Exponentially-enhanced Quantum Non-Hermitian Sensing via Optimized Coherent Drive

Abstract: Distinct non-Hermitian dynamics has demonstrated its advantages in improving measurement precision over traditional sensing protocols. Multi-mode non-Hermitian lattice dynamics can provide exponentially-enhanced quantum sensing where the quantum Fisher information (QFI) per photon increases exponentially with the lattice size. However, somewhat surprisingly, it was also shown that the quintessential non-Hermitian skin effect does not provide any true advantage. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of optimizing the phase of the coherent drive, and the position of the injection and detection in multi-mode non-Hermitian quantum sensing. The QFI per photon can be exponentially-enhanced or exponentially-reduced depending on parameters of the drive and detection. Specifically, it is demonstrated that for large amplification by choosing appropriate coherent drive parameters, the non-Hermitian skin effect can provide exponentially-enhanced quantum sensing. Moreover, in the regime beyond linear response, skin-effect can also provide a dramatic advantage as compared to the local perturbation, and the proposed protocol is robust in tuning the amplification factor.