We consider a special iterated quantum protocol with measurement-induced nonlinearity for qubits, where all pure initial states on the Bloch sphere can be considered chaotic. The dynamics is ergodic with no attractive fixed cycles. We show that initial noise radically changes this behavior. The completely mixed state is an attractive fixed point of the dynamics induced by the protocol. Our numerical simulations strongly indicate that initially mixed states all converge to the completely mixed state. The presented protocol is an example, where gaining information from measurements and employing it to control an ensemble of quantum systems enables us to create ergodicity, which in turn is destroyed by any initial noise.
We propose a theoretical scheme to enhance the phase sensitivity by introducing a Kerr nonlinear phase shift into the traditional SU(1,1) interferometer with a coherent state input and homodyne detection. We investigate the realistic effects of photon losses on phase sensitivity and quantum Fisher information. The results show that compared with the linear phase shift in SU(1,1) interferometer, the Kerr nonlinear case can not only enhance the phase sensitivity and quantum Fisher information, but also significantly suppress the photon losses. We also observe that at the same accessible paramete…
Many works have stated that nonlinear interactions can improve phase sensitivity beyond the Heisenberg limit scaling of $1/N$ with $N$ being the mean photon number. This raises some open questions---among them the conclusive sensitivity limits with respect to single-mode inputs. Namely, when one of two inputs is vacuum, is there a shot-noise-style sensitivity bound on a nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer? Within the reach of second-order nonlinear phase shifts, we make an attempt to provide an answer to this question. Based upon phase-averaging approach, this puzzle is partially resolved wi…
We propose a protocol for the second-order nonlinear phase estimation with a coherent state as input and balanced homodyne detection as measurement strategy. The sensitivity is sub-Heisenberg limit, which scales as $N^{-3/2}$ for $N$ photons on average. By ruling out hidden resources in quantum Fisher information, the fundamental sensitivity limit is recalculated and compared to the optimal sensitivity of our protocol. In addition, we investigate the effect of photon loss on sensitivity, and discuss the robustness of measurement strategy. The results indicate that our protocol is nearly optima…
SU(1,1) interferometers, based on the usage of nonlinear elements, are superior to passive interferometers in phase sensitivity. However, the SU(1,1) interferometer cannot make full use of photons carrying phase information as the second nonlinear element annihilates some of the photons inside. Here, we focus on improving phase sensitivity and propose a new protocol based on a modified SU(1,1) interferometer, where the second nonlinear element is replaced by a beam splitter. We utilize two coherent states as inputs and implement balanced homodyne measurement at the output. Our analysis suggest…
We study a nonlinear interferometer consisting of two consecutive parametric amplifiers, where all three optical fields (pump, signal and idler) are treated quantum mechanically, allowing for pump depletion and other quantum phenomena. The interaction of all three fields in the final amplifier leads to an interference pattern from which we extract the phase uncertainty. We find that the phase uncertainty oscillates around a saturation level that decreases as the mean number $N$ of input pump photons increases. For optimal interaction strengths, we also find a phase uncertainty below the shot-n…
The sensitivity of the evolution of quantum uncertainties to the choice of the initial conditions is shown via a complex nonlinear Riccati equation leading to a reformulation of quantum dynamics. This sensitivity is demonstrated for systems with exact analytic solutions with the form of Gaussian wave packets. In particular, one-dimensional conservative systems with at most quadratic Hamiltonians are studied.
We show how to enhance the detection sensitivity of magnon Kerr nonlinearity (MKN) in cavity magnonics. The considered cavity-magnon system consists of a three-dimensional microwave cavity containing two yttrium iron garnet (YIG) spheres, where the two magnon modes (one has the MKN, while the other is linear) in YIG spheres are simultaneously coupled to microwave photons. To obtain the effective gain of the cavity mode, we feed two input fields into the cavity. By choosing appropriate parameters, the coherent perfect absorption of the two input fields occurs, and the cavity-magnon system can b…
A nonlinear phase shift is introduced to a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), and we present a scheme for enhancing the phase sensitivity. In our scheme, one input port of a standard MZI is injected with a coherent state and the other input port is injected with one mode of a two-mode squeezed-vacuum state. The final interference output of the MZI is detected with the method of active correlation output readout. Based on the optimal splitting ratio of beam splitters, the phase sensitivity can beat the standard quantum limit and approach the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. The effects of photon loss …
The phase uncertainty of an unseeded nonlinear interferometer, where the output of one nonlinear crystal is transmitted to the input of a second crystal that analyzes it, is commonly said to be below the shot-noise level but highly dependent on detection and internal loss. Unbalancing the gains of the first (source) and second (analyzer) crystals leads to a configuration that is tolerant against detection loss. However, in terms of sensitivity, there is no advantage in choosing a stronger analyzer over a stronger source, and hence the comparison to a shot-noise level is not straightforward. In…
Quantum-enhanced phase estimation paves the way to ultra-precision sensing and is of great realistic significance. In this paper we investigate theoretically the estimation of a second-order nonlinear phase shift using a coherent state and parity measurement. A numerical expression is derived, the resolution and the sensitivity of parity signal are contrasted to linear phase estimation protocol, and the signal visibility is analyzed. Additionally, by virtue of phase-averaging approach to eliminate any hidden resources, we make an attempt at unveiling the low-down on the fundamental sensitivity…
In our former contribution [Ann. Phys. 360 (2015) 44], we have shown the sensitivity to the choice of initial conditions in the evolution of Gaussian wave packets via the nonlinear Riccati equation. The formalism developed in the previous work is extended to effective approaches for the description of dissipative quantum systems. By means of simple examples we show the effects of the environment on the quantum uncertainties, correlation function, quantum energy contribution and tunneling currents. We prove that the environmental parameter $γ$ is strongly related with the sensitivity to the cho…
Nonlinear interferometers with correlated photons hold a promise to advance optical characterization and metrology techniques by improving their performance and affordability. Nonlinear interferometers offer the sub-shot noise phase sensitivity and enable measurements in detection-challenging regions using inexpensive and efficient components. The sensitivity of such interferometers, defined by the ability to measure small shifts of interference fringes, can be significantly enhanced by using multiple nonlinear elements, or crystal superlattices. However, to date, the experiments with no more …
State selective protocols, like entanglement purification, lead to an essentially non-linear quantum evolution, unusual in naturally occurring quantum processes. Sensitivity to initial states in quantum systems, stemming from such non-linear dynamics, is a promising perspective for applications. Here we demonstrate that chaotic behaviour is a rather generic feature in state selective protocols: exponential sensitivity can exist for all initial states in an experimentally realisable optical scheme. Moreover, any complex rational polynomial map, including the example of the Mandelbrot set, can b…
