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Approaching the critical point through an exact ground-state evolution

Jun-Hao Lin1,2, Ke-Xiong Yan1,2, Jie Song3,4, Ye-Hong Chen1,2,4,5,*, and Yan Xia1,2,4,†

  • 1Fujian Key Laboratory of Quantum Information and Quantum Optics, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
  • 2Department of Physics, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China
  • 3Department of Physics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
  • 4Institute of Quantum Science and Technology, Yanbian University, Yanji 133002, China
  • 5Quantum Information Physics Theory Research Team, Center for Quantum Computing, RIKEN, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan

  • *Contact author: yehong.chen@fzu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: xia-208@163.com
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 013275 – Published 11 March, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yd3b-r78m

Abstract

We investigate critical quantum metrology in a system where a qubit is dispersively coupled to a parametrically driven bosonic field. By engineering a counterdiabatic driving Hamiltonian under realistic physical constraints, we demonstrate a high-fidelity preparation of quantum states near a quantum phase transition. Our protocol extends the application of criticality-enhanced metrology to the short-time regime, offering a significant advantage over nonassisted protocols. The metrological precision is quantified by the quantum Fisher information (QFI) and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Even with a constrained driving strength, numerical simulations reveal a QFI enhancement factor exceeding 103 and an SNR enhancement of over 106 in this regime. This work opens a promising avenue for critical quantum metrology.

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, 013275– Published 11 March, 2026
  • Received 31 March 2025
  • Accepted 8 February 2026
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