Distributed quantum sensing with optical lattices

Abstract: In distributed quantum sensing the correlations between multiple modes, typically of a photonic system, are utilized to enhance the measurement precision of an unknown parameter. In this work we investigate the metrological potential of a multi-mode, tilted Bose-Hubbard system and show that it can allow for parameter estimation at the Heisenberg limit of $(N(M-1)T)^{2}$, where $N$ is the number of particles, $M$ is the number of modes, and $T$ is the measurement time. The quadratic dependence on the number of modes can be used to increase the precision compared to typical metrological systems with two atomic modes only, and does not require correlations between different modes. We show that the limit can be reached by using an optimized initial state given as the superposition of all the atoms occupying the first and the last site. Subsequently, we present strategies that would allow to obtain quadratic dependence on $M$ of the Fisher information in a more realistic experimental setup.