Time-averaged continuous quantum measurement

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guilmin, Pierre, Rouchon, Pierre, Tilloy, Antoine
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912395868241920
author Guilmin, Pierre
Rouchon, Pierre
Tilloy, Antoine
author_facet Guilmin, Pierre
Rouchon, Pierre
Tilloy, Antoine
contents The theory of continuous quantum measurement allows to reconstruct the state $ρ_t$ of a system from a continuous stochastic measurement record $I_t$. However, this truly continuous-time signal $I_t$ is never available in practice. In experiments, one generally has access to its digitization, i.e., to a series of time averages $I_k$ over finite intervals of duration $Δt$. In this letter, we take this digitization seriously and define $\barρ_n$ as the best Bayesian estimate of the quantum state given (only) a digitized record $(I_1,\dots,I_n)$. We show that $\barρ_{n+1}$ can be computed recursively from $I_{n+1}$ and $\barρ_n$ using an exact formula. The latter can be evaluated numerically exactly, or used as the basis for a perturbative expansion into successive powers of $\sqrt{Δt}$. This allows reconstructing quantum trajectories in regimes of coarse $Δt$ where existing methods fail, estimating parameters at fixed $Δt$ without bias, and directly sampling digitized quantum trajectories with schemes of arbitrarily high order.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_20382
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Time-averaged continuous quantum measurement
Guilmin, Pierre
Rouchon, Pierre
Tilloy, Antoine
Quantum Physics
The theory of continuous quantum measurement allows to reconstruct the state $ρ_t$ of a system from a continuous stochastic measurement record $I_t$. However, this truly continuous-time signal $I_t$ is never available in practice. In experiments, one generally has access to its digitization, i.e., to a series of time averages $I_k$ over finite intervals of duration $Δt$. In this letter, we take this digitization seriously and define $\barρ_n$ as the best Bayesian estimate of the quantum state given (only) a digitized record $(I_1,\dots,I_n)$. We show that $\barρ_{n+1}$ can be computed recursively from $I_{n+1}$ and $\barρ_n$ using an exact formula. The latter can be evaluated numerically exactly, or used as the basis for a perturbative expansion into successive powers of $\sqrt{Δt}$. This allows reconstructing quantum trajectories in regimes of coarse $Δt$ where existing methods fail, estimating parameters at fixed $Δt$ without bias, and directly sampling digitized quantum trajectories with schemes of arbitrarily high order.
title Time-averaged continuous quantum measurement
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.20382