The control of thermal decoherence via dynamical decoupling and via the quantum Zeno effect (Zeno control) is investigated for a model of trapped ion, where the dynamics of two low lying hyperfine states undergoes decoherence due to the thermal interaction with an excited state. Dynamical decoupling is a procedure that consists in periodically driving the excited state, while the Zeno control consists in frequently measuring it. When the control frequency is high enough, decoherence is shown to be suppressed. Otherwise, both controls may accelerate decoherence.
Periodic deterministic bang-bang dynamical decoupling and the quantum Zeno effect are known to emerge from the same physical mechanism. Both concepts are based on cycles of strong and frequent kicks provoking a subdivision of the Hilbert space into independent subspaces. However, previous unification results do not capture the case of random bang-bang dynamical decoupling, which can be advantageous to the deterministic case but has an inherently acyclic structure. Here, we establish a correspondence between random dynamical decoupling and the quantum Zeno effect by investigating the average ov…
The measurements in the optical test of quantum Zeno effect [Itano et al. Phys. Rev. A\underbar{41} (1990) 2295) are analyzed using the environment-induced decoherence theory, where the spontaneous emission lifetime of the relevant level emerges as the 'decoherence time'. The implication of this finite decoherence time in setting a fundamental limit on the realizability of the condition of continuous measurements is investigated in detail.
Decay parameter of coherence and population inversion are calculated from the master equation of a two level atom tunneling through a squeezed vacuum. Using those parameters, the timescales for decoherence and zeno effect are calculated in the weak measurement scheme. By comparing those timescales, a certain condition has been found for sustainable coherent dynamics.
We propose a selfconsistent quantum mechanical approach to study the dynamics of a two-level system subject to random time evolution. This randomness gives rise to competing effects between dissipative and non-dissipative decoherence with a consequent slow down of the atomic decay rate.
We present a decoherence-based interpretation for the quantum Zeno effect (QZE) where measurements are dynamically treated as dispersive couplings of the measured system to the apparatus, rather than the von Neumann's projections. It is found that the explicit dependence of the survival probability on the decoherence time quantitatively distinguishes this dynamic QZE from the usual one based on projection measurements. By revisiting the cavity-QED experiment of the QZE [J. Bernu, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett, 101, 180402 (2008)], we suggest an alternative scheme to verify our theoretical considerat…
We consider a point particle in one dimension initially confined to a finite spatial region whose state is frequently monitored by projection operators onto that region. In the limit of infinitely frequent monitoring, the state never escapes from the region -- this is the Zeno effect. The aim of this paper is to show how the Zeno effect disappears in the classical limit in this and similar examples. We give a general argument showing that the Zeno effect is suppressed in the presence of a decoherence mechanism which kills interference between histories. We show how this works explicitly by cou…
We unify the quantum Zeno effect (QZE) and the "bang-bang" (BB) decoupling method for suppressing decoherence in open quantum systems: in both cases strong coupling to an external system or apparatus induces a dynamical superselection rule that partitions the open system's Hilbert space into quantum Zeno subspaces. Our unification makes use of von Neumann's ergodic theorem and avoids making any of the symmetry assumptions usually made in discussions of BB. Thus we are able to generalize BB to arbitrary fast and strong pulse sequences, requiring no symmetry, and to show the existence of two alt…
We show that multidimensional Zeno effect combined with non-holonomic control allows to efficiently protect quantum systems from decoherence by a method similar to classical coding. Contrary to the conventional approach, our method is applicable to arbitrary error-inducing Hamiltonians and general quantum systems. We also propose algorithms of finding encoding that approaches the Hamming upper bound along with methods of practical realizations of the encodings. Two new codes protecting 2 information qubits out of 7 and 4 information qubits out of 9 against a single error with arbitrarily small…
The experiment of Etano et al which demonstrated the quantum Zeno effect (QZE) in an optical experiment was explained by Frerichs and Schenzle without invoking the wave function collapse. In this report it is proposed that the collapse does occur, and it can be explained by the `environment induced decoherence' theory. The environment here consists of the completely quantized field vacuum modes. The spontaneous emission life time of the atom sets a fundamental limit on the requirement of `continuous measurements' for QZE. This limit turns out to be related to the time-energy uncertainty relati…
