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arXiv:quant-ph/0006006 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General

Quorum of observables for universal quantum estimation

G Mauro D'Ariano, Lorenzo Maccone, Matteo G A Paris

Published Dec 19, 2000• 53 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Quantum tomography is the process of reconstructing the ensemble average of an arbitrary operator (observable or not, including the density matrix), which may not be directly accessible by feasible detection schemes, starting from the measurement of a complete set of observables i.e. a quorum . The measurement of a quorum thus represents a complete characterization of the quantum state. The operator expression in terms of a quorum corresponds to an expansion on an irreducible set of operators in the Liouville space. We give two general characterizations of these sets, and show that all the known quantum tomographies can be described in this framework. New operatorial resolutions are also given that may be used in novel reconstruction schemes.

DOI
10.1088/0305-4470/34/1/307

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Quantum tomography is the process of reconstructing the ensemble average of an arbitrary operator (observable or not, including the density matrix), which may not be directly accessible by feasible detection schemes, starting from the measurement of a complete set of observables i.e. a quorum . The measurement of a quorum thus represents a complete characterization of the quantum state. The operator expression in terms of a quorum corresponds to an expansion on an irreducible set of operators in the Liouville space. We give two general characterizations of these sets, and show that all the known quantum tomographies can be described in this framework. New operatorial resolutions are also given that may be used in novel reconstruction schemes.
Any method for estimating the ensemble average of arbitrary operator (observables or not, including the density matrix) relates the quantity of interest to a complete set of observables, i.e. a quorum}. This corresponds to an expansion on an irreducible set of operators in the Liouville space. We give two general characterizations of these sets. All the known unbiased reconstruction techniques, i.e. ``quantum tomographies'', can be described in this framework. New operatorial resolutions are given that can be used to implement novel reconstruction schemes.
When the dynamics of a quantum system of interest is known, an informationally complete set of observables is not needed for state reconstruction via tomographic techniques: letting the system evolve before performing the measurement allows one to effectively extend the available ways to probe the system. This idea leads to dynamical quantum tomography, whose feasibility we characterize for general quantum dynamics using Krylov-based methods. Specializing in Markovian ones, we also provide deterministic tests and randomized ones to effectively assess parametric dynamics. The limits of the methods are explored by comparing unitary and open dynamics when a single observable is available, and the set of observables whose expectation can be reconstructed from the available ones characterized. The framework is illustrated with applications to a spin chain (with or without dissipation) and an electron-nuclear system.
Quantum tomography is a procedure to determine the quantum state of a physical system, or equivalently, to estimate the expectation value of any operator. It consists in appropriately averaging the outcomes of the measurement results of different observables, obtained on identical copies of the same system. Alternatively, it consists in maximizing an appropriate likelihood function defined on the same data. The procedure can be also used to completely characterize an unknown apparatus. Here we focus on the electromagnetic field, where the tomographic observables are obtained from homodyne detection.