arXiv:2412.01892 · Quantum Science and Technology
Prospects for quantum process tomography at high energies
Clelia Altomonte, Alan J. Barr, Michał Eckstein, Paweł Horodecki, Kazuki Sakurai
Abstract
Abstract In quantum information theory, the evolution of an open quantum system—a unitary evolution followed by a measurement—is described by a quantum channel or, more generally, a quantum instrument. In this work, we formulate spin and flavour measurements in collider experiments as quantum instruments. We demonstrate that the Choi matrix, which completely determines input-output transitions, can be both theoretically computed from a given model and experimentally reconstructed from a set of final state measurements (quantum state tomography) using varied input states. The experimental reconstruction of the Choi matrix, known as quantum process tomography, offers a powerful new approach for probing potential extensions of the Standard Model, which predict different input-output transitions. In addition, the methodology constitutes a new foundational test of quantum mechanics itself. As an example, we outline the quantum process tomography approach applied to the e + e − → t t ¯ process at a polarised lepton collider.