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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Liu, Mingxuan, Scarani, Valerio, Auffèves, Alexia, Laverick, Kiarn T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.15986
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author Liu, Mingxuan
Scarani, Valerio
Auffèves, Alexia
Laverick, Kiarn T.
author_facet Liu, Mingxuan
Scarani, Valerio
Auffèves, Alexia
Laverick, Kiarn T.
contents Smoothing is a technique for estimating the state of an imperfectly monitored open system by combining both prior and posterior measurement information. In the quantum regime, current approaches to smoothing either give unphysical outcomes, due to the non-commutativity of the measurements at different times, or require assumptions about how the environment is measuring the system, which with current technology is unverifiable. We propose a novel definition of the smoothed quantum state based on quantum Bayesian retrodiction, which mirrors the classical retrodictive approach to smoothing. This approach always yields physical results and does not require any assumption on the environment. We show that this smoothed state has, on average, greater purity than the state reconstructed using just the prior information. Finally, we make a connection with the smoothing theory of Guevara and Wiseman in a well-studied regime, and describe from a purely quantum perspective how it conditions on the posterior information.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_15986
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Retrodictive Approach to Quantum State Smoothing
Liu, Mingxuan
Scarani, Valerio
Auffèves, Alexia
Laverick, Kiarn T.
Quantum Physics
Smoothing is a technique for estimating the state of an imperfectly monitored open system by combining both prior and posterior measurement information. In the quantum regime, current approaches to smoothing either give unphysical outcomes, due to the non-commutativity of the measurements at different times, or require assumptions about how the environment is measuring the system, which with current technology is unverifiable. We propose a novel definition of the smoothed quantum state based on quantum Bayesian retrodiction, which mirrors the classical retrodictive approach to smoothing. This approach always yields physical results and does not require any assumption on the environment. We show that this smoothed state has, on average, greater purity than the state reconstructed using just the prior information. Finally, we make a connection with the smoothing theory of Guevara and Wiseman in a well-studied regime, and describe from a purely quantum perspective how it conditions on the posterior information.
title A Retrodictive Approach to Quantum State Smoothing
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.15986