Preselection-Encoded Weak-Value Interferometry for Optical-Rotation Metrology

Abstract

Optical-rotation measurements benefit from increasing probe photon number, but their performance is often limited by detector saturation and technical noise in the optical readout. Here we introduce preselection-encoded weak-value amplification (PeWVA), in which the quantity of interest is encoded into the probe polarization before a downstream weak-value interferometer. This architecture separates the sensing interaction from the postselected readout, enabling tunable local amplification while reducing the optical power delivered to the detector. We show that PeWVA does not create additional Fisher information, but offers a practical advantage when detector dynamic range is limiting. We further analyze coherent stray light and phase fluctuations and show reduced conversion of these perturbations into equivalent rotation errors. Using an $^{87}$Rb $M_x$ atomic magnetometer, we experimentally demonstrate substantially improved magnetic-field readout under detector-constrained conditions using both transimpedance-amplified and avalanche photodiodes. The experiments also confirm reduced susceptibility to vapor-cell-induced stray light and interferometer phase modulation. These results establish PeWVA as a detector-constrained optical readout strategy with enhanced tolerance to representative interferometric perturbations.