and enhanced through boundary effects and detector non-uniformity.