  The characterization of an unknown quantum system requires the Hamiltonian
identification. The full access to the system, however, is usually restricted,
hindering the direct retrieval of relevant parameters, and a reliable indirect
estimation is usually required. In this work, the algorithm proposed by
Burgarth et al. [Phys. Rev. A 79, 020305 (2009)], which allows estimating the
coupling strengths in a linear chain by addressing only one end site, is
further investigated. The scheme is numerically studied for states with chain
structure, exploring its applicability against observational errors including
the limited signal-noise ratio and the finite spectral width. The spectral
distribution of the end state is shown to determine the applicability of the
method, and reducing the loss from truncated spectral components is critical to
realizing the robust reconstruction of coupling strengths.
