A Straightforward Introduction to Continuous Quantum Measurement

We review the continuous monitoring of a qubit through its spontaneous emission, at an introductory level. Contemporary experiments have been able to collect the fluorescence of an artificial atom in a cavity and transmission line, and then make measurements of that emission to obtain diffusive quantum trajectories in the qubit's state. We give a straightforward theoretical overview of such scenarios, using a framework based on Kraus operators derived from a Bayesian update c...

In this paper, we establish a general theoretical framework for the description of continuous quantum measurements and the statistics of the results of such measurements. The framework concerns the measurement of an arbitrary quantum system with arbitrary number of detectors under realistic assumption of instant detector reactions and white noise sources. We attend various approaches to the problem showing their equivalence. The approaches include the full counting statistics...

We provide an introduction to the theory of quantum measurements that is centered on the pivotal role played by John von Neumann's model. This introduction is accessible to students and researchers from outside the field of foundations of quantum mechanics and presented within a historical context. We first explain the origins and the meaning of the measurement problem in quantum theory, and why it is not present in classical physics. We perform a chronological review of the ...

Measurements continuous in time were consistently introduced in quantum mechanics and applications worked out, mainly in quantum optics. In this context a quantum filtering theory has been developed giving the reduced state after the measurement when a certain trajectory of the measured observables is registered (the a posteriori states). In this paper a new derivation of filtering equations is presented, in the cases of counting processes and of measurement processes of diff...

We reconsider the non-Markovian time-continuous measurement of a Heisenberg observable x and show for the first time that it can be realized by an infinite set of entangled von Neumann detectors. The concept of continuous read-out is introduced and used to re-derive the non-Markovian stochastic Schrodinger equation. We can prove that, contrary to recent doubts, the resulting non-Markovian quantum trajectories are true single system trajectories and correspond to the continuou...

The theory of measurements continuous in time in quantum mechanics (quantum continual measurements) has been formulated by using the notions of instrument and positive operator valued measure, functional integrals, quantum stochastic differential equations and classical stochastic differential equations (SDE's). Various types of SDE's are involved, and precisely linear and non linear equations for vectors in Hilbert spaces and for trace-class operators. All such equations con...

From the key composite quantum system made of a two-level system (qubit) and a harmonic oscillator (photon) with resonant or dispersive interactions, one derives the corresponding quantum Stochastic Master Equations (SME) when either the qubits or the photons are measured. Starting with an elementary discrete-time formulation based on explicit formulae for the interaction propagators, one shows how to include measurement imperfections and decoherence. This qubit/photon quantu...

A general method is discussed to obtain Markovian master equations which describe the interaction with the environment in a microscopic and non-perturbative fashion. It is based on combining time-dependent scattering theory with the concept of continuous quantum measurements. The applications to the case of a Brownian point particle and to the case of a complex molecule, both in the presence of a gaseous environment, are outlined.

Starting from a new principle inspired by quantum tomography rather than from Born's rule, this paper gives a self-contained deductive approach to quantum mechanics and quantum measurement. A suggestive notion for what constitutes a quantum detector and for the behavior of its responses leads to a logically impeccable definition of measurement. Applications to measurement schemes for optical states, position measurements and particle tracks demonstrate the applicability to co...

We combine the concept of Bell measurements, in which two systems are projected into a maximally entangled state, with the concept of continuous measurements, which concerns the evolution of a continuously monitored quantum system. For such time-continuous Bell measurements we derive the corresponding stochastic Schr\"odinger equations, as well as the unconditional feedback master equations. Our results apply to a wide range of physical systems, and are easily adapted to desc...