We theoretically study a scheme for generating entanglement between two Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs). The scheme involves placing two BECs in the path of a Mach–Zehnder interferometer, where the coherent light interacts with the atoms due to a quantum nondemolition Hamiltonian. In contrast to standard approaches where a Holstein–Primakoff approximation is used, we use an exact wavefunction approach where the atoms can be initialized in an arbitrary state and the light–atom interaction times can be arbitrary. In the short time regime, it is possible to construct a very simple approximate theory for the overall effect of the scheme: amplitudes in the superposition between the two BECs with unequal spin eigenvalues are damped. We analyze the types of correlations, entanglement, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) steering, and Bell correlations that are produced and show that the state is similar to a spin-EPR state. Using a two-pulse sequence the correlations can be dramatically improved, where the state further approaches a spin-EPR state.

We identify the multiparameter sensitivity of entangled spin states, such as spin-squeezed and Dicke states that are spatially distributed into several addressable spatial modes. Analytical expressions for the spin-squeezing matrix of families of states that are accessible by current atomic experiments reveal the quantum gain in multiparameter metrology, as well as the optimal strategies to maximize the sensitivity gain for the estimation of any linear combination of parameters. We further study the mode entanglement of these states by deriving a witness for genuine $k$-partite mode entanglement from the spin-squeezing matrix. Our results highlight the advantage of mode entanglement for distributed sensing, and outline optimal protocols for multiparameter estimation with nonclassical spatially-distributed spin ensembles. We illustrate our findings with the design of a protocol for gradient sensing with a Bose-Einstein condensate in an entangled spin state in two modes.

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We study the robustness of quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement induced entanglement between Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs). We consider an experimental scheme where two BECs are placed in the paths of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and a QND interaction creates entanglement between coherent light and the atoms. We analyze the two dominant channels of decoherence, atomic dephasing and photon loss on the entangled states produced by this scheme. We calculate the effect of dephasing on the variance and expectation values of the spin operators, entanglement and correlation criteria. Our analysis does not use the Holstein-Primakoff approximation, and is capable of modelling long light-atom interaction times, producing non-Gaussian states beyond the two-mode squeezed states. In the presence of dephasing, the entangled states are robust in the macroscopic limit as long as the dimensionless interaction time is less than $ 1/\sqrt{N}$, where $ N $ is the number of atoms in the BEC. For photon loss, the entangled states generated by long interaction times show a remarkable robustness that makes the scheme promising for various quantum information applications.

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