Revisiting the quantum parameter estimation approach for Mach–Zehnder interferometry

Abstract The Mach–Zehnder interferometer is a fundamental tool for measuring phase shifts between two light paths, serving as a crucial prototype for achieving high-precision measurements in various scientific and technological applications. In this study, we analyze different models for estimating the relative phase shift in a general two-arm Mach–Zehnder interferometer. We demonstrated that single-parameter estimation models can be reduced from the two-parameter estimation model by imposing appropriate constraints on the parameter space. To make quantum Fisher information of the single-parameter estimation models meaningful, the corresponding constraints must be guaranteed in the experiment implementation. Furthermore, we apply the quantum Fisher information approach to analyze the Mach–Zehnder interferometer with the an input state composed of a displaced squeezed vacuum state and a coherent state, providing insights into the precision limits of such configurations.