The quantum dynamics of arbitrary
N-level systems, including dissipative systems, are modeled exactly here by the dynamics of classical coupled oscillators. A one-to-one correspondence is established between the quantum states and the positions of the oscillators. Quantum coherence, expectation values, and measurement probabilities for system observables can therefore be realized from the corresponding classical states. Although the well-known equivalence [SU(2), SO(3) homomorphism] of two-level quantum dynamics to a rotation in real, physical space cannot be generalized to arbitrary
N-level systems, the representation of quantum dynamics by a system of coupled harmonic oscillators in one physical dimension
is general for any
N. The time evolution of an
N-level system [generated by a complex element of the SU(
N) group], is first represented as the rotation of a real state vector in (unphysical) hyperspace, as previously known for density matrix states and also extended here to include Schr\"odinger states. The resulting rotor in
n Euclidean dimensions [the rotation group SO(
n)] is then mapped directly to
n oscillators in one physical dimension, which significantly reduces the level of abstraction required to visualize quantum dynamics compared to vector models or generalized Bloch spheres in higher dimensions. The number of such oscillators needed to represent
N-level systems scales as
N2 for the density matrix formalism but increases only linearly with
N for Schr\"odinger states. Values for the classical coupling constants are readily derived from the system Hamiltonian, allowing construction of classical mechanical systems that provide insight into the dynamics of abstract quantum systems (new dynamical invariants) as well as a metric for characterizing the interface between quantum and classical mechanics. A distinctive attribute of the quantum-classical connection as presented here is the necessity for both positive and negative couplings and, in the case of dissipative systems, antisymmetric couplings.
Continuous weak or fuzzy measurement of the Rabi oscillation of a two level atom subjected to a
π−pulse of a resonant light field is simulated numerically. We thereby address the question whether it is possible to measure characteristic features of the motion of the state of a single quantum system in real time. We compare two schemes of continuous measurement: continuous measurement with constant fuzziness and with fuzziness changing in the course of the measurement. Because the sensitivity of the Rabi atom to the influence of the measurement depends on the state of the atom, it is possible to optimize the continuous fuzzy measurement by varying its fuzziness.
In order to claim that one has experimentally tested whether a noncontextual ontological model could underlie certain measurement statistics in quantum theory, it is necessary to have a notion of noncontextuality that applies to unsharp measurements, i.e., those that can only be represented by positive operator-valued measures rather than projection-valued measures. This is because any realistic measurement necessarily has some nonvanishing amount of noise and therefore never achieves the ideal of sharpness. Assuming a generalized notion of noncontextuality that applies to arbitrary experimental procedures, it is shown that the outcome of a measurement depends deterministically on the ontic state of the system being measured if and only if it is associated with a projector. Hence for every unsharp measurement, its outcome necessarily has an indeterministic dependence on the ontic state. We defend this proposal against alternatives. In particular, we demonstrate why considerations parallel to Fine's theorem do not challenge this conclusion.
A continuous measurement of energy that is sharp (perfect) leads to the quantum Zeno effect (freezing of the state). Only if the quantum measurement is fuzzy (unsharp), continuous monitoring gives a readout
E(t) from which information about the dynamical development of the state vector of the system may be obtained in certain cases. This is studied in detail. Fuzziness is thereby introduced with the help of restricted path integrals equivalent to non-Hermitian Hamiltonians. For an otherwise undisturbed multilevel system it is shown that this measurement represents a model of decoherence. If it lasts long enough, the measurement readout discriminates between the energy levels and the von Neumann state reduction is obtained. For a two-level system under resonance influence (which undergoes, in the absence of measurement, Rabi oscillations between the levels) different regimes of measurement are specified depending on its duration and fuzziness: (i) the Zeno regime, where the measurement results in a freezing of the transitions between the levels, and (ii) the Rabi regime, where the transitions are maintained. It is shown that in the Rabi regime at the border to the Zeno regime a correlation exists between the time-dependent measurement readout and the modified Rabi oscillations of the state of the measured system. Possible realizations of continuous fuzzy measurements of energy are sketched.
The question of phase measurement for a quantum oscillator using the quantum non-demolition principle (NDP), which does not need the use of the wave packet reduction postulate, is studied. It is shown that this approach is appropriate to introduce in a proper way the relevant observables for unlocalized (unsharp) measurement of quantum phase. Our analysis suggests that in contrast to other quantum-mechanical problems (e.g. The position and the momentum of a particle), the operator to represent the phase of a quantum field cannot be separated from the measurement process. Thus, the quantum phase operator must be defined for a corresponding measurement scheme. Moreover, it allows us to describe the time continuous process of quantum phase observations and also to study the stochastic dynamics of the oscillator under such measurement.
Unsharp measurements allow the estimation and tracking of quantum wave functions in real time with minimal disruption of the dynamics. Here we demonstrate that high-fidelity state monitoring, and hence quantum control, is possible, even in the presence of classical dephasing and amplitude noise, by simulating such measurements on a two-level system undergoing Rabi oscillations. Finite estimation fidelity is found to persist indefinitely after the decoherence times set by the noise fields in the absence of measurement.