Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Fluctuation and Noise Letters

Optimal Phase Sensing in Trapped Ions with One-Axis-Twisting Hamiltonian

Wenchao Ge

Published Jan 10, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Trapped ions are a well-developed platform to estimate a phase imprinted on their internal quantum states. However, an optimal quantum-enhanced protocol to robustly read out the phase under practical conditions in trapped ions has not been explored. Here, we study such a protocol via interaction-based readout in trapped ions with a one-axis twisting Hamiltonian considering a practical experimental situation. We start from a more fundamental spin-motion coupling in trapped ions, mediated by laser beams, to explore the dependence of the phase sensitivity on the specific interaction. We evaluate the decoherence effects of both Rayleigh scattering and Raman scattering due to spontaneous emission of the laser beams. We find that the phase sensitivity is mostly robust to decoherence when the system is operated in the so-called “squeezing regime”. Interestingly, we find that larger Raman scattering leads to slightly better phase sensitivity for a fixed total decoherence rate in this regime. We further analyze the effects of the frequency fluctuations from the center-of-mass (COM) mode in the phase sensing protocol and find that they are negligible under practical experimental parameters. Our work lays the theoretical foundation for estimating a collective phase rotation using entangled spin states in trapped ions.

DOI
10.1142/s0219477525400309

Related papers

Toward improved quantum simulations and sensing with trapped two-dimensional ion crystals via parametric amplification

M. Affolter, Wenchao Ge, Bryce B. Bullock +5 more

Improving coherence is a fundamental challenge in quantum simulation and sensing experiments with trapped ions. Here we discuss, experimentally demonstrate, and estimate the potential impacts of two different protocols that enhance, through motional parametric excitation, the coherent spin-motion coupling of ions obtained with a spin-dependent force. The experiments are performed on two-dimensional crystal arrays of approximately 100 ${}^{9}{\mathrm{Be}}^{+}$ ions confined in a Penning trap. By modulating the trapping potential at close to twice the center-of-mass mode frequency, we squeeze the motional mode and enhance the spin-motion coupling while maintaining spin coherence. With a stroboscopic protocol, we measure $5.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.9\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{dB}$ of motional squeezing below the ground-state motion, from which theory predicts a 10-dB enhancement in the sensitivity for measuring small displacements using a recently demonstrated protocol [K. A. Gilmore et al., Science 373, 673 (2021)]. With a continuous squeezing protocol, we measure and accurately calibrate the parametric coupling strength. Theory suggests this protocol can be used to improve quantum spin squeezing, limited in our system by off-resonant light scatter. We illustrate numerically the trade-offs between strong parametric amplification and motional dephasing in the form of center-of-mass frequency fluctuations for improving quantum spin squeezing in our setup.

arXiv:2301.08195•Physical Review A•Mar 29, 2023•18 citations

Squeezing of nonlinear spin observables by one axis twisting in the presence of decoherence: An analytical study

Youcef Baamara, Alice Sinatra, Manuel Gessner

In an ensemble of two-level atoms that can be described in terms of a collective spin, entangled states can be used to enhance the sensitivity of interferometric precision measurements. While non-Gaussian spin states can produce larger quantum enhancements than spin-squeezed Gaussian states, their use requires the measurement of observables that are nonlinear functions of the three components of the collective spin. In this paper we develop strategies that achieve the optimal quantum enhancements using non-Gaussian states produced by a nonlinear one-axis-twisting Hamiltonian, and show that measurement-after-interaction techniques, known to amplify the output signals in quantum parameter estimation protocols, are effective in measuring nonlinear spin observables. Including the presence of the relevant decoherence processes from atomic experiments, we determine analytically the quantum enhancement of non-Gaussian over-squeezed states as a function of the noise parameters for arbitrary atom numbers.

•Apr 25, 2022•14 citations

Squeezing of nonlinear spin observables by one axis twisting in the presence of decoherence: An analytical study

Youcef Baamara, Alice Sinatra, Manuel Gessner

In an ensemble of two-level atoms that can be described in terms of a collective spin, entangled states can be used to enhance the sensitivity of interferometric precision measurements. While non-Gaussian spin states can produce larger quantum enhancements than spin-squeezed Gaussian states, their use requires the measurement of observables that are nonlinear functions of the three components of the collective spin. In this paper we develop strategies that achieve the optimal quantum enhancements using non-Gaussian states produced by a nonlinear one-axis-twisting Hamiltonian, and show that measurement-after-interaction techniques, known to amplify the output signals in quantum parameter estimation protocols, are effective in measuring nonlinear spin observables. Including the presence of the relevant decoherence processes from atomic experiments, we determine analytically the quantum enhancement of non-Gaussian over-squeezed states as a function of the noise parameters for arbitrary atom numbers.

