In this article, we reconsider a version of quantum trajectory theory based on the stochastic Schrödinger equation with stochastic coefficients, which was mathematically introduced in the 1990s, and we develop it in order to describe the non-Markovian evolution of a quantum system continuously measured and controlled, thanks to a measurement-based feedback. Indeed, realistic descriptions of a feedback loop have to include delay and thus need a non-Markovian theory. The theory allows us to put together non-Markovian evolutions and measurements in continuous time, in agreement with the modern axiomatic formulation of quantum mechanics. To illustrate the possibilities of such a theory, we apply it to a two-level atom stimulated by a laser. We introduce closed loop control too, via the stimulating laser, with the aim of enhancing the 'squeezing' of the emitted light, or other typical quantum properties. Note that here we change the point of view with respect to the usual applications of control theory. In our model, the 'system' is the two-level atom, but we do not want to control its state, to bring the atom to a final target state. Our aim is to control the 'Mandel Q-parameter' and the spectrum of the emitted light; in particular, the spectrum is not a property at a single time, but involves a long interval of times (a Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function of the observed output is needed).
In this article, we reconsider a version of quantum trajectory theory based on the stochastic Schrödinger equation with stochastic coefficients, which was mathematically introduced in the 1990s, and we develop it in order to describe the non-Markovian evolution of a quantum system continuously measured and controlled, thanks to a measurement-based feedback. Indeed, realistic descriptions of a feedback loop have to include delay and thus need a non-Markovian theory. The theory allows us to put together non-Markovian evolutions and measurements in continuous time, in agreement with the modern axiomatic formulation of quantum mechanics. To illustrate the possibilities of such a theory, we apply it to a two-level atom stimulated by a laser. We introduce closed loop control too, via the stimulating laser, with the aim of enhancing the 'squeezing' of the emitted light, or other typical quantum properties. Note that here we change the point of view with respect to the usual applications of control theory. In our model, the 'system' is the two-level atom, but we do not want to control its state, to bring the atom to a final target state. Our aim is to control the 'Mandel Q-parameter' and the spectrum of the emitted light; in particular, the spectrum is not a property at a single time, but involves a long interval of times (a Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function of the observed output is needed).
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.
Among the formulations of the theory of quantum measurements in continuous time, quantum trajectory theory is very suitable for the introduction of measurement based feedback and closed loop control of quantum systems. In this paper we present such a construction in the concrete case of a two-level atom stimulated by a coherent, monochromatic laser. In particular, we show how fast feedback à la Wiseman and Milburn can be introduced in the formulation of the theory. Then, the spectrum of the free fluorescence light is studied and typical quantum phenomena, squeezing and sub-natural line-narrowing, are presented.
Quantum Markov models have been successfully used to accurately model various physical quantum systems in fields such as quantum optics, optomechanics and superconducting circuits and they provide the basis for (measurement-based) quantum feedback control. However, the quantum Markov assumption is a strong one and it is not expected to hold for general quantum systems of interest. The projection operator approach is one approach that has been developed to model non-Markovian quantum systems by considering its embedding in a larger Markovian quantum system, but mainly in the context of quantum master equations for the dynamics of the unmonitored reduced quantum state of a quantum system. This approach was recently adapted for continuously measured non-Markovian quantum systems, which enables open-loop control but did not yet consider the presence of feedback of the stochastic measurement record, deriving non-Markovian SDEs for the evolution of the projected state of the Markovian embedding. This paper generalizes these stochastic equations to the setting of stochastic feedback based on the continuous-measurement record and shows that the equations take the same form but that previously deterministic terms become stochastic ones which depend on the measurement record, as would be intuitively expected. The stochastic equations are obtained for a generalized class of measurements that includes continuous (possibly adaptive) homodyne and photon counting measurements.
Abstract The stochastic Schrödinger equation, of classical or quantum type, allows to describe open quantum systems under measurement in continuous time. In this paper we review the link between these two descriptions and we study the properties of the output of the measurement. For simplicity we deal only with the diffusive case. Firstly, we discuss the quantum stochastic Schrödinger equation, which is based on quantum stochastic calculus, and we show how to transform it into the classical stochastic Schrödinger equation by diagonalization of suitable commuting quantum observables. Then, we give the a posteriori state, the conditional system state at time t given the output up to that time, and we link its evolution to the classical stochastic Schrödinger equation. Moreover, the relation with quantum filtering theory is shortly discussed. Finally, we study the output of the continuous measurement, which is a stochastic process with probability distribution given by the rules of quantum mechanics. When the output process is stationary, at least in the long run, the spectrum of the process can be introduced and its properties studied. In particular we show how the Heisenberg uncertainty relations give rise to characteristic bounds on the possible spectra and we discuss how this is related to the typical quantum phenomenon of squeezing. We use a simple quantum system, a two-level atom stimulated by a laser, to discuss the differences between homodyne and heterodyne detection and to explicitly show squeezing and anti-squeezing of the homodyne spectrum and the Mollow triplet in the fluorescence spectrum.
This review develops a control-theoretic perspective on measurement-based feedback for continuously monitored open quantum systems, with the main analysis focused on finite-dimensional systems governed by diffusive stochastic master equations. We introduce the relevant state-space, invariant-subspace, and quantum non-demolition structures, interpret quantum filtering as nonlinear observer dynamics, and review open-loop asymptotics, filter stability, state-feedback stabilization, robustness, and reduced-order observer-based control. Particular emphasis is placed on a recurrence--contraction framework, in which Hamiltonian feedback removes non-target invariant obstructions while measurement-induced dynamics provide local exponential contraction. Although the detailed analysis is developed for finite-dimensional diffusive models, the underlying measurement--estimation--feedback architecture is relevant across a broad range of quantum platforms. We further discuss implementation challenges and open problems involving scalable estimation, sampling and delay, adaptation, hybrid and non-Markovian dynamics, practical stability, optimal control, and learning-based design. By organizing these developments around invariance, estimation, recurrence, and contraction, the review provides a tutorial bridge between measurement-based quantum feedback and nonlinear stochastic control.
Quantum trajectory theory is the best mathematical set up to model continual observations of a quantum system and feedback based on the observed output. Inside this framework, we study how to enhance the squeezing of the fluorescence light emitted by a two-level atom, stimulated by a coherent monochromatic laser. In the presence of a Wiseman-Milburn feedback scheme, based on the homodyne detection of a fraction of the emitted light, we analyze the squeezing dependence on the various control parameters.