Recent theoretical and experimental papers support the prevailing opinion that large warm systems will rapidly lose quantum coherence, and that classical properties will emerge. This rapid loss of coherence would naturally be expected to block any critical role for quantum theory in explaining the interaction between our conscious experiences and the physical activities of our brains. However, there is a quantum theory of mind in which the efficacy of mental effort is not affected by decoherence effects. In this theory the effects of mental action on brain activity is achieved by a Quantum Zen…
Projective measurements are an essential element of quantum mechanics. In most cases, they cause an irreversible change of the quantum system on which they act. However, measurements can also be used to stabilize quantum states from decay processes, which is known as the quantum Zeno effect (QZE). Here, we demonstrate this effect for the case of a superposition state of a nuclear spin qubit, using an ancilla to perform the measurement. As a result, the quantum state of the qubit is protected against dephasing without relying on an ensemble nature of NMR experiments. We also propose a scheme to…
We demonstrate through exact solutions that a spin bath leads to stronger (faster) dephasing of a qubit than a bosonic bath with identical bath-coupling spectrum. This difference is due to the spin-bath "dressing" by the coupling. Consequently, the quantum statistics of the bath strongly affects the pulse sequences required to dynamically decouple the qubit from its bath.
Decoherence time has been calculated for an optical ion trap of Be atoms in a bistable potential model. Comparison has been made between decoherence time and Zeno time for double well potential as a special case. Zeno time is considered as a lower limit of decoherence time for sustainable quantum coherence. Equality of the respective timescales provides a certain transitional temperature, below which decoherence can be asymptotically minimized.
We study the measurement process by treating classical detectors entirely quantum mechanically. As a generic model we use a point-contact detector coupled to an electron in a quantum dot and tunneling into the continuum. Transition to the classical description and the mechanism of decoherence are investigated. We concentrate on the influence of the measurement on the electron decay rate to the continuum. We demonstrate that the Zeno (or the anti-Zeno) effect requires a nonuniform density of states in the continuum. In this case we show that the anti-Zeno effect relates only to the average deca…
The suppression of spin-exchange relaxation in dense alkali-metal vapors discovered in 1973 and governing modern atomic magnetometers is here reformulated in terms of quantum measurement theory and the quantum Zeno effect. This provides a new perspective of understanding decoherence in spin-polarized atomic vapors.
We propose schemes that are efficient when each pair of qubits undergoes some imperfect collective decoherence with different baths. In the proposed scheme, each pair of qubits is first encoded in a decoherence-free subspace composed of two qubits. Leakage out of the encoding space generated by the imperfection is reduced by the quantum Zeno effect. Phase errors in the encoded bits generated by the imperfection are reduced by concatenation of the decoherence-free subspace with either a three-qubit quantum error correcting code that corrects only phase errors or a two-qubit quantum error detect…
The quantum Zeno effect is recast in terms of an adiabatic theorem when the measurement is described as the dynamical coupling to another quantum system that plays the role of apparatus. A few significant examples are proposed and their practical relevance discussed. We also focus on decoherence-free subspaces.
We consider the effect of broadband decoherence on the performance of refocusing sequences, having in mind applications of dynamical decoupling in concatenation with quantum error correcting codes as the first stage of coherence protection. Specifically, we construct cumulant expansions of effective decoherence operators for a qubit driven by a pulse of a generic symmetric shape, and for several sequences of $π$- and $π/2$-pulses. While, in general, the performance of soft pulses in decoupling sequences in the presence of Markovian decoherence is worse than that of the ideal $δ$-pulses, it can…
A longstanding challenge in the foundations of quantum mechanics is the verification of alternative collapse theories despite their mathematical similarity to decoherence. To this end, we suggest a novel method based on dynamical decoupling. Experimental observation of nonzero saturation of the decoupling error in the limit of fast decoupling operations can provide evidence for alternative quantum theories. As part of the analysis we prove that unbounded Hamiltonians can always be decoupled, and provide novel dilations of Lindbladians.
