Quantum dense metrology by an SU(2)-in-SU(1,1) nested interferometer

Abstract: With the help of quantum entanglement, quantum dense metrology (QDM) is a technique that can perform the joint estimates of two conjugate quantities such as phase and amplitude modulations of an optical field with an accuracy beating the standard quantum limit simultaneously. SU(1,1) interferometers (SUI) can realize QDM with detection loss tolerance but is limited in absolute sensitivity. Here we present a QDM scheme with a linear interferometer (SU(2)) nested inside an SU(1,1) interferometer. By using a degenerate SUI and controlling the phase angle of the phase-sensitive amplifers in SUI, we can achieve the optimum quantum enhancement in the measurement precision of arbitrary mixture of phase and amplitude modulation.