We consider a process of parameter estimation in a spin-$j$ system surrounded by a quantum-critical spin chain. Quantum Fisher information lies at the heart of the estimation task. We employ Ising spin chain in a transverse field as the environment which exhibits a quantum phase transition. Fisher information decays with time almost monotonously when the environment reaches the critical point. By choosing a fixed time or taking the time average, one can see the quantum Fisher information presents a sudden drop at the critical point. Different initial states of the environment are considered. The phenomenon that the quantum Fisher information, namely, the precision of estimation, changes dramatically can be used to detect the quantum criticality of the environment. We also introduce a general method to obtain the maximal Fisher information for a given state.

• Received 21 April 2010

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.82.022306