arXiv:2103.03698 · Physical Review Letters

Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno Probes of Noise Correlations in Photon Polarization

Salvatore Virzì, Alessio Avella, Fabrizio Piacentini, Marco Gramegna, Tomáš Opatrný, Abraham G. Kofman, Gershon Kurizki, Stefano Gherardini, Filippo Caruso, Ivo Pietro Degiovanni, Marco Genovese

Published Jul 13, 2022• 27 citations

arXiv HTML PDF

Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, noise diagnostics by repeated quantum measurements, establishing the ability of a single photon subjected to random polarization noise to diagnose non-Markovian temporal correlations of such a noise process. Both the noise spectrum and temporal correlations are diagnosed by probing the photon with frequent (partially) selective polarization measurements. We show that noise with positive temporal correlations corresponds to our single photon undergoing a dynamical regime enabled by the quantum Zeno effect (QZE), whereas noise characterized by negative (anti) correlations corresponds to regimes associated with the anti-Zeno effect (AZE). This is the first step toward a novel noise spectroscopy based on QZE and AZE in single-photon state probing able to extract information on the noise while protecting the probe state, a conceptual paradigm shift with respect to traditional interferometric measurements.

DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.129.030401

Related papers

Quantum noise sensing via quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects

Fabrizio Piacentini, Salvatore Virzì, Laura T. Knoll +9 more

Quantum control is a fundamental tool for quantum technologies, and quantum Zeno (QZE) and anti-Zeno (AZE) effects, respectively denoting the slowdown and speedup of quantum system evolution by frequent interruptions/operations, represent quantum control paradigms. Indeed, they allow either protecting (QZE) or steering (AZE) the state of a quantum system via the interplay between frequent operations (system control) and the coupling of the system to its environment. Here we present two experiments demonstrating the possibility to exploit QZE and AZE to extract information on noise processes occurring in a quantum channel. In the first experiment, we realize the first noise diagnostics scheme based on repeated quantum measurements, showing how a single photon undergoing a noise process (in our case, random polarization fluctuations) can quantify non-Markovian temporal correlations within such a noise. In the second experiment, we show how a QZE-protection mechanism applied to a quantum state can become a noise sensing technique, allowing to estimate the statistical distribution of decoherence effects occurring on a photonic qubit during its propagation in a noisy quantum channel.

Optical and Quantum Sensing and Precision Metrology IIMar 19, 20250 citations

Zeno and anti-Zeno effects for photon polarization dephasing

Abraham G. Kofman, Gershon Kurizki, Tomáš Opatrný

We discuss a simple, experimentally feasible scheme, which elucidates the principles of controlling the reservoir spectrum and the spectral broadening incurred by repeated measurements. This control can yield either the inhibition (Zeno effect) or the acceleration (anti-Zeno effect) of the quasiexponential decay of the observed state by means of frequent measurements. In the discussed scheme, a photon is bouncing back and forth between two perfect mirrors, each time passing a polarization rotator. The horizontal and vertical polarizations can be viewed as analogs of an excited and a ground state of a two level system (TLS). A polarization beam splitter and an absorber for the vertically polarized photon are inserted between the mirrors, and effect measurements of the polarization. The polarization angle acquired in the electrooptic polarization rotator can fluctuate randomly, e.g., via noisy modulation. In the absence of an absorber the polarization randomization corresponds to TLS decay into an infinite-temperature reservoir. The non-Markovian nature of the decay stems from the many round trips required for the randomization. We consider the influence of the polarization measurements by the absorber on this non-Markovian decay, and develop a theory of the Zeno and anti-Zeno effects in this system.

arXiv:quant-ph/0011077Physical Review AMar 19, 200143 citations

Experimental quantum noise sensing via quantum Zeno/anti-Zeno effect

Salvatore Virzì, Laura T. Knoll, Fabrizio Piacentini +9 more

We introduce and experimentally demonstrate two techniques allowing to extract information on the noise affecting single-photon probes propagating in a quantum channel, by exploiting quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects.

Quantum 2.0 Conference and ExhibitionJan 1, 20240 citations

Quantum Zeno effect with partial measurement and noisy dynamics

Parveen Kumar, Alessandro Romito, Kyrylo Snizhko

We study the quantum Zeno effect (QZE) induced by continuous partial measurement in the presence of short-correlated noise in the system Hamiltonian. We study the survival probability and the onset of the QZE as a function of the measurement strength and find that, depending on the noise parameters, the quantum Zeno effect can be enhanced or suppressed by the noise in different regions of parameter space. Notably, the conditions for the enhancement of the QZE are different when determined by the short-time or long-time behavior of the survival probability, or by the measurement strength marking the onset of the quantum Zeno regime.

Dec 24, 202023 citations

Quantum Zeno effect with partial measurement and noisy dynamics

Parveen Kumar, Alessandro Romito, Kyrylo Snizhko

We study the quantum Zeno effect (QZE) induced by continuous partial measurement in the presence of short-correlated noise in the system Hamiltonian.We study the survival probability and the onset of the QZE as a function of the measurement strength and find that, depending on the noise parameters, the quantum Zeno effect can be enhanced or suppressed by the noise in different regions of parameter space.Notably, the conditions for the enhancement of the QZE are different when determined by the short-time or long-time behavior of the survival probability, or by the measurement strength marking the onset of the quantum Zeno regime.

arXiv:2006.13970Physical Review ResearchDec 24, 202019 citations

Dynamics of Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno Effects in Open System

Peng Zhang, Qing Ai, Yong Li +2 more

We provide a general dynamical approach for the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects in an open quantum system under repeated non-demolition measurements. In our approach the repeated measurements are described by a general dynamical model without the wave function collapse postulation. Based on that model, we further study both the short-time and long-time evolutions of the open quantum system under repeated non-demolition measurements, and derive the measurement-modified decay rates of the excited state. In the cases with frequent ideal measurements at zero-temperature, we re-obtain the same decay rate as that from the wave function collapse postulation (Nature {\bf 405}, 546 (2000)). The correction to the ideal decay rate is also obtained under the non-ideal measurements. Especially, we find that the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects are possibly {\it enhanced} by the non-ideal natures of measurements. For the open system under measurements with arbitrary period, we generally derive the rate equation for the long-time evolution for the cases with {\it arbitrary} temperature and noise spectrum, and show that in the long-time evolution the noise spectrum is effectively tuned by the repeated measurements. Our approach is also able to describe the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects given by the phase modulation pulses, as well as the relevant quantum control schemes.

arXiv:1104.4640Apr 24, 20110 citations