arXiv:2112.01786•Comptes Rendus Physique•Apr 25, 2022•0 citations

Spin squeezing via one- and two-axis twisting induced by a single off-resonance stimulated Raman scattering in a cavity

Gang Liu, Ya-Ni Wang, Lifen Yan +3 more

Squeezed spin states have important applications in quantum metrology and sensing. It has been shown by S\o{}rensen and M\o{}lmer [Phys. Rev. A 66, 022314 (2002)] that an effective one-axis-twisting interaction can be realized in a cavity setup via a double off-resonance stimulated Raman scattering, resulting in a noise reduction scaling $\ensuremath{\propto}1/{N}^{2/3}$ with $N$ being the atom number. Here, we show that, by making an appropriate change of the initial input spin state, it is possible to produce a one-axis-twisting spin squeezing via a single off-resonance stimulated Raman scattering, which thus can greatly simplify the realistic implementation. We also show that the one-axis-twisting interaction can be transformed into a more efficient two-axis-twisting interaction by rotating the collective spin while coupling to the cavity, yielding a Heisenberg limited noise reduction $\ensuremath{\propto}1/N$. Considering the noise effects due to atomic decoherence and cavity decay, we find that substantial squeezing is still attainable with current laboratory techniques.

arXiv:1812.03463•Physical Review A•Apr 29, 2019•7 citations

Ramsey interferometry with generalized one-axis twisting echoes

Marius Schulte, Victor J. Martínez-Lahuerta, Maja S. Scharnagl +1 more

We consider a large class of Ramsey interferometry protocols which are enhanced by squeezing and un-squeezing operations before and after a phase signal is imprinted on the collective spin of N particles. We report an analytical optimization for any given particle number and strengths of (un-)squeezing. These results can be applied even when experimentally relevant decoherence processes during the squeezing and un-squeezing interactions are included. Noise between the two interactions is however not considered in this work. This provides a generalized characterization of squeezing echo protocols, recovering a number of known quantum metrological protocols as local sensitivity maxima, thereby proving their optimality. We discover a single new protocol. Its sensitivity enhancement relies on a double inversion of squeezing. In the general class of echo protocols, the newly found over-un-twisting protocol is singled out due to its Heisenberg scaling even at strong collective dephasing.

arXiv:1911.11801•Quantum•May 15, 2020•49 citations

Ramsey interferometry with generalized one-axis twisting echoes

Schulte, Marius, V. J. Martínez-Lahuerta

We consider a large class of Ramsey interferometry protocols which are enhanced by squeezing and un-squeezing operations before and after a phase signal is imprinted on the collective spin of N particles. We report an analytical optimization for any given particle number and strengths of (un-)squeezing. These results can be applied even when experimentally relevant decoherence processes during the squeezing and un-squeezing interactions are included. Noise between the two interactions is however not considered in this work. This provides a generalized characterization of squeezing echo protocols, recovering a number of known quantum metrological protocols as local sensitivity maxima, thereby proving their optimality. We discover a single new protocol. Its sensitivity enhancement relies on a double inversion of squeezing. In the general class of echo protocols, the newly found over-un-twisting protocol is singled out due to its Heisenberg scaling even at strong collective dephasing.

