Thermal activation of photon catalysis in difference-intensity Mach-Zehnder interferometry with squeezed thermal light
The study investigates difference-intensity phase estimation using a mixed state involving squeezed thermal light and a Fock state. It finds that single-photon catalysis becomes the optimal operation once the thermal photon occupation exceeds approximately 0.2, demonstrating its utility in reshaping the photon distribution and enhancing phase sensitivity compared to other methods.