arXiv subjects

Junlei Duan

Publications and source records attributed to Junlei Duan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Transit Noise in Spin Squeezing Experiments with Coated Rubidium Vapor Cell

Spin squeezing can suppress quantum projection noise via interparticle entanglement, therefore enabling measurement sensitivities beyond the standard quantum limit. In practice, however, the Gaussian and finite intensity profiles of the optical probe beam induce spatially inhomogeneous atom-light interactions. As polarized atoms move within a vapor cell, they experience position-dependent optical intensities, generating transit noise that limits spin squeezing performance. Here, we investigate the transit noise in a coated rubidium vapor cell through combined theoretical analysis and experimental measurements. By varying the probe beam diameter, we quantify the dependence of transit noise on beam size and atomic Larmor frequency. Our results show that, for a vapor cell with fixed dimensions, the transit noise increases as the probe beam spot area decreases. Moreover, when the Larmor frequency is below the characteristic linewidth of the transit noise, the noise contribution becomes larger. We further calculated and measured spin squeezing for different beam sizes and found an experimental difference of $2.7 \pm 0.2$ dB between 2~mm and 0.6~mm, similar to the theoretical prediction of $3.0 \pm 0.3$ dB. Theoretical analysis under conditions of stronger squeezing shows that transit noise becomes an even more critical limiting factor. These results provide practical guidance for optimizing probe beam parameters and suppressing transit noise in spin squeezing experiments.

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arXiv2026

Enhancing collective spin squeezing via one-axis twisting echo control of individual atoms

Spin squeezing generated via inter-atom entanglement in multilevel atomic ensembles provides a powerful resource for quantum-enhanced metrology. Existing schemes that harness internal atomic degrees of freedom to boost squeezing typically encode the collective squeezing in complex superpositions of magnetic sublevels, which complicates state control and limits practical applications. Here, we propose a coherent control scheme that simultaneously enhances collective spin squeezing and maps the resulting atom-atom entanglement onto two well-defined magnetic sublevels suitable for subsequent metrology experiments. Our protocol sandwiches a quantum non-demolition measurement between two internal one-axis-twisting interactions arranged in an echo sequence. We show that this approach can optimally leverage internal states to boost the inter-atom entanglement and, at the same time, encode it in two magnetic sublevels, which is readily convertible into metrologically useful spin squeezing. Our results offer a straightforward and efficient strategy for generating highly entangled yet readily accessible quantum states in multilevel atomic systems.

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arXiv2025

Cooperative squeezing of internal and collective spins in an atomic ensemble

Creating highly spin-squeezed states for quantum metrology surpassing the standard quantum limit is a topic of great interest. Spin squeezing has been achieved by either entangling different atoms in an ensemble, or by controlling the multilevel internal spin state of an atom. Here, we experimentally demonstrate combined internal and collective spin squeezing in a hot atomic ensemble with $\sim 10^{11}$ rubidium atoms. By synergistically combining these two types of squeezing and carefully aligning their squeezing quadratures, we have achieved a metrologically relevant spin squeezing of $-6.21\pm0.84$ dB, significantly outperforming the results obtained by utilizing either type of squeezing alone. Our approach provides a new perspective on fully harnessing the degrees of freedom inherent in quantum states of an atomic ensemble.

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arXiv2024

Continuous field tracking with machine learning and steady state spin squeezing

Entanglement plays a crucial role in proposals for quantum metrology, yet demonstrating quantum enhancement in sensing with sustained spin entanglement remains a challenging endeavor. Here, we combine optical pumping and continuous quantum nondemolition measurements to achieve a sustained spin squeezed state with $\bm{4 \times 10^{10}}$ hot atoms. A metrologically relevant steady state squeezing of $\bm{-3.23 \pm 0.24}$ dB using prediction and retrodiction is maintained for about one day. We employ the system to track different types of continuous time-fluctuating magnetic fields, where we construct deep learning models to decode the measurement records from the optical signals. Quantum enhancement due to the steady spin squeezing is verified in our atomic magnetometer. These results represent important progress towards applying long-lived quantum entanglement resources in realistic settings.

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arXiv2023

Concurrent spin squeezing and light squeezing in an atomic ensemble

Squeezed spin states and squeezed light are both key resources for quantum metrology and quantum information science, but have been separately investigated in experiments so far. Simultaneous generation of these two types of quantum states in one experiment setup is intriguing but remains a challenging goal. Here we propose a novel protocol based on judiciously engineered symmetric atom-light interaction, and report proof-of-principle experimental results of concurrent spin squeezing of $0.61\pm0.09~\mathrm{dB}$ and light squeezing of $0.65^{+0.11}_{-0.10}~\mathrm{dB}$ in a hot atomic ensemble. The squeezing process is deterministic, yielding fixed squeezing directions for both the light field and the collective atomic spin. Furthermore, the squeezed light modes lie in the multiple frequency sidebands of a single spatial mode. This new type of dual squeezed state is applicable for quantum enhanced metrology and quantum networks. Our method can be extended to other quantum platforms such as optomechanics, cold atom and trapped ions.

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arXiv2020

Retrodiction beyond the Heisenberg uncertainty relation

In quantum mechanics, the Heisenberg uncertainty relation presents an ultimate limit to the precision by which one can predict the outcome of position and momentum measurements on a particle. Heisenberg explicitly stated this relation for the prediction of "hypothetical future measurements", and it does not describe the situation where knowledge is available about the system both earlier and later than the time of the measurement. We study what happens under such circumstances with an atomic ensemble containing $10^{11}$ $^{87}\text{Rb}$ atoms, initiated nearly in the ground state in presence of a magnetic field. The collective spin observables of the atoms are then well described by canonical position and momentum observables, $\hat{x}_A$ and $\hat{p}_A$ that satisfy $[\hat{x}_A,\hat{p}_A]=i\hbar$. Quantum non-demolition measurements of $\hat{p}_A$ before and of $\hat{x}_A$ after time $t$ allow precise estimates of both observables at time $t$. The capability of assigning precise values to multiple observables and to observe their variation during physical processes may have implications in quantum state estimation and sensing.

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arXiv2019

Measurements with prediction and retrodiction on the collective spin of 10^{11} atoms beat the standard quantum limit

Quantum probes using $N$ uncorrelated particles give a limit on the measurement sensitivity referred to as the standard quantum limit (SQL). The SQL, however, can be overcome by exploiting quantum entangled states, such as spin squeezed states. We report generation of a quantum state, that surpasses the SQL for probing of the collective spin of $10^{11}$ $\text{Rb}$ atoms contained in a vapor cell. The state is prepared and verified by sequences of stroboscopic quantum non-demolition (QND) measurements, and we apply the theory of past quantum states to obtain the spin state information from the outcomes of both earlier and later QND measurements. In this way, we obtain a conditional noise reduction of 5.6 dB, and a metrologically-relevant squeezing of $4.5\pm0.40~\text{dB}$. The past quantum state yields tighter information on the spin component than we can obtain by a conventional QND measurement. Our squeezing results are obtained with 1000 times more atoms than in any previous experiments with a corresponding record $4.6\times10^{-13} rad^2$ variance of the angular fluctuations of a squeezed collective spin.

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