While quantum probes surely feel gravity, no source of gravity has been prepared in a delocalized quantum state yet. Two basic questions need to be addressed: how to delocalize a mass sufficiently large to generate detectable gravity; and, once that state has been prepared, how to fight localization by decoherence. We propose to fight decoherence by freezing the source in the desired state through the Zeno effect. Successful implementation can be verified by scattering a probe in the effective potential generated by the source. Besides putting forward the idea, we provide an estimation of the …
The quantum Zeno evolution of a quantum system takes place in a proper subspace of the total Hilbert space. The physical and mathematical features of the "Zeno subspaces" depend on the measuring apparatus: when this is included in the quantum description, the Zeno effect becomes a mere consequence of the dynamics and, remarkably, can be cast in terms of an adiabatic theorem, with a dynamical superselection rule. We look at several examples and focus on quantum computation and decoherence-free subspaces.
We investigate two techniques for controlling decoherence, focusing on the crucial role played by the environmental spectrum. We show how environments with different spectra lead to very different dynamical behaviours. Our study clearly proves that such differences must be taken into account when designing decoherence control schemes. The two techniques we consider are reservoir engineering and quantum-Zeno control. We focus on a quantum harmonic oscillator initially prepared in a nonclassical state and derive analytically its non-Markovian dynamics in presence of different bosonic thermal env…
We study the application of decoupling techniques to the case of a damped vibrational mode of a chain of trapped ions, which can be used as a quantum bus in linear ion trap quantum computers. We show that vibrational heating could be efficiently suppressed using appropriate ``parity kicks''. We also show that vibrational decoherence can be suppressed by this decoupling procedure, even though this is generally more difficult because the rate at which the parity kicks have to applied increases with the effective bath temperature.
It is accepted that among the ways through which a quantum phenomenon decoheres and becomes a classical one is what is termed in the literature the Zeno effect. This effect, named after the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (born about 485 B.C), were used in 1977 to analytically predict that an initial quantum state may be preserved in time by merely repeating a large number of times, in a finite total time, the experiment of checking its state. Since then this effect has been experimentally validated and has become an established physical fact. It has been argued by Simonius that the Zen…
A scheme to implement a quantum computer subjected to decoherence and governed by an untunable qubit-qubit interaction is presented. By concatenating dynamical decoupling through bang-bang (BB) pulse with decoherence-free subspaces (DFSs) encoding, we protect the quantum computer from environment-induced decoherence that results in quantum information dissipating into the environment. For the inherent qubit-qubit interaction that is untunable in the quantum system, BB control plus DFSs encoding will eliminate its undesired effect which spoils quantum information in qubits. We show how this qua…
In this paper we investigate the occurrence of the Zeno and anti-Zeno effects for quantum Brownian motion. We single out the parameters of both the system and the reservoir governing the crossover between Zeno and anti-Zeno dynamics. We demonstrate that, for high reservoir temperatures, the short time behaviour of environment induced decoherence is the ultimate responsible for the occurrence of either the Zeno or the anti-Zeno effect. Finally we suggest a way to manipulate the decay rate of the system and to observe a controlled continuous passage from decay suppression to decay acceleration u…
The Uhrig dynamical decoupling sequence achieves high-order decoupling of a single system qubit from its dephasing bath through the use of bang-bang Pauli pulses at appropriately timed intervals. High-order decoupling of single and multiple qubit systems from baths causing both dephasing and relaxation can also be achieved through the nested application of Uhrig sequences, again using single-qubit Pauli pulses. For the 3-qubit decoherence free subsystem (DFS) and related subsystem encodings, Pauli pulses are not naturally available operations; instead, exchange interactions provide all require…
We provide a general framework for constructing digital dynamical decoupling sequences based on Walsh modulation --- applicable to arbitrary qubit decoherence scenarios. By establishing equivalence between decoupling design based on Walsh functions and on concatenated projections, we identify a family of {\em optimal Walsh sequences}, which can be exponentially more efficient, in terms of the required total pulse number, for fixed cancellation order, than known digital sequences based on concatenated design. Optimal sequences for a given cancellation order are highly non-unique --- their perfo…
We discuss a few mathematical aspects of random dynamical decoupling, a key tool procedure in quantum information theory. In particular, we place it in the context of discrete stochastic processes, limit theorems and CPT semigroups on matrix algebras. We obtain precise analytical expressions for expectation and variance of the density matrix and fidelity over time in the continuum-time limit depending on the system Lindbladian, which then lead to rough short-time estimates depending only on certain coupling strengths. We prove that dynamical decoupling does not work in the case of intrinsic (i…
The time evolution of some quantum states can be slowed down or even stopped under frequent measurements. This is the usual quantum Zeno effect. Here, we report an operator quantum Zeno effect, in which the evolution of some physical observables is slowed down through measurements even though the quantum state changes randomly with time. Based on the operator quantum Zeno effect, we show how we can protect quantum information from decoherence with two-qubit measurements, realizable with noisy two-qubit interactions.
