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npj Quantum Information

Experimental critical quantum metrology with the Heisenberg scaling

Ran Liu, Yu Chen, Min Jiang, Xiaodong Yang, Ze Wu, Yuchen Li, Haidong Yuan, Xinhua Peng, Jiangfeng Du

Published Dec 13, 2021• 64 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Critical quantum metrology, which exploits quantum critical systems as probes to estimate a physical parameter, has gained increasing attention recently. However, the critical quantum metrology with a continuous quantum phase transition (QPT) is experimentally challenging since a continuous QPT only occurs at the thermodynamic limit. Here, we propose an adiabatic scheme on a perturbed Ising spin model with a first-order QPT. By introducing a small transverse magnetic field, we can not only encode an unknown parameter in the ground state but also tune the energy gap to control the evolution time of the adiabatic passage. Moreover, we experimentally implement the critical quantum metrology scheme using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and show that at the critical point the precision achieves the Heisenberg scaling as 1/ T . As a theoretical proposal and experimental implementation of the adiabatic scheme of critical quantum metrology and its advantages of easy implementation, inherent robustness against decays and tunable energy gap, our adiabatic scheme is promising for exploring potential applications of critical quantum metrology on various physical systems.

DOI
10.1038/s41534-021-00507-x

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Abstract Critical quantum metrology, which exploits quantum critical systems as probes to estimate a physical parameter, has gained increasing attention recently. However, the critical quantum metrology with a continuous quantum phase transition (QPT) is experimentally challenging since a continuous QPT only occurs at the thermodynamic limit. Here, we propose an adiabatic scheme on a perturbed Ising spin model with a first-order QPT. By introducing a small transverse magnetic field, we can not only encode an unknown parameter in the ground state but also tune the energy gap to control the evolution time of the adiabatic passage. Moreover, we experimentally implement the critical quantum metrology scheme using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and show that at the critical point the precision achieves the Heisenberg scaling as 1/ T . As a theoretical proposal and experimental implementation of the adiabatic scheme of critical quantum metrology and its advantages of easy implementation, inherent robustness against decays and tunable energy gap, our adiabatic scheme is promising for exploring potential applications of critical quantum metrology on various physical systems.
The critical quantum metrology, which exploits the quantum phase transition for high precision measurement, has gained increasing attention recently. The critical quantum metrology with the continuous quantum phase transition, however, is experimentally very challenging since the continuous quantum phase transition only exists at the thermal dynamical limit. Here, we propose an adiabatic scheme on a perturbed Ising spin model with the first order quantum phase transition. By employing the Landau-Zener anticrossing, we can not only encode the unknown parameter in the ground state but also tune the energy gap to control the evolution time of the adiabatic passage. We experimentally implement the adiabatic scheme on the nuclear magnetic resonance and show that the achieved precision attains the Heisenberg scaling. The advantages of the scheme-easy implementation, robust against the decay, tunable energy gap-are critical for practical applications of quantum metrology.
We show how quantum metrology protocols that seek to estimate the parameters of a Hamiltonian that exhibits a quantum phase transition can be efficiently simulated on an exponentially smaller quantum computer. Specifically, by exploiting the fact that the ground state of such a Hamiltonian changes drastically around its phase-transition point, we construct a suitable observable from which one can estimate the relevant parameters of the Hamiltonian with Heisenberg scaling precision. We then show how, for the one-dimensional Ising Hamiltonian with transverse magnetic field acting on NNN spins, such a metrology protocol can be efficiently simulated on an exponentially smaller quantum computer while maintaining the same Heisenberg scaling for the squared error, i.e., $O({N}^{\ensuremath{-}2})$ precision, and derive the explicit circuit that accomplishes the simulation.
Quantum metrology fundamentally relies upon the efficient management of quantum uncertainties. We show that under equilibrium conditions the management of quantum noise becomes extremely flexible around the quantum critical point of a quantum many-body system: this is due to the critical divergence of quantum fluctuations of the order parameter, which, via Heisenberg's inequalities, may lead to the critical suppression of the fluctuations in conjugate observables. Taking the quantum Ising model as the paradigmatic incarnation of quantum phase transitions, we show that it exhibits quantum critical squeezing of one spin component, providing a scaling for the precision of interferometric parameter estimation which, in dimensions d>2, lies in between the standard quantum limit and the Heisenberg limit. Quantum critical squeezing saturates the maximum metrological gain allowed by the quantum Fisher information in d=∞ (or with infinite-range interactions) at all temperatures, and it approaches closely the bound in a broad range of temperatures in d=2 and 3. This demonstrates the immediate metrological potential of equilibrium many-body states close to quantum criticality, which are accessible, e.g., to atomic quantum simulators via elementary adiabatic protocols.
The aim of quantum metrology is to estimate target parameters as precisely as possible. In this paper, we propose a protocol for quantum metrology based on symmetry-protected adiabatic transformation. We introduce a ferromagnetic Ising model with a transverse field as a probe and consider the estimation of a longitudinal field. Without the transverse field, the ground state of the probe is given by the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger state, and thus the Heisenberg limit estimation of the longitudinal field can be achieved through parity measurement. We find that full information of the longitudinal field encoded on parity can exactly be mapped to global magnetization by symmetry-protected adiabatic transformation, i.e., parity measurement can be replaced with global magnetization measurement. Our scheme requires neither accurate control of individual qubits nor that of interaction strength.
Abstract The aim of quantum metrology is to estimate target parameters as precisely as possible. In this paper, we consider quantum metrology based on symmetry-protected adiabatic transformation. We introduce a ferromagnetic Ising model with a transverse field as a probe and consider the estimation of a longitudinal field. Without the transverse field, the ground state of the probe is given by the Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state, and thus the Heisenberg limit estimation of the longitudinal field can be achieved through parity measurement. In our scheme, full information of the longitudinal field encoded on parity is exactly mapped to global magnetization by symmetry-protected adiabatic transformation, and thus the parity measurement can be replaced with global magnetization measurement. Moreover, this scheme requires neither accurate control of individual qubits nor that of interaction strength. We discuss the effects of the finite transverse field and nonadiabatic transitions as imperfection of adiabatic transformation. By taking into account finite time duration for state preparation, sensing, and readout, we also compare performance of the present scheme with a classical scheme in the absence and presence of dephasing.
Critical quantum metrology exploits the dramatic growth of the quantum Fisher information near quantum phase transitions to enhance the precision of parameter estimation. This enhancement is commonly associated with a closing energy gap, which causes the characteristic timescales for adiabatic preparation or relaxation to diverge with increasing system size. As a consequence, the apparent growth of the quantum Fisher information largely reflects the increasing evolution time induced by critical slowing down rather than a genuine improvement in metrological performance, thereby limiting the practical usefulness of such protocols. Here we show that the relationship between energy gaps, quantum correlations, and achievable precision in interacting quantum systems can be far more subtle. In particular, quantum-enhanced sensitivity can also emerge when the energy gap increases, eliminating critical slowing down and enabling substantially faster relaxation dynamics. Although the corresponding quantum Fisher information may decrease due to the shorter evolution time, the resulting precision can nevertheless remain quantum-enhanced. Building on this insight, we introduce an anti-critical quantum metrology scheme in which quantum-enhanced precision arises while the energy gap grows. We illustrate this mechanism using the quantum Rabi model, thereby identifying a route to metrological advantage that avoids the slow dynamics associated with conventional criticality.