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arXiv:1109.1338 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Non-Markovian quantum trajectories, instruments and time-continuous measurements

Sven Krönke, Walter T. Strunz

Published Jan 16, 2012• 14 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The linear and the nonlinear non-Markovian quantum state diffusion equation (NMQSD) are well known tools for the description of certain non-Markovian open quantum systems. In this work, we systematically investigate whether the normalized linear NMQSD or the nonlinear NMQSD solutions can be generated by means of a time-continuous measurement. By considering any conceivable measurement scheme in the framework of instruments, we derive a necessary criterion for a measurement interpretation of both equations. Concrete examples show that the normalized linear NMQSD solutions are realizable only in the Markovian limit in general. The application of the presented criterion to the nonlinear NMQSD remains an open issue.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/45/5/055305

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The linear and the nonlinear non-Markovian quantum state diffusion equation (NMQSD) are well known tools for the description of certain non-Markovian open quantum systems. In this work, we systematically investigate whether the normalized linear NMQSD or the nonlinear NMQSD solutions can be generated by means of a time-continuous measurement. By considering any conceivable measurement scheme in the framework of instruments, we derive a necessary criterion for a measurement interpretation of both equations. Concrete examples show that the normalized linear NMQSD solutions are realizable only in the Markovian limit in general. The application of the presented criterion to the nonlinear NMQSD remains an open issue.
A large class of non-Markovian quantum processes in open systems can be formulated through time-local master equations which are not in Lindblad form. It is shown that such processes can be embedded in a Markovian dynamics which involves a time-dependent Lindblad generator on an extended state space. If the state space of the open system is given by some Hilbert space H\mathcal{H}H, the extended state space is the triple Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}{\mathbb{C}}^{3}$ which is obtained by combining the open system with a three-state system. This embedding is used to derive an unraveling for non-Markovian time evolution by means of a stochastic process in the extended state space. The process is defined through a stochastic Schr\"odinger equation which generates genuine quantum trajectories for the state vector conditioned on a continuous monitoring of an environment. The construction leads to a continuous measurement interpretation for non-Markovian dynamics within the framework of the theory of quantum measurement.
Starting from a generalization of the quantum trajectory theory [based on the stochastic Schr\"odinger equation (SSE)], non-Markovian models of quantum dynamics are derived. In order to describe non-Markovian effects, the approach used in this article is based on the introduction of random coefficients in the usual linear SSE. A major interest is that this allows a consistent theory of quantum measurement in continuous time to be developed for these non-Markovian quantum trajectory models. In this context, the notions of ``instrument,'' ``a priori,'' and ``a posteriori'' states can be introduced. The key point is that by starting from a stochastic equation on the Hilbert space of the system, we are able to respect the complete positivity of the mean dynamics for the statistical operator and the requirements of the axioms of quantum measurement theory. The flexibility of the theory is next illustrated by a concrete physical model of a noisy oscillator where non-Markovian effects come from the random environment, colored noises, randomness in the stimulating light, and delay effects. The statistics of the emitted photons and the heterodyne and homodyne spectra are studied, and we show how these quantities are sensitive to the non-Markovian features of the system dynamics, so that, in principle, the observation and analysis of the fluorescent light could reveal the presence of non-Markovian effects and allow for a measure of the spectra of the noises affecting the system dynamics.
Since the first derivation of non-Markovian stochastic Schrödinger equations, their interpretation has been contentious. In a recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 080401 (2008)10.1103/Phys. Rev. Lett.100.080401], Diósi claimed to prove that they generate "true single system trajectories [conditioned on] continuous measurement." In this Letter, we show that his proof is fundamentally flawed: the solution to his non-Markovian stochastic Schrödinger equation at any particular time can be interpreted as a conditioned state, but joining up these solutions as a trajectory creates a fiction.
Non-Markovian quantum state diffusion (NMQSD) is a non-relativistic but otherwise exact theory which expresses the reduced density matrix of an arbitrary subsystem, interacting linearly with an uncoupled harmonic oscillator bath, as an average of diadics formed from state vectors which obey stochastic variational-differential equations. The vacuum radiation field can be represented as such an oscillator bath, and so this model is in widespread use in quantum optics. Prior to the development of NMQSD, exact subsystem solutions could only be obtained in a few special cases (e.g. spin-1/2, harmonic oscillator). Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to obtain exact solutions to new problems using NMQSD due to the difficulty of solving the variational-differential equations. Here we show that these equations can be transformed into a pair of coupled nonlinear integrodifferential equations. We develop exact numerical methods for the integrodifferential equations and show that solutions can be readily obtained to good accuracy for quite general subsystems. We exactly solve various examples including tunneling in a double well representing molecular isomerization or racemization, suppression of fluorescence from a two-level atom in a band gap, and intermittent fluorescence from a driven three level system representing electronic states of singly ionized magnesium.
A nonlinear stochastic Schr\"odinger equation for pure states describing non-Markovian diffusion of quantum trajectories and compatible with non-Markovian master equations is presented. This provides an unraveling of the evolution of any quantum system coupled to a finite or infinite number of harmonic oscillators without any approximation. Its power is illustrated by several examples, including measurementlike situations, dissipation, and quantum Brownian motion. Some examples treat this environment phenomenologically as an infinite reservoir with fluctuations of arbitrary correlation. In other examples the environment consists of a finite number of oscillators. In such a quasiperiodic case we see the reversible decay of a macroscopic quantum-superposition (``Schr\"odinger cat''). Finally, our description of open systems is compatible with different positions of the ``Heisenberg cut'' between system and environment.
The theory of measurements continuous in time in quantum mechanics (quantum continual measurements) has been formulated by using the notions of instrument and positive operator valued measure, functional integrals, quantum stochastic differential equations and classical stochastic differential equations (SDE's). Various types of SDE's are involved, and precisely linear and non linear equations for vectors in Hilbert spaces and for trace-class operators. All such equations contain either a diffusive part, or a jump one, or both. In this paper we introduce a class of linear SDE's for trace-class operators, relevant to the theory of continual measurements, and we recall how such SDE's are related to instruments and master equations and, so, to the general formulation of quantum mechanics. We do not present the Hilbert space formulation of such SDE's and we make some mathematical simplifications: no time dependence is introduced into the coefficients and only bounded operators on the Hilbert space of the quantum system are considered. Then we introduce the notion of a posteriori state and the non linear SDE satisfied by such states and we give conditions from which such equation is assured to preserve pure states and to send any mixed state into a pure one for large times. Finally we review the known results about the existence and uniqueness of invariant measures in the purely diffusive case and we give some concrete examples of physical systems.