In this thesis we study continuously observed open quantum systems from the point of view of quantum filtering theory. The conditioned state of the open system obeys a non-commutative or quantum analogue of the Kushner-Stratonovich equation in classical filtering theory. The thesis consists out of four chapters. The first chapter is a brief introduction to quantum probability theory and quantum stochastic calculus. The second chapter is a description of a photon counting experiment in continuous time within the framework of Davies and Srinivas. The third chapter focusses on the derivation of the quantum filtering or Belavkin equation from the quantum stochastic differential equation governing the interaction between the open system and its environment, the electromagnetic field. The fourth chapter shows how the quantum filtering equation can be used to control quantum systems.
We propose and experimentally demonstrate non-destructive and noiseless removal (filtering) of vacuum states from an arbitrary set of coherent states of continuous variable systems. Errors i.e. vacuum states in the quantum information are diagnosed through a weak measurement, and on that basis, probabilistically filtered out. We consider three different filters based on on/off detection phase stabilized and phase randomized homodyne detection. We find that on/off etection, optimal in the ideal theoretical setting, is superior to the homodyne strategy in a practical setting.
Erasing quantum-mechanical distinguishability is of fundamental interest and also of practical importance, particularly in subject areas related to quantum information processing. We demonstrate a method applicable to optical systems in which single-mode filtering is used with only linear optical instruments to achieve quantum indistinguishability. Through "heralded" Hong-Ou-Mandel interference experiments we measure and quantify the improvement of indistinguishability between single photons generated via spontaneous four-wave mixing in optical fibers. The experimental results are in excellent…
Time-frequency (TF) filtering of analog signals has played a crucial role in the development of radio-frequency communications, and is currently being recognized as an essential capability for communications, both classical and quantum, in the optical frequency domain. How best to design optical time-frequency (TF) filters to pass a targeted temporal mode (TM), and to reject background (noise) photons in the TF detection window? The solution for coherent TF filtering is known, the quantum pulse gate, whereas the conventional, more common method is implemented by a sequence of incoherent spectr…
We demonstrate atomic filtering of frequency-degenerate photon pairs from a sub-threshold optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The filter, a modified Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF), achieves 70% peak transmission simultaneous with 57 dB out-of-band rejection and a 445 MHz transmission bandwidth. When applied to the OPO output, only the degenerate mode, containing one-mode squeezed vacuum, falls in the filter pass-band; all other modes are strongly suppressed. The high transmission preserves non-classical continuous-variable features, e.g. squeezing or non-gaussianity, whil…
We report on a back-action evading (BAE) measurement of the photon number of fiber optical solitons operating in the quantum regime. We employ a novel detection scheme based on spectral filtering of colliding optical solitons. The measurements of the BAE criteria demonstrate significant quantum state preparation and transfer of the input signal to the signal and probe outputs exiting the apparatus, displaying the quantum-nondemolition (QND) behavior of the experiment.
We discuss an efficient numerical scheme for the recursive filtering of diffusive quantum stochastic master equations. We show that the resultant quantum trajectory is robust and may be used for feedback based on inefficient measurements. The proposed numerical scheme is amenable to approximation, which can be used to further reduce the computational burden associated with calculating quantum trajectories and may allow real-time quantum filtering. We provide a two-qubit example where feedback control of entanglement may be within the scope of current experimental systems.
Quantum mechanical systems exhibit an inherently probabilistic nature upon measurement. Using a quantum noise model to describe the stochastic evolution of the open quantum system and working in parallel with classical indeterministic control theory, we present the theory of nonlinear optimal quantum feedback control. The resulting quantum Bellman equation is then applied to the explicitly solvable quantum linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) problem which emphasizes many similarities with the corresponding classical control problem.
The minimum time a system needs to change from an initial state to a final orthogonal state is called quantum speed limit time. Quantum speed limit time can be used to quantify the speed of the quantum evolution. The speed of the quantum evolution will increase, if the quantum speed limit time decreases. In this work we will use relative purity based bound for quantum speed limit time. It is applicable for any arbitrary initial state. Here, we investigate the effects of filtering operation on quantum speed limit time. It will be observed that for some intervals of filtering operation parameter…
We present a general transfer-function approach to noise filtering in open-loop Hamiltonian engineering protocols for open quantum systems. We show how to identify a computationally tractable set of fundamental filter functions, out of which arbitrary transfer filter functions may be assembled up to arbitrary high order in principle. Besides avoiding the infinite recursive hierarchy of filter functions that arises in general control scenarios, this fundamental filter-functions set suffices to characterize the error suppression capabilities of the control protocol in both the time and frequency…
We propose a probabilistic quantum algorithm that decides whether a monochrome picture matches a given template (or one out of a set of templates). As a major advantage to classical pattern recognition, the algorithm just requires a few incident photons and is thus suitable for very sensitive pictures (similar to the Elitzur-Vaidman problem). Furthermore, for a $2^{n}\times 2^{m}$ image, $\ord(n+m)$ qubits are sufficient. Using the quantum Fourier transform, it is possible to improve the fault tolerance of the quantum algorithm by filtering out small-scale noise in the picture. For example ima…
A Markovian model for a quantum automata, i.e. an open quantum dynamical discrete-time system with input and output channels and a feedback, is described. A dynamical theory of quantum discrete-time adaptive measurements and multi-stage quantum statistical decisions is developed and applied to the optimal feedback control problem for the quantum dynamical objects. Quantum analogies of Stratonovich non-stationary filtering, and Bellman quantum dynamical programming in the discrete time are derived. A Gaussian Langevin model of the quantum one-dimensional linear Markovian dynamical system matche…
We introduce a quantum control protocol that produces smooth, experimentally implementable control sequences optimized to combat temporally correlated noise for single qubit systems. The control ansatz is specifically chosen to be a functional expansion of discrete prolate spheroidal sequences, a discrete time basis known to be optimally concentrated in time and frequency, and quite attractive when faced with experimental control hardware constraints. We leverage the filter function formalism to transform the control problem into a filter design problem, and show that the frequency response of…
Feