Enhanced Phase Estimation via Photon-Added Two-Mode Squeezed States and Kerr Nonlinearity

Abstract: Quantum metrology harnesses quantum resources to achieve measurement precision beyond classical limits. This work investigates a Mach-Zehnder interferometer incorporating a Kerr nonlinear phase shifter, using photon-added two-mode squeezed coherent states generated via four-wave mixing as input. This study demonstrates that increasing both the photon-addition order and input resource strength systematically enhances phase sensitivity, quantum Fisher information, and the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. The system not only surpasses the standard quantum limit but also approaches or exceeds the Heisenberg limit with linear phase shifts, while Kerr nonlinearity enables overcoming the super-Heisenberg limit. The proposed scheme exhibits enhanced robustness against photon loss, providing a promising approach for high-precision quantum metrology applications.