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arXiv:2602.14752 · Physical Review A

Finer sub-Planck structures and displacement sensitivity of SU(1,1) circular states

Naeem Akhtar, Jia-Xin Peng, Tariq Aziz, Xiaosen Yang, Dong Wang

quant-phSubmitted Feb 16, 2026• Announced Feb 17, 2026• 0 citations
v1 · Feb 16, 2026v2 · Jun 6, 2026v3 · Oct 6, 2026
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Abstract

Quantum states with sub-Planck features exhibit sensitivity to phase-space displacements beyond the standard quantum limit, making them useful for quantum metrology. In the context of the SU(1,1) group, sub-Planck features have been constructed through the superposition of four Perelomov coherent states on the hyperbolic plane (the SU(1,1) compass state). However, these structures differ in scale along different phase-space directions, resulting in nonuniform sensitivity enhancement. We overcome this limitation by constructing $\overline{n}$-component compass states, which are obtained by superposing $\overline{n} \geq 6$ SU(1,1) coherent states, with an even total number, evenly arranged along a circular path on the hyperbolic plane; that is, all components lie at the same distance from the origin and have equal angular spacing of $\frac{2π}{\overline{n}}$. These generalized SU(1,1) compass states generate circularly shaped sub-Planck features (isotropic sub-Planckness) and provide uniform enhancement in sensitivity to phase-space displacements. As the number of coherent states $\overline{n}$ increases, these refinements progressively improve. While verified for $\overline{n} = 16$ SU(1,1) coherent states, the results remain valid for superpositions with arbitrarily large $\overline{n}$ components.

Journal reference
Physical Review A 114, 032452 (2026)
DOI
10.1103/94vn-n495
Comments
10 pages, 4 figures

