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Reconfigurable Dissipative Entanglement between Many Spin Ensembles: From Robust Quantum Sensing to Many-Body State Engineering

Anjun Chu1,*, Mikhail Mamaev1, Martin Koppenhöfer2, Ming Yuan1, and Aashish A. Clerk1,†

  • *Contact author: anjunchu@uchicago.edu
  • †Contact author: aaclerk@uchicago.edu
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Phys. Rev. X 16, 021047 – Published 1 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qdh9-2pc7

Abstract

An attractive approach for stabilizing entangled many-body spin states is to employ engineered dissipation. Most existing proposals either target relatively simple collective spin states or require numerous independent and complex dissipative processes. Here, we show a surprisingly versatile scheme for many-body reservoir engineering that relies solely on fully collective single-excitation decay, augmented with local Hamiltonian terms. Crucially, all these ingredients are readily available in cavity QED setups. Our method is based on splitting the spin system into groups of subensembles and provides an easily tunable setup for stabilizing a broad family of pure, highly entangled states with closed-form analytic descriptions. Our results have immediate application to multiensemble quantum metrology, enabling Heisenberg-limited sensing of field gradients and curvatures. Notably, our approach solves an important challenge in differential quantum sensing by providing an example of Heisenberg-limited differential sensing immune to common-mode noise and accessible with only simple one-body measurements. The same setup also allows the stabilization of an entire family of entangled states in a one-dimensional chain of spin ensembles with symmetry-protected topological order and has a direct connection to the outputs of sequential unitary circuits. A special case of our protocol efficiently stabilizes the celebrated Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki state.

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Popular Summary

Stabilizing complex entangled states against decoherence remains a central challenge in quantum science, often requiring intricate and specialized dissipative processes. We introduce a versatile framework that overcomes this complexity by utilizing a single collective decay process—ubiquitous in cavity QED systems—augmented with easily tunable laser detunings and spin interactions. By breaking permutation symmetry, we dissipatively stabilize a broad family of noncollective many-body states with exact analytical descriptions. Our approach enables multiensemble quantum sensors that achieve Heisenberg-limited sensitivity to field gradients and curvatures while remaining robust to common-mode noise. Furthermore, we demonstrate the stabilization of symmetry-protected topological order, including the celebrated Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki state. These results indicate that simple, naturally occurring dissipation can be reimagined as a reconfigurable tool for engineering both metrological resources and exotic phases of quantum matter.

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Phys. Rev. X 16, 021047– Published 1 June, 2026
  • Received 21 October 2025
  • Revised 11 March 2026
  • Accepted 28 April 2026
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