Paper
Super-Heisenberg-limited Sensing via Collective Subradiance in Waveguide QED
Authors
Xin Wang, Zeyang Liao
Abstract
We explore the quantum-metrological potential of subwavelength-spaced emitter arrays coupled to a one-dimensional nanophotonic waveguide. In this system, strong dipole--dipole interactions profoundly modify the collective optical response, leading to the emergence of ultranarrow subradiant resonances. Through an eigenmode analysis of the effective non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, we derive a universal scaling law for the decay rate of the most subradiant state, which exhibits an scaling with even-odd oscillatory behavior in the deep-subwavelength regime. This scaling is directly observable in the single-photon scattering spectrum, enabling the detection of minute changes in atomic separation with a figure of merit that scales as . The quantum Fisher information (QFI) scales as and can be closely approached by measuring spectral shifts near the steepest slope of the most subradiant resonance. These enhancements remain robust under realistic positional disorder, confirming that dipole--dipole-engineered subradiance provides a viable resource for quantum metrology. Our work bridges many-body waveguide quantum electrodynamics and high-precision sensing, opening a route toward scalable quantum sensors on integrated nanophotonic platforms.