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Quantum states with sub-Planck features exhibit sensitivity to phase-space displacements beyond the standard quantum limit, making them useful for quantum metrology. In the context of the SU(1,1) group, sub-Planck features have been constructed through the superposition of four Perelomov coherent states on the hyperbolic plane (the SU(1,1) compass state). However, these structures differ in scale along different phase-space directions, resulting in nonuniform sensitivity enhancement. We overcome this limitation by constructing n‾\overline{n}n-component compass states, which are obtained by superposing n‾≥6\overline{n} \geq 6n≥6 SU(1,1) coherent states, with an even total number, evenly arranged along a circular path on the hyperbolic plane; that is, all components lie at the same distance from the origin and have equal angular spacing of 2πn‾\frac{2π}{\overline{n}}n2π​. These generalized SU(1,1) compass states generate circularly shaped sub-Planck features (isotropic sub-Planckness) and provide uniform enhancement in sensitivity to phase-space displacements. As the number of coherent states n‾\overline{n}n increases, these refinements progressively improve. While verified for n‾=16\overline{n} = 16n=16 SU(1,1) coherent states, the results remain valid for superpositions with arbitrarily large n‾\overline{n}n components.
We investigate the sub-Planck-scale structures associated with the SU(1,1) group by establishing that the Planck scale on the hyperbolic plane can be considered as the inverse of the Bargmann index kkk. Our discussion involves SU(1,1) versions of Wigner functions, and the quantum-interference effect is easily visualized through plots of these Wigner functions. Specifically, the superpositions of four Perelomov SU(1,1) coherent states (compass state) yield nearly isotropic sub-Planck structures in phase space scaling as 1/k1/k1/k compared with 1/k1/\sqrt{k}1/k​ scaling for individual SU(1,1) coherent states and anisotropic quadratically improved scaling for superpositions of two SU(1,1) coherent states (cat state). We show that displacement sensitivity exhibits the same quadratic improvement to scaling.
Coherent-state superpositions are of great importance for many quantum subjects, ranging from foundational to technological, e.g., from tests of collapse models to quantum metrology. Here we explore various aspects of these states, related to the connection between sub-Planck structures present in their Wigner function and their sensitivity to displacements (ultimately determining their metrological potential). We review this for the usual Heisenberg-Weyl algebra associated with a harmonic oscillator and extend it to find analogous results for the su(2)\mathrm{su}(2)su(2) algebra, typically associated with angular momentum. In particular, in the Heisenberg-Weyl case, we identify phase-space structures with support smaller than the Planck action in both Schr\"odinger-cat-state mixtures and superpositions, the latter known as compass states. However, as compared to coherent states, compass states are shown to have N\sqrt{N}N​-enhanced sensitivity against displacements in all phase-space directions (NNN is the average number of quanta), whereas cat states and cat mixtures show such enhanced sensitivity only for displacements in specific directions. We then show that these same properties apply for analogous SU(2) states provided (i) coherent states are restricted to the equator of the sphere that plays the role of phase space for this group, (ii) we associate the role of the Planck action with the size of SU(2) coherent states in such a sphere, and (iii) we associate the role of NNN with the total angular momentum.
Compass states deliver a sub-Planck phase-space structure in the sense that sensitivity to phase-space displacement is superior to the sensitivity of displacing the vacuum state in any direction, but this sensitivity is anisotropic: better sensitivity for some directions of phase-space displacement versus others. Here we introduce generalized compass states as superpositions of nnn compass states, with each oriented by $\ensuremath{\pi}/2n$ with respect to its predecessor. Specifically, we derive Wigner functions for these generalized compass states and approximate closed-form expressions for overlaps between generalized compass states and their displaced counterparts. Furthermore, we show that generalized compass states, in the limit $n\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$, display isotropic sensitivity to phase-space displacement in any direction.
The superposition of coherent states has attracted extensive and intensive attention, exemplified by intriguing instances such as Schr\"odinger cat states and compass states. In this study, we derive analytical expressions of the Wigner functions and phase-space displacement sensitivity of circular states, which are superpositions of coherent states distributed equidistantly on a circle. The visualization of these phase-space functions exhibits fascinating quantum kaleidoscopic patterns, and intuitively reveals the internal coherence and symmetric structure in these states. Moreover, we unveil the inherent sub-Planck structure of circular states in terms of the zeros of sensitivity functions.
We investigate the superposition of coherent states, emphasizing quantum states with distinct Wigner phase-space features relevant to quantum information applications. In this study, we introduce generalized versions of the compass state, which display enhanced phase-space characteristics compared with the conventional compass state, typically a superposition of four coherent states. Our findings reveal that, unlike sub-Planckian structures and phase-space sensitivity of the compass state, these generalized states produce isotropic sub-Planckian structures and sensitivity to phase-space displacements. We demonstrate that these desirable phase-space characteristics are maintained in superpositions comprising at least six distinct coherent states. Furthermore, we show that increasing the number of coherent states in the superposition preserves these characteristics, provided the number remains even. We examine an optomechanical system capable of generating the proposed quantum states, resulting in optomechanical counterparts with nearly identical phase-space structures, thereby suggesting the feasibility of physically realizing these generalized compass states.
The Wigner function of the compass state (a superposition of four coherent states) develops phase-space structures of dimension much less than the Planck scale $\ensuremath{\hbar}$, which are crucial in determining the sensitivity of these states to phase-space displacements. In the present work we introduce compasslike states that may have connection to the contemporary experiments, which are obtained by either adding photons to or subtracting photons from the superposition of two squeezed-vacuum states. We show that when a significant quantity of photons is added (or subtracted), the Wigner functions of these states are shown to have phase-space structures of an area that is substantially smaller than the Planck scale. In addition, these states exhibit sensitivity to displacements that is much higher than the standard quantum limit. Finally, we show that both the size of the sub-Planck structures and the sensitivity of our states are strongly influenced by the average photon number, with the photon-addition case having a higher average photon number leading to the smaller sub-Planck structures and, consequently, being more sensitive to displacement than the photon-subtraction case. Our states offer unprecedented resolution to the external perturbations, making them suitable for quantum sensing applications.