The main obstacles to the realization of high-fidelity quantum gates are the control errors arising from inaccurate manipulation of a quantum system and the decoherence caused by the interaction between the quantum system and its environment. Nonadiabatic holonomic quantum computation allows for high-speed implementation of whole-geometric quantum gates, making quantum computation robust against control errors. Dynamical decoupling provides an effective method to protect quantum gates against environment-induced decoherence, regardless of collective decoherence or independent decoherence. In t…
In this paper, we first demonstrate how to realize quantum state transferring (QST) from one atom to another based on quantum Zeno dynamics. Then, the QST protocol is generalized to realize the quantum state swapping (QSS) between two arbitrary atoms with the help of a third one. Furthermore, we also consider the QSS within a quantum network. The influence of decoherence is analyzed by numerical calculation. The results demonstrate that the protocols are robust against cavity decay.
We propose a new approach to the implementation of quantum gates in which decoherence during the gate operations is strongly reduced. This is achieved by making use of an environment induced quantum Zeno effect that confines the dynamics effectively to a decoherence-free subspace.
The different methods of reducing decoherence in quantum devices are discussed from the unified point of view based on the energy conservation principle and the concept of forbidden transitions. Minimal decoherence model, "bang-bang" techniques, Zeno effect and decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems are studied as particular examples.
We demonstrate that repeated measurements in disordered systems can induce quantum anti-Zeno effect under certain condition to enhance quantum transport. The enhancement of energy transfer is really exhibited with a simple model under repeated measurements. The optimal measurement interval for the anti-Zeno effect and the maximal efficiency of energy transfer are specified in terms of the relevant physical parameters. Since the environment acts as frequent measurements on the system, the decoherence-induced energy transfer, which has been discussed recently for photosynthetic complexes, may be…
We study the dynamics of the populations of a model molecule endowed with two sets of rotational levels of different parity, whose ground levels are energy degenerate and coupled by a constant interaction. The relaxation rate from one set of levels to the other one has an interesting dependence on the average collision frequency of the molecules in the gas. This is interpreted as a quantum Zeno effect due to the decoherence effects provoked by the molecular collisions.
Protecting quantum states from the decohering effects of the environment is of great importance for the development of quantum computation devices and quantum simulators. Here, we introduce a continuous dynamical decoupling protocol that enables us to protect the entangling gate operation between two qubits from the environmental noise. We present a simple model that involves two qubits which interact with each other with a strength that depends on their mutual distance and generates the entanglement among them, as well as in contact with an environment. The nature of the environment, that is,…
We combine the collisional picture for open system dynamics and the control of the rate of decoherence provided by the quantum (anti-)Zeno effect to illustrate the temporal unfolding of the redundant encoding of information into a multipartite environment that is at the basis of Quantum Darwinism, and to control it. The rate at which such encoding occurs can be enhanced or suppressed by tuning the dynamical conditions of system-environment interaction in a suitable and remarkably simple manner. This would help the design of a new generation of quantum experiments addressing the elusive phenome…
We analytically derive a decoherence model for orbital angular momentum states of a photon in a multimode optical fiber and show that rate of decoherence scales exponentially with $l^2$, where $l$ is the azimuthal mode order.~We also show numerically that for large values of $l$ the orbital angular momentum photon state completely dephases.~However for lower values of $l$ the decoherence can be minimized by using dynamical decoupling to allow for qudit high-bandwidth quantum communication and similar applications. \end{abstract}
We consider an ensemble of atoms with $Λ$-type level structure trapped in a single-mode cavity, and propose a geometric scheme of coherent manipulation of quantum states on the subspace of zero-energy states within the quantum Zeno subspace of the system. We find that the particular subspace inherits the decoherence-free nature of the quantum Zeno subspace and features a symmetry-protected degeneracy, fulfilling all the conditions for a universal scheme of arbitrary unitary operations on it.
