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Physical Review A

Evolution of quantum superpositions in open environments: Quantum trajectories, jumps, and localization in phase space

B. M. Garraway, P. L. Knight

Published Sep 1, 1994• 87 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The decay of coherence when a quantum system interacts with a much larger environment is usually described by a master equation for the system reduced density matrix and emphasizes the evolution of an entire ensemble. We consider two methods that have been developed recently to simulate the evolution of single realizations. Quantum-state diffusion involves both diffusion, where the individual quantum trajectory fluctuates through a Wiener process deriving from the environment, and localization to a coherent state, an eigenstate of the relevant Lindblad operator describing the coupling of the system to the environment. We demonstrate the localization process for different initial states and utilize the Wigner function to depict this localization in phase space. We concentrate on quantum states that can be expressed as a superposition of appropriate coherent states. For an initial superposition of two coherent states (a Schr\"odinger ``cat''), one of the two components will dominate the evolution. For initial Fock states, which can be described as a continuous superposition of coherent states on a ring, localization takes place when one coherent state is selected from that ring where each component has nearly the same energy as the original Fock state. We also consider the localization from a nonclassical squeezed ground state, which can be expressed as a superposition of coherent states along a line in phase space. The second simulation method considered is the state vector Monte Carlo, or ``quantum jump,'' approach, which relates to the direct counting of decay quanta. In the case of an initial Schr\"odinger ``cat,'' we find that when no quantum is detected the ``cat'' shrinks, but when a quantum is detected, the Schr\"odinger ``cat'' ``jumps'' from one type of ``cat'' to another with different internal phase. For an initial squeezed state we show how quantum jumps lead to individual realizations which are superpositions of two squeezed states.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.50.2548

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In the quantum trajectory approach an open quantum system is represented by a stochastic pure-state wave function. The mixed-state density operator that satisfies the usual master equation is recovered from the quantum trajectories by performing either an ensemble average or, for stationary systems, an average over time. This unraveling of the master equation dynamics into pure-state trajectories provides new insight into the decay of quantum coherence in systems that are open to the environment. Under some conditions macroscopic superposition states are preserved as macroscopic superposition states along individual trajectories, but are reduced to mixtures by the trajectory average. Under other conditions one of the states in a macroscopic superposition becomes dominant (in amplitude) over the other along each quantum trajectory. We discuss the mechanisms that produce these dynamics and assess the implications for the observation of Schrodinger cat states in optics experiments. We present results for some specific examples of macroscopic superposition states generated by a cavity QED system. The system involves a small collection of atoms in an optical cavity driven by a coherent laser field. Under strong-coupling conditions this system produces a variety of Schrodinger cat states whose precise form depends on the number of atoms, the method of excitation (through a cavity mirror or from the side), the initial state of the atoms, and the position of the atoms in the cavity.
Recent work on the dynamics of open systems has shown how the density operator may be unraveled into component state-vector trajectories using quantum-state diffusion or the quantum-jump model. In traditional dissipative environments the coherent evolution is stochastically perturbed by the action of the reservoir or environment, so that superposition states are dephased. We examine a system in which both coherent driving and dissipative damping involve the simultaneous creation and annihilation of pairs of photons. This has unusual consequences for the creation and decay of coherences. We analyze this problem using the two recently proposed simulation methods and compare the results of the simulation methods with each other and with density-matrix calculations. We also demonstrate the formation of Schr\"odinger ``cat'' states of the field through the action of dissipation and depict them using the Wigner and Husimi quasiprobability functions.
We propose physical interpretations, also valid for temperatures different from zero, for stochastic methods which have been developed recently to describe the evolution of a quantum system interacting with a reservoir. As opposed to the usual reduced density operator approach, which refers to ensemble averages, these methods deal with the dynamics of single realizations, and involve the solution of stochastic Schrödinger equations. These procedures have been shown to be completely equivalent to the master equation approach when ensemble averages are taken over many realizations. We show that these techniques are not only convenient mathematical tools for dissipative systems, but may actually correspond to concrete physical processes, for any temperature of the reservoir. We consider a mode of the electromagnetic field in a cavity interacting with a beam of two- or three-level atoms, the field mode playing the role of a small system and the atomic beam standing for a reservoir at finite temperature, the interaction between them being given by the Jaynes-Cummings model. We show that the evolution of the field states, under continuous monitoring of the state of the atoms which leave the cavity, can be described in terms of either the Monte Carlo wavefunction (quantum jump) method or a stochastic Schrödinger equation, depending on the system configuration. We also show that the Monte Carlo wavefunction approach leads, for finite temperatures, to localization into jumping Fock states, while the diffusion equation method leads to localization into states with a diffusing average photon number, which for sufficiently small temperatures are close approximations to mildly squeezed states. We prove analytically that, in the quantum jump situation, the system evolves in the mean towards a Fock state, even if an infinite number of photon-number amplitudes is present in the initial state.
The apparent dichotomy between quantum jumps on the one hand, and continuous time evolution according to wave equations on the other hand, provided a challenge to Bohr's proposal of quantum jumps in atoms. Furthermore, Schrödinger's time-dependent equation also seemed to require a modification of the explanation for the origin of line spectra due to the apparent possibility of superpositions of energy eigenstates for different energy levels. Indeed, Schrödinger himself proposed a quantum beat mechanism for the generation of discrete line spectra from superpositions of eigenstates with different energies. However, these issues between old quantum theory and Schrödinger's wave mechanics were correctly resolved only after the development and full implementation of photon quantization. The second quantized scattering matrix formalism reconciles quantum jumps with continuous time evolution through the identification of quantum jumps with transitions between different sectors of Fock space. The continuous evolution of quantum states is then recognized as a sum over continually evolving jump amplitudes between different sectors in Fock space. In today's terminology, this suggests that linear combinations of scattering matrix elements are epistemic sums over ontic states. Insights from the resolution of the dichotomy between quantum jumps and continuous time evolution therefore hold important lessons for modern research both on interpretations of quantum mechanics and on the foundations of quantum computing. They demonstrate that discussions of interpretations of quantum theory necessarily need to take into account field quantization. They also demonstrate the limitations of the role of wave equations in quantum theory, and caution us that superpositions of quantum states for the formation of qubits may be more limited than usually expected.
We show how nonclassical states can be constructed by interference amongst constituents in a superposition of basis states (chosen either from a Fock or coherent state basis). Such superpositions are fragile and highly susceptible to dissipation. We discuss the connection between ensemble averages and the evolution of individual realizations using quantum jump and quantum state diffusion models of conditioned measurements, each realization reflecting a particular measurement record. This allows us to distinguish between decoherence, localization and the deconstruction of superpositions into their components.
We derive stochastic master equations for a quantum system interacting with a Bose field prepared in a superposition of continuous-mode coherent states. To determine a conditional evolution of the quantum system, we use a collision model with an environment given as an infinite chain of not interacting between themselves qubits prepared initially in an entangled state being a discrete analogue of a superposition of coherent states of the Bose field. The elements of the environment chain interact with the quantum system in turn one by one, and they are subsequently measured. We determine a conditional evolution of the quantum system for continuous in time observations of the output field as a limit of discrete recurrence equations. We consider the stochastic master equations for a counting as well as for a diffusive stochastic process.