arXiv subjects

Huining Zhang

Publications and source records attributed to Huining Zhang.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Quantum sensing of aging transitions

The aging transition is a critical phenomenon in which collective dynamics deteriorate as the fraction of inactive quantum nodes exceeds a threshold, referred to as the aging transition point. Such transitions are relevant to a broad range of biological and physiological systems, and may play an important role in quantum information processing, particularly in the stability assessment and robustness control of quantum networks. Detecting the aging transition point is therefore crucial for predicting network breakdown, since it marks the critical threshold at which a quantum network abruptly loses its stable active state and enters a degraded inactive phase. Here we propose a quantum sensing strategy to locate this transition point using a single qubit probe coherently coupled to a small subset of oscillator nodes. As the inactive fraction p approaches the aging transition point, the excited-state population of the probe becomes highly sensitive to variations in p, leading to a pronounced enhancement of the Fisher information. This critical enhancement enables high-precision estimation of the transition point. Remarkably, this enhancement survives even in the classical regime for the oscillators, where the Fisher information increases dramatically as p approaches the transition region. Our results establish a feasible route to sensing aging transitions in oscillator networks and provide a metrological perspective on critical phenomena in quantum many-body systems.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Aging of coupled qubits

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.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Effect of atom-oscillator interaction on the aging transition in coupled oscillators

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.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

Agnostic Parameter Estimation with Large Spins

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.

quant-ph↗