Quantum feedback can stabilize a two-level atom against decoherence (spontaneous emission), putting it into an arbitrary (specified) pure state. This requires perfect homodyne detection of the atomic emission, and instantaneous feedback. Inefficient detection was considered previously by two of us. Here we allow for a non-zero delay time
tau in the feedback circuit. Because a two-level atom is a nonlinear optical system, an analytical solution is not possible. However, quantum trajectories allow a simple numerical simulation of the resulting non-Markovian process. We find the effect of the time delay to be qualitatively similar to that of inefficient detection. The solution of the non-Markovian quantum trajectory will not remain fixed, so that the time-averaged state will be mixed, not pure. In the case where one tries to stabilize the atom in the excited state, an approximate analytical solution to the quantum trajectory is possible. The result, that the purity (
P=2rmTr[rho2]−1) of the average state is given by
P=1−4gammatau (where
gamma is the spontaneous emission rate) is found to agree very well with the numerical results.
We present a formulation of non-Markovian quantum trajectories for open systems from a measurement theory perspective. In our treatment there are three distinct ways in which non-Markovian behavior can arise: a mode-dependent coupling between the bath (reservoir) and system, a dispersive bath, and spectral detection of the output into the bath. In the first two cases the non-Markovian behavior is intrinsic to the interaction; in the third case the non-Markovian behavior arises from the method of detection. We focus in detail on the trajectories that simulate real-time spectral detection of the light emitted from a localized system. In this case the non-Markovian behavior arises from the uncertainty in the time of emission of particles that are later detected. The results of computer simulations of the spectral detection of the spontaneous emission from a strongly driven two-level atom are presented.