We present a scheme to implement a universal set of quantum gates based on achievable interactions, and the gates can be protected against decoherences through dynamical-decoupling approach without encoding. By properly designing system evolutions, the desired system interactions commute with the elements forming dynamical decoupling pulses. Thus, the effect of decoherences can be eliminated by repeatedly applying the pulses, without noticeably affecting the system evolutions governed by the desired system interactions given small enough time interval between pulses. Moreover, due to the commu…
In metrological tasks, employing entanglement can quantitatively improve the precision of parameter estimation. However, susceptibility of the entanglement to decoherence fades this capability in the realistic metrology and limits ultimate quantum improvement. One of the most destructive decoherence-type noise is uncorrelated Markovian noise which commutes with the parameter-encoding Hamiltonian and is modelled as a semigroup dynamics, for which the quantum improvement is constrained to a constant factor. It has been shown [Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{109}, 233601 (2012)] that when the noisy time…
We consider a qubit interacting with its environment and continuously monitored by a detector represented by a point contact. Bloch-type equations describing the entire system of the qubit, the environment and the detector are derived. Using these equations we evaluate the detector current and its noise spectrum in terms of the decoherence and relaxation rates of the qubit. Simple expressions are obtained that show how these quantities can be accurately measured. We demonstrate that due to interaction with the environment, the measurement can never localize a qubit even for infinite decoherenc…
We analyze the suppression of decoherence by means of dynamical decoupling in the pure-dephasing spin-boson model for baths with power law spectra. The sequence of ideal $π$ pulses is optimized according to the power of the bath. We expand the decoherence function and separate the cancelling divergences from the relevant terms. The proposed sequence is chosen to be the one minimizing the decoherence function. By construction, it provides the best performance. We analytically derive the conditions that must be satisfied. The resulting equations are solved numerically. The solutions are very clo…
The quantum Zeno effect arises due to frequent observation. That implies the existence of some experimenter and its interaction with the system. In this contribution, we examine what happens for a closed system if one considers a quantum Zeno type of question, namely: "what is the probability of a system, remaining always in a particular subspace". This has implications to the arrival time problem that is also discussed. We employ the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory, as this is the better developed formulation of closed system quantum mechanics, and in particular, dealing with …
A new mechanism is proposed for dissipatively preparing maximal Bell entangled state of two atoms in an optical cavity. This scheme integrates the spontaneous emission, the light shift of atoms in the presence of dispersive microwave field, and the quantum Zeno dynamics induced by continuous coupling, to obtain a unique steady state irrespective of initial state. Even for a large cavity decay, a high-fidelity entangled state is achievable at a short convergence time, since the occupation of cavity mode is inhibited by the Zeno requirement. Therefore, a low single-atom cooperativity $C=g^2/(κγ)…
Proposals for scalable quantum computing devices suffer not only from decoherence due to the interaction with their environment, but also from severe engineering constraints. Here we introduce a practical solution to these major concerns, addressing solid state proposals in particular. Decoherence is first reduced by encoding a logical qubit into two qubits, then completely eliminated by an efficient set of decoupling pulse sequences. The same encoding removes the need for single-qubit operations, that pose a difficult design constraint. We further show how the dominant decoherence processes c…
We study the performance of dynamical decoupling in suppressing decoherence caused by soft-cutoff Gaussian noise, using short-time expansion of the noise correlations and numerical optimization. For the noise with soft cutoff at high frequencies, there exists no dynamical decoupling scheme to eliminate the decoherence to arbitrary orders of the short time, regardless of the timing or pulse shaping of the control under the population conserving condition. We formulate the equations for optimizing pulse sequences that minimizes decoherence up to the highest possible order of the short time for t…
