X. X. Yi

The quantum Fisher information of a quantum state with respect to a certain parameter quantifies the sensitivity of the quantum state to changes in that parameter. Maximizing the quantum Fisher information is essential for achieving the optimal estimation precision of quantum sensors. A typical quantum sensor involves a qubit (e.g., a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$) probe undergoing an unknown rotation, here the unknown rotation angle is the parameter to be estimated. A well-known limitation is that if the rotation axis is unknown beforehand, the maximal quantum Fisher information is impossible to attain. This limitation has been lifted recently by leveraging entanglement between the probe qubit and an ancilla qubit. Namely, through measurement of the ancilla after the axis is revealed, one can prepare the probe that is optimal for any unknown rotation axis. This protocol, however, works only for a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$. Considering large spin probes can achieve a larger quantum Fisher information, offering enhanced metrological advantage, we here utilize the entanglement between a large spin probe and an ancilla to achieve optimal quantum Fisher information for estimating the rotation angle, without prior knowledge of the rotation axis. Different from the previous spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ case, achieving the optimal precision with large spins generally requires postselection, resulting in a success probability dependent on the dimension of the Hilbert space. Furthermore, we extend the encoding state from the maximally entangled case to general entangled states, showing that optimal metrology can still be achieved with a certain success probability.

A remarkable feature of non-Hermitian topological systems with skin effects is that their spectra and eigenstates are strongly dependent on the choice of boundary conditions. Here, we investigate a system where the impurity couples to a nonreciprocal Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) chain at two points with nonreciprocal coupling. We first study the spectrum of the system and demonstrate that nonreciprocal couplings between the impurity and the chain alter its spectral structure. Particularly, this effect becomes particularly prominent in the limit of unidirectional coupling, inducing a shift in the parameter regime for the zero mode. Meanwhile, the impurity–chain couplings give rise to two effective boundary conditions and determine the spatial distribution of the zero mode. In addition, the localization of bulk states is significantly altered by tuning the nonreciprocity of the impurity–chain coupling. Notably, in the unidirectional coupling regime, two distinct types of bulk states coexist near the same boundary, one differing from the other in both spatial distribution and degree of localization. We also find that the bulk states undergo significant skin phase transitions as the coupling strength varies, characterized by a transition from conventional skin states to bipolar skin states. Our findings establish the feasibility of controlling non-Hermitian topological systems by coupling an impurity.

Oscillators are often employed as a model of radiation fields, which may couple to an atom and play an important role for creating and manipulating nonclassical states in quantum metrology, quantum simulation, and quantum information. Aging transitions in coupled oscillators have been studied extensively in both the classical and quantum contexts. It is well known that the onset of aging transitions can be modulated by the dissipative coupling between oscillators. In this study, we propose an alternative way to modulate the aging transition through coherent couplings between a two-level atom and the oscillators. Our findings reveal that, compared to atom-free systems in both classical and quantum regimes, the atom-oscillator coherent interaction reduces the inactive-to-total oscillator ratio required for aging transitions. Analytical results of the transition for both the classical oscillators and quantum oscillators suggest that the decay rate of the atom and the atom-oscillator coupling strength jointly change the aging transition point. The physics behind the observation is also elucidated in this article. Our research introduces a readily implementable strategy for manipulating aging transitions in more intricate systems, thereby advancing the control and understanding of these critical transitions in quantum technologies.

The aging transition refers to the shift from an oscillatory state to a globally ceased state due to some forms of deterioration in classical physics. Similar behavior has also been observed in quantum oscillators. Although it has received extensive attention in coupled oscillator systems, it has not yet been studied in coupled qubits. In this manuscript, we explore the aging transition in a network of coupled qubits. Our model describes {numerous} qubits driven by a laser, with both dissipative and coherent qubit-qubit couplings. The ratio of inactive qubits to total qubits and the population in the excited state of the qubits are employed to characterize the aging transition. We find a transition where the population in the excited states suddenly drops when the ratio exceeds a threshold. This behavior is intriguing and contrasts with coupled oscillators, where no sudden drop is observed. Additionally, we demonstrate how the couplings and driving laser influence the threshold. The underlying physics of the sudden drop is elucidated. The region where the aging transition occurs is determined based on stability analysis theory.

