Heisenberg Scaling in a Continuous-Wave Interferometer

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2509.25384v1
• Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 18:34:57 GMT
• Title: Heisenberg Scaling in a Continuous-Wave Interferometer
• Authors: Hudson A. Loughlin, Melissa A. Guidry, Jacques Ding, Masaya Ono, Malo Le Gall, Benjamin Lou, Eric Oelker, Xinghui Yin, Vivishek Sudhir, Nergis Mavalvala,
• Abstract summary: Continuous-wave (CW) interferometry has stood at the frontier of precision measurement science since its inception.<n>We demonstrate the first CW interferometer exhibiting resource efficiency approaching Heisenberg scaling.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Abstract: Continuous-wave (CW) interferometry has stood at the frontier of precision measurement science since its inception, where it was used to search for the luminiferous ether, to the present day, where it forms the basis of interferometric gravitational-wave detection. Quantum theory predicts that this frontier can be expanded more rapidly by employing certain quantum resources, compared with the case of using only classical resources. In the quantum case, we can achieve ``Heisenberg scaling'', which manifests as a quadratic improvement over the best possible classical precision scaling. Although Heisenberg scaling has been demonstrated in pulsed operation, it has not been demonstrated for continuous operation. The challenge in doing so is two-fold: continuous measurements capable of Heisenberg scaling were previously unknown, and the requisite CW quantum states are fragile. Here we overcome these challenges and demonstrate the first CW interferometer exhibiting resource efficiency approaching Heisenberg scaling. Our scheme comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometer illuminated with a pair of squeezed light sources, followed by a nonlinear estimator of the output homodyne record to estimate a differential phase modulation signal that drives the interferometer. We observe that this signal can be extracted with a precision that scales faster than what is allowed classically, and approaches the Heisenberg scaling limit.

Related papers

• Identifying quantum coherence in quantum annealers [37.067444579637076]
  We use many-body coherent oscillations (MBCO) as a diagnostic for the identification of system-wide coherence in analog quantum simulators.<n>This work gives a general roadmap for the search for quantum coherence in noisy, large-scale quantum platforms.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2026-02-24T20:39:41Z)
• Achieving Heisenberg scaling by probe-ancilla interaction in quantum metrology [0.0]
  Heisenberg scaling is an ultimate precision limit of parameter estimation allowed by the principles of quantum mechanics.<n>In this paper, we show that interactions between the probes and an ancillary system may also increase the precision of parameter estimation to surpass the standard quantum limit.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-07-23T23:11:50Z)
• Photon Counting Interferometry to Detect Geontropic Space-Time Fluctuations with GQuEST [31.114245664719455]
  The GQuEST experiment uses tabletop-scale Michelson laser interferometers to probe for fluctuations in space-time.<n>We present a practicable interferometer design featuring a novel photon counting readout method that provides unprecedented sensitivity.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-04-11T07:38:36Z)
• Finite Pulse-Time Effects in Long-Baseline Quantum Clock Interferometry [45.73541813564926]
  We study the interplay of the quantum center-of-mass $-$ that can become delocalized $-$ together with the internal clock transitions. We show at the example of a Gaussian laser beam that the proposed quantum-clock interferometers are stable against perturbations from varying optical fields.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-09-25T18:00:03Z)
• A high-flux source system for matter-wave interferometry exploiting tunable interactions [33.92525320044496]
  Atom interferometers allow determining inertial effects to high accuracy. Here we report on a high-flux source of ultra-cold atoms with free expansion rates near the Heisenberg limit directly upon release from the trap.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-07-13T14:10:53Z)
• Measurement-induced entanglement and teleportation on a noisy quantum processor [105.44548669906976]
  We investigate measurement-induced quantum information phases on up to 70 superconducting qubits. We use a duality mapping, to avoid mid-circuit measurement and access different manifestations of the underlying phases. Our work demonstrates an approach to realize measurement-induced physics at scales that are at the limits of current NISQ processors.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-03-08T18:41:53Z)
• Heisenberg-limited metrology with coherent control on the probes' configuration [0.7614628596146599]
  Heisenberg scaling, a quadratic improvement over the limits of classical statistics, is notoriously fragile to noise. Here we show that this limitation can sometimes be lifted if the experimenter has the ability to probe physical processes in a coherent superposition. We provide a parallel protocol that achieves Heisenberg scaling with respect to the probes' energy, as well as a sequential protocol that achieves Heisenberg scaling with respect to the total probing time.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-06-07T07:06:33Z)
• Probing finite-temperature observables in quantum simulators of spin systems with short-time dynamics [62.997667081978825]
  We show how finite-temperature observables can be obtained with an algorithm motivated from the Jarzynski equality. We show that a finite temperature phase transition in the long-range transverse field Ising model can be characterized in trapped ion quantum simulators.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-06-03T18:00:02Z)
• Global Heisenberg scaling in noisy and practical phase estimation [52.70356457590653]
  Heisenberg scaling characterizes the ultimate precision of parameter estimation enabled by quantum mechanics. We study the attainability of strong, global notions of Heisenberg scaling in the fundamental problem of phase estimation.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-10-05T06:57:55Z)
• Enhanced nonlinear quantum metrology with weakly coupled solitons and particle losses [58.720142291102135]
  We offer an interferometric procedure for phase parameters estimation at the Heisenberg (up to 1/N) and super-Heisenberg scaling levels. The heart of our setup is the novel soliton Josephson Junction (SJJ) system providing the formation of the quantum probe. We illustrate that such states are close to the optimal ones even with moderate losses.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-08-07T09:29:23Z)
• Experimental Adiabatic Quantum Metrology with the Heisenberg scaling [21.42706958416718]
  We propose an adiabatic scheme on a perturbed Ising spin model with the first order quantum phase transition. We experimentally implement the adiabatic scheme on the nuclear magnetic resonance and show that the achieved precision attains the Heisenberg scaling.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-02-14T03:08:54Z)
• Quantum-enhanced stochastic phase estimation with SU(1,1) interferometer [3.0440082886830475]
  There is a standard quantum limit for phase estimation, which can be obtained with the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and coherent input state. Here, we show that the method with the SU (1,1) interferometer can achieve the fundamental quantum scaling, surpass the Heisenberg scaling, and surpass the canonical measurement.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-08-07T03:03:36Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.