We theoretically study the decoherence and the dynamical decoupling control of nitrogen-vacancy center electron spins in high-purity diamond, where the hyperfine interaction with $^{13}$C nuclear spins is the dominating decoherence mechanism. The decoherence is formulated as the entanglement between the electron spin and the nuclear spins, which is induced by nuclear spin bath evolution conditioned on the electron spin state. The nuclear spin bath evolution is driven by elementary processes such as single spin precession and pairwise flip-flops. The importance of different elementary processes…
A recently developed theory for eliminating decoherence and design constraints in quantum computers, ``encoded recoupling and decoupling'', is shown to be fully compatible with a promising proposal for an architecture enabling scalable ion-trap quantum computation [D. Kielpinski et al., Nature 417, 709 (2002)]. Logical qubits are encoded into pairs of ions. Logic gates are implemented using the Sorensen-Molmer (SM) scheme applied to pairs of ions at a time. The encoding offers continuous protection against collective dephasing. Decoupling pulses, that are also implemented using the SM scheme d…
We consider inter-atomic forces due to resonant dipole-dipole interactions within a dimer of highly excited Rydberg atoms, embedded in an ultra-cold gas. These forces rely on a coherent superposition of two-atom electronic states, which is destroyed by continuous monitoring of the dimer state through a detection scheme utilizing controllable interactions with the background gas atoms. We show that this intrinsic decoherence of the molecular energy surface can gradually deteriorate a repulsive dimer state, causing a mixing of attractive and repulsive character. For sufficiently strong decoheren…
For finite-dimensional quantum systems, such as qubits, a well established strategy to protect such systems from decoherence is dynamical decoupling. However many promising quantum devices, such as oscillators, are infinite dimensional, for which the question if dynamical decoupling could be applied remained open. Here we first show that not every infinite-dimensional system can be protected from decoherence through dynamical decoupling. Then we develop dynamical decoupling for continuous variable systems which are described by quadratic Hamiltonians. We identify a condition and a set of opera…
I address the current status of dynamical decoupling techniques in terms of required control resources and feasibility. Based on recent advances in both improving the theoretical design and assessing the control performance for specific noise models, I argue that significant progress may still be possible on the road of implementing decoupling under realistic constraints.
We propose a novel interaction-free scheme for all-optical switching which does not rely on the physical coupling between signal and control waves. The interaction-free nature of the scheme allows it to overcome the fundamental photon-loss limit imposed by the signal-pump coupling. The same phenomenon protects photonic-signal states from decoherence, making devices based on this scheme suitable for quantum applications. Focusing on $χ^{(2)}$ waveguides, we provide device designs for traveling-wave and Fabry-Perot switches. In both designs, the performance is optimal when the signal switching i…
In the propagation of optical pulses through dispersive media, the frequency degree of freedom acts as an effective decohering environment on the polarization state of the pulse. Here we discuss the application of open-loop dynamical-decoupling techniques for suppressing such a polarization decoherence in one-way communication channels. We describe in detail the experimental proof of principle of the "bang-bang" protection technique recently applied to flying qubits in [Damodarakurup et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 040502]. Bang-bang operations are implemented through appropriately oriented wave…
Realizing useful quantum operations with high fidelity is a two-task quantum control problem wherein decoherence is to be suppressed and desired unitary evolution is to be executed. The dynamical decoupling (DD) approach to decoherence suppression has been fruitful but synthesizing DD fields with certain quantum control fields may be experimentally demanding. In the context of spin squeezing, here we explore an unforeseen possibility that continuous DD fields may serve dual purposes at once. In particular, it is shown that a rather simple configuration of DD fields can suppress collective deco…