•Jan 1, 2020•10 citations
Trapped ions are a well-developed platform to estimate a phase imprinted on their internal quantum states. However, an optimal quantum-enhanced protocol to robustly read out the phase under practical conditions in trapped ions has not been explored. Here, we study such a protocol via interaction-based readout in trapped ions with a one-axis twisting Hamiltonian considering a practical experimental situation. We start from a more fundamental spin-motion coupling in trapped ions, mediated by laser beams, to explore the dependence of the phase sensitivity on the specific interaction. We evaluate the decoherence effects of both Rayleigh scattering and Raman scattering due to spontaneous emission of the laser beams. We find that the phase sensitivity is mostly robust to decoherence when the system is operated in the so-called “squeezing regime”. Interestingly, we find that larger Raman scattering leads to slightly better phase sensitivity for a fixed total decoherence rate in this regime. We further analyze the effects of the frequency fluctuations from the center-of-mass (COM) mode in the phase sensing protocol and find that they are negligible under practical experimental parameters. Our work lays the theoretical foundation for estimating a collective phase rotation using entangled spin states in trapped ions.
Improving coherence is a fundamental challenge in quantum simulation and sensing experiments with trapped ions. Here we discuss, experimentally demonstrate, and estimate the potential impacts of two different protocols that enhance, through motional parametric excitation, the coherent spin-motion coupling of ions obtained with a spin-dependent force. The experiments are performed on two-dimensional crystal arrays of approximately 100 9Be+{}^{9}{\mathrm{Be}}^{+}9Be+ ions confined in a Penning trap. By modulating the trapping potential at close to twice the center-of-mass mode frequency, we squeeze the motional mode and enhance the spin-motion coupling while maintaining spin coherence. With a stroboscopic protocol, we measure $5.4\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.9\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{dB}$ of motional squeezing below the ground-state motion, from which theory predicts a 10-dB enhancement in the sensitivity for measuring small displacements using a recently demonstrated protocol [K. A. Gilmore et al., Science 373, 673 (2021)]. With a continuous squeezing protocol, we measure and accurately calibrate the parametric coupling strength. Theory suggests this protocol can be used to improve quantum spin squeezing, limited in our system by off-resonant light scatter. We illustrate numerically the trade-offs between strong parametric amplification and motional dephasing in the form of center-of-mass frequency fluctuations for improving quantum spin squeezing in our setup.
In an ensemble of two-level atoms that can be described in terms of a collective spin, entangled states can be used to enhance the sensitivity of interferometric precision measurements. While non-Gaussian spin states can produce larger quantum enhancements than spin-squeezed Gaussian states, their use requires the measurement of observables that are nonlinear functions of the three components of the collective spin. In this paper we develop strategies that achieve the optimal quantum enhancements using non-Gaussian states produced by a nonlinear one-axis-twisting Hamiltonian, and show that measurement-after-interaction techniques, known to amplify the output signals in quantum parameter estimation protocols, are effective in measuring nonlinear spin observables. Including the presence of the relevant decoherence processes from atomic experiments, we determine analytically the quantum enhancement of non-Gaussian over-squeezed states as a function of the noise parameters for arbitrary atom numbers.
In an ensemble of two-level atoms that can be described in terms of a collective spin, entangled states can be used to enhance the sensitivity of interferometric precision measurements. While non-Gaussian spin states can produce larger quantum enhancements than spin-squeezed Gaussian states, their use requires the measurement of observables that are nonlinear functions of the three components of the collective spin. In this paper we develop strategies that achieve the optimal quantum enhancements using non-Gaussian states produced by a nonlinear one-axis-twisting Hamiltonian, and show that measurement-after-interaction techniques, known to amplify the output signals in quantum parameter estimation protocols, are effective in measuring nonlinear spin observables. Including the presence of the relevant decoherence processes from atomic experiments, we determine analytically the quantum enhancement of non-Gaussian over-squeezed states as a function of the noise parameters for arbitrary atom numbers.
Squeezed spin states have important applications in quantum metrology and sensing. It has been shown by S\o{}rensen and M\o{}lmer [Phys. Rev. A 66, 022314 (2002)] that an effective one-axis-twisting interaction can be realized in a cavity setup via a double off-resonance stimulated Raman scattering, resulting in a noise reduction scaling $\ensuremath{\propto}1/{N}^{2/3}$ with NNN being the atom number. Here, we show that, by making an appropriate change of the initial input spin state, it is possible to produce a one-axis-twisting spin squeezing via a single off-resonance stimulated Raman scattering, which thus can greatly simplify the realistic implementation. We also show that the one-axis-twisting interaction can be transformed into a more efficient two-axis-twisting interaction by rotating the collective spin while coupling to the cavity, yielding a Heisenberg limited noise reduction $\ensuremath{\propto}1/N$. Considering the noise effects due to atomic decoherence and cavity decay, we find that substantial squeezing is still attainable with current laboratory techniques.
We consider a large class of Ramsey interferometry protocols which are enhanced by squeezing and un-squeezing operations before and after a phase signal is imprinted on the collective spin of N particles. We report an analytical optimization for any given particle number and strengths of (un-)squeezing. These results can be applied even when experimentally relevant decoherence processes during the squeezing and un-squeezing interactions are included. Noise between the two interactions is however not considered in this work. This provides a generalized characterization of squeezing echo protocols, recovering a number of known quantum metrological protocols as local sensitivity maxima, thereby proving their optimality. We discover a single new protocol. Its sensitivity enhancement relies on a double inversion of squeezing. In the general class of echo protocols, the newly found over-un-twisting protocol is singled out due to its Heisenberg scaling even at strong collective dephasing.
We consider a large class of Ramsey interferometry protocols which are enhanced by squeezing and un-squeezing operations before and after a phase signal is imprinted on the collective spin of N particles. We report an analytical optimization for any given particle number and strengths of (un-)squeezing. These results can be applied even when experimentally relevant decoherence processes during the squeezing and un-squeezing interactions are included. Noise between the two interactions is however not considered in this work. This provides a generalized characterization of squeezing echo protocols, recovering a number of known quantum metrological protocols as local sensitivity maxima, thereby proving their optimality. We discover a single new protocol. Its sensitivity enhancement relies on a double inversion of squeezing. In the general class of echo protocols, the newly found over-un-twisting protocol is singled out due to its Heisenberg scaling even at strong collective dephasing.