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Ameliorated phase sensitivity through intensity measurements in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer

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Abstract

The ultimate achievable phase sensitivity in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer is given by the Heisenberg limit of \(1/\langle N\rangle \), with \(\langle N \rangle \) being the number of photons in the interferometer. However, the best-known phase sensitivity as obtained through intensity measurements is \(\approx 2/\langle N \rangle \). In this work, we provide examples of states that achieve improved phase sensitivity lesser than \(2/\langle N \rangle \), albeit greater than \(1/\langle N \rangle \). A modified scheme of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer that uses the first excited Fock state, single-mode squeezers, and an additional beam splitter is presented. It is shown that the modified scheme attains a phase sensitivity lesser than \(2/\langle N \rangle \), through intensity measurements. The effect of attenuation and noise on phase sensitivity is considered. Phase sensitivity superior to the standard quantum limit is seen to persist for a finite range of attenuation and noise.

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  1. Applied and Adaptive Optics laboratory Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Valiamala P.O, Trivandrum, 695547, India

    Jayanth Ramakrishnan & J. Solomon Ivan

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  1. Jayanth Ramakrishnan
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Ramakrishnan, J., Ivan, J.S. Ameliorated phase sensitivity through intensity measurements in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. Quantum Inf Process 21, 36 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11128-021-03376-7

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