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arXiv:2502.12305 · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics

Stochastic Schrödinger equation for homodyne measurements of strongly correlated systems

Aniket Patra, Felix Motzoi, Klaus Mølmer

Published Sep 25, 2025• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Starting from an experimentally feasible atomic setup, we derive a stochastic Schrödinger equation that captures the homodyne detection record of a strongly interacting system. Applying the rotating wave approximation to the linear atom-light coupling, we arrive at a reduced equation formulated solely in terms of atomic operators. In the appropriate limit, this equation converges to that of Gaussian continuous quantum measurement—revealing that the complexities of real-world detection can, under certain conditions, echo the elegance of idealized theory. To illustrate the utility of this framework, we numerically study the Bose–Hubbard model under continuous observation, showing that time-domain analysis of the measurement signal uncovers rich dynamical features, including quantum jumps, that are obscured in ensemble-averaged spectral data.

DOI
10.1088/1361-6455/ae0bd2

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Abstract Starting from an experimentally feasible atomic setup, we derive a stochastic Schrödinger equation that captures the homodyne detection record of a strongly interacting system. Applying the rotating wave approximation to the linear atom-light coupling, we arrive at a reduced equation formulated solely in terms of atomic operators. In the appropriate limit, this equation converges to that of Gaussian continuous quantum measurement—revealing that the complexities of real-world detection can, under certain conditions, echo the elegance of idealized theory. To illustrate the utility of this framework, we numerically study the Bose–Hubbard model under continuous observation, showing that time-domain analysis of the measurement signal uncovers rich dynamical features, including quantum jumps, that are obscured in ensemble-averaged spectral data.
Homodyne measurement is a crucial tool widely used to address continuous variables for bosonic quantum systems. While an ideal homodyne detection provides a powerful analysis, e.g., to effectively measure quadrature amplitudes of light in quantum optics, it relies on the use of a strong reference field, the so-called local oscillator, typically in a coherent state. Such a strong coherent local oscillator may not be readily available, particularly for a massive quantum system like a Bose-Einstein condensate, posing a substantial challenge in dealing with continuous variables appropriately. It is necessary to establish a practical framework that includes the effects of nonideal local oscillators for a rigorous assessment of various quantum tests and applications. We here develop entanglement criteria beyond a Gaussian regime applicable for this realistic homodyne measurement that do not require assumptions on the state of local oscillators. We discuss the working conditions of homodyne detection to effectively detect non-Gaussian quantum entanglement under various states of local oscillators.
Abstract The dynamics of Gaussian states for open quantum systems described by Lindblad equations can be solved analytically for systems with quadratic Hamiltonians and linear Lindbladians, showing the familiar phenomena of dissipation and decoherence. It is well known that the Lindblad dynamics can be expressed as an ensemble average over stochastic pure-state dynamics, which can be interpreted as individual experimental implementations, where the form of the stochastic dynamics depends on the measurement setup. Here we consider quantum-jump and stochastic Schrödinger dynamics for initially Gaussian states. While both unravellings converge to the same Lindblad dynamics when averaged, the individual dynamics can differ qualitatively. For the stochastic Schrödinger equation, Gaussian states remain Gaussian during the evolution, with stochastic differential equations governing the evolution of the phase-space centre and a deterministic evolution of the covariance matrix. In contrast to this, individual pure-state dynamics arising from the quantum-jump evolution do not remain Gaussian in general. Applying results developed in the non-Hermitian context for Hagedorn wavepackets, we formulate a method to generate quantum-jump trajectories that is described entirely in terms of the evolution of an underlying Gaussian state. To illustrate the behaviours of the different unravellings in comparison to the Lindblad dynamics, we consider two examples in detail, which can be largely treated analytically, a harmonic oscillator subject to position measurement and a damped harmonic oscillator. In both cases, we highlight the differences as well as the similarities of the stochastic Schrödinger and the quantum-jump dynamics.
We derive the evolution equations for two-time correlation functions of a generalized non-Markovian open quantum system based on a modified stochastic Schrödinger equation approach. We find that the two-time reduced propagator, an object that used to be characterized by two independent stochastic processes in the Hilbert space of the system, can be simplified and obtained by taking ensemble average over one single noise. This discovery can save the cost of computation, and accelerate the converging process when taking the average over noisy trajectories. As a result, our method can be widely applied to many open quantum models, especially large-scale systems and extend the quantum regression theory to the non-Markovian case. In the short-time simulations, it is observed a significant difference between Markovian and non-Markovian cases, which can be applied to realize the environmental spectrum detection and enhance the measurement sensitivity in varying open quantum systems.
We develop a stochastic Schrödinger equation (SSE) framework to simulate the real-time dynamics of Anderson-Holstein (AH) impurities coupled to a continuous Fermionic bath. The bath degrees of freedom are incorporated through fluctuating terms determined by exact system-bath correlations, which is derived in an ab initio manner. We show that such an SSE treatment provides a middle ground between numerically expansive microscopic simulations and macroscopic master equations. Computationally, the SSE model enables efficient numerical methods for propagating stochastic trajectories. We demonstrate that this approach not only naturally provides microscopically detailed information unavailable from reduced models but also captures effects beyond master equations, thus serving as a promising tool to study open quantum dynamics emerging in physics and chemistry.
We develop a Schrödinger-picture formulation for a scalar quantum field driven by a Lorentz-invariant white-noise field. The quantum state of the system is described by a stochastic wave functional that evolves according to a stochastic Schrödinger equation. We show that the Gaussian structure of the wave functional is preserved under the stochastic evolution, allowing the dynamics to be reduced to a set of equations for the corresponding kernel functions. These kernel equations are derived and solved exactly, yielding an explicit time-dependent expression for the wave functional. The exact solution enables a direct analysis of the statistical properties of the quantum field in the space of field configurations. In particular, we show that the expectation value of the field operator obeys the same stochastic equation as the classical field obtained from the Euler-Lagrange equation of the action. We further compute the energy density from the stochastic wave functional and evaluate its ensemble average over noise realizations. The resulting energy production rate coincides with that obtained from the corresponding Lindblad equation. This result indicates that the stochastic quantum state remains well defined even though certain derived observables exhibit ultraviolet divergences associated with the white-noise idealization.
Abstract We develop a Schrödinger-picture formulation for a scalar quantum field driven by a Lorentz-invariant white-noise field. The quantum state of the system is described by a stochastic wave functional that evolves according to a stochastic Schrödinger equation. We show that the Gaussian structure of the wave functional is preserved under the stochastic evolution, allowing the dynamics to be reduced to a set of equations for the corresponding kernel functions. These kernel equations are derived and solved exactly, yielding an explicit time-dependent expression for the wave functional. The exact solution enables a direct analysis of the statistical properties of the quantum field in the space of field configurations. In particular, we show that the expectation value of the field operator obeys the same stochastic equation as the classical field obtained from the Euler–Lagrange equation of the action. We further compute the energy density from the stochastic wave functional and evaluate its ensemble average over noise realizations. The resulting energy production rate coincides with that obtained from the corresponding Lindblad equation. This result indicates that the stochastic quantum state remains well defined even though certain derived observables exhibit ultraviolet divergences associated with the white-noise idealization.