The quantum Fisher information of a quantum state with respect to a certain parameter quantifies the sensitivity of the quantum state to changes in that parameter. Maximizing the quantum Fisher information is essential for achieving the optimal estimation precision of quantum sensors. A typical quantum sensor involves a qubit(e.g. a spin-1/2) probe undergoing an unknown rotation, here the unknown rotation angle is the parameter to be estimated. A well known limitation is that if the rotation axis is unknown, the maximal quantum Fisher information is impossible to attain. This limitation has been lifted recently by leveraging entanglement between the probe qubit and an ancilla qubit. Namely, through measurement of the ancilla after the axis is revealed, one can prepare the probe that is optimal for any unknown rotation axis. This proposal, however, works only for a spin-1/2. Considering large spin probes can achieve a larger quantum Fisher information, offering enhanced metrological advantage, we here utilize the entanglement between a large spin probe and an ancilla to achieve optimal quantum Fisher information for estimating the rotation angle, without prior knowledge of the rotation axis. Different from the previous spin-1/2 case, achieving the optimal precision with large spins generally requires post-selection, resulting in a success probability dependent on the dimension of the Hilbert space. Furthermore, we extend the encoding state from the maximally entangled case to general entangled states, showing that optimal metrology can still be achieved with a certain success probability.

We quantitatively investigate the physical origins of the non-Markovianity measure proposed in our previous work, which can be directly interpreted as memory effects, i.e., the dependence of a quantum system’s future evolution on its history. Using the properties of the trace norm and the trace distance, we find that the strength of memory effects in an evolution is upper (lower) bounded by the sum (difference) of two quantities. One originates from (bounded by) the change of environment state caused by the system, the other from (bounded by) the correlations between the system and the environment. The simulation results for the Jaynes–Cummings model show that the two origins may contribute to the memory effects in different manners, depending on the initial states of the environment and the system.

We establish a simple quantitative relationship between the environmental memory effects and the characteristics in a dynamical decoupling process. In contrast to previous works, our measures of non-Markovianity are tailored and extended to evaluate the strength of memory effects in dynamical decoupling. We find that if each kick commutes with the dynamical map of the uncontrolled system, then the change of the final dynamical map or the final state brought by the control (called the ``effect of control'') is upper (lower) bounded by the summation (difference) of the strengths of memory effects with and without control. We propose sufficient conditions for the commutation relation for parity kicks and illustrate our finding with a dissipative quantum Rabi model by numerical simulations where one or many cycles of parity kicks are implemented on the qubit. Besides, the results show that under certain conditions, the effect of control or the increase of performance by the control may be simply proportional to the strength of memory effects with or without control.

The aging transition refers to the shift from an oscillatory state to a globally stopped state due to some forms of deterioration in classical physics. Similar behavior has also been observed in quantum oscillators. Although it has received extensive attention in coupled-oscillator systems, it has not yet been studied in coupled qubits. In this paper, we explore the aging transition in a network of coupled qubits. Our model describes numerous qubits driven by a laser, with both dissipative and coherent qubit-qubit couplings. The ratio of inactive qubits to total qubits and the population in the excited state of the qubits are employed to characterize the aging transition. We find a transition where the population in the excited states suddenly drops when the ratio exceeds a threshold. This behavior is intriguing and contrasts with coupled oscillators, for which no sudden drop is observed. Additionally, we demonstrate how the couplings and driving laser influence the threshold. The underlying physics of the sudden drop is elucidated. The region where the aging transition occurs is determined based on stability-analysis theory.