If unitary evolution of a quantum system is interrupted by a sequence of measurements we call the dynamics as quantum Zeno dynamics. We show that under quantum Zeno dynamics not only the transition probability (leading to quantum Zeno effect) but also phases are affected. We call this new effect as quantum Zeno phase effect (QZPE) which says that under repeated measurements the geometric phase of a quantum system can be inhibited. Since geometric phase attributes a memory to a quatum system this result also proves that under quantum Zeno dynamics the memory of a system can be erased. We have proposed a neutron interference experiment where this prediction can be tested. We also beleive that with Itano's kind of set up for two-level systems this prediction can be tested. This will provide a new way of controlling phase shift in interference experiment by doing repeated measurements.
If unitary evolution of a quantum system is interrupted by a sequence of measurements we call the dynamics as quantum Zeno dynamics. We show that under quantum Zeno dynamics not only the transition probability (leading to quantum Zeno effect) but also phases are affected. We call this new effect as quantum Zeno phase effect (QZPE) which says that under repeated measurements the geometric phase of a quantum system can be inhibited. Since geometric phase attributes a memory to a quatum system this result also proves that under quantum Zeno dynamics the memory of a system can be erased. We have proposed a neutron interference experiment where this prediction can be tested. We also beleive that with Itano's kind of set up for two-level systems this prediction can be tested. This will provide a new way of controlling phase shift in interference experiment by doing repeated measurements.
Itano and co-workers [Wayne M. Itano, D. J. Heinzen, J. J. Bollinger, and D. J. Wineland, Phys. Rev. A 41, 2295 (1990)] have recently reported the experimental verification of the quantum Zeno effect, which is the inhibition of a quantum transition by frequent measurements. In this article, we offer an alternative interpretation of the quantum Zeno effect. We show that an analysis of the dynamics of the full three-level system gives the same result. There is no need to assume explicitly that the wave function has collapsed, nor even to assume that an ideal measurement has been made. In addition, we differentiate between what has been referred to as the quantum Zeno effect and what has been termed the quantum Zeno paradox. The former is the inhibition of induced transitions, and the latter is the, as yet experimentally unobserved, inhibition of spontaneous decay. Our interpretation, which emphasizes the ``measurement''-induced interruption of atomic-state coherences as the cause of inhibited quantum transitions, suggests a resolution to the quantum Zeno paradox. The theoretical limit of continuous observation is discussed.
The quantum Zeno effect (QZE) introduced by Misra and Sudarshan consists in the ability of repeated measurements to inhibit or slow down unitary evolution. Its fundamental status in quantum mechanics has long been firmly established, but its much broader context, in-depth understanding and its applications are growing at a faster pace than ever before. Over the years, there have been several pivotal developments that have made the QZE and related effects the basic paradigms underlying the control of evolution in quantum systems:
Prevention of a quantum system's time evolution by repetitive, frequent measurements of the system's state has been called the quantum Zeno effect (or paradox). Here we investigate theoretically and numerically the effect of repeated measurements on the quantum dynamics of multilevel systems that exhibit the quantum localization of classical chaos. The analysis is based on the wave function and Schr\"odinger equation, without introduction of the density matrix. We show how the quantum Zeno effect in simple few-level systems can be recovered and understood by formal modeling the effect of measurement on the dynamics by randomizing the phases of the measured states. This analysis is extended to investigate the dynamics of multilevel systems driven by an intense external force and affected by frequent measurements. We show that frequent measurements of such quantum systems results in delocalization of the quantum suppression of classical chaos. This result is the opposite of the quantum Zeno effect. The phenomenon of delocalization of the quantum suppression and restoration of quasi-classical time evolution of these systems, owing to repetitive frequent measurements, can therefore be called the quantum anti-Zeno effect. From this analysis we furthermore conclude that frequently or continuously observable quasiclassical systems evolve basically in a classical manner.
Reiterated or continuous measurement on a quantum system impedes the quantum object's evolution. This "quantum Zeno" effect (QZE), contemplated for decades, has been conventionally attributed to the reaction of the measuring device on the quantum object being measured, in the sense of the Heisenberg microscope. However, even reactionless "quantum non-demolition" measurements seem to qualify for that inhibition to take place and may constitute a "quantum Zeno paradox" (QZP). An experimental proof of QZE had been attempted in the past on clouds of ions confined in a Paul trap. In the meantime it has been shown, however, that the anticipated impediment of the quantum evolution by a sheer gain of information, i.e. by reactionless measurement cannot be, in principle, proven with an ensemble. Recently, experiments have been performed with the use of a single quantum system: an 172Yb+ ion, laser-driven on its E2 line S1/2 - D5/2, or an 171Yb+ ion, microwave-driven on its ground-state hyperfine resonance. The results of these experiments demonstrate that mere gain of information on the quantum system, while lacking dynamic action, modifies the system's evolution as it is predicted by quantum mechanics, based on the system's preparation. This seems plausible if we attribute reality to the results of the measurements. If, in contrast, reality is claimed for the prediction, two-fold discontinuity must be admitted: loss of coherence with potential measurements, and renormalization from the results of actual measurements.
The dynamics of a quantum system undergoing frequent ``measurements,'' leading to the so-called quantum Zeno effect, is examined on the basis of a neutron-spin experiment recently proposed for its demonstration. Unlike in all previous studies, the spatial degrees of freedom of the neutron are duly taken into account. Their inclusion in the analysis is important for two reasons: first, neutron-reflection effects are shown to be very important; second, the evolution may turn out to be totally different from the ideal case. Our results can be interpreted in terms of a rigorous theorem due to Misra and Sudarshan: indeed we clarify that, in contrast with a widespread belief, a quantum Zeno effect does not halt the evolution of a quantum system; it rather modifies it, by forcing the system to remain in a certain subspace, defined by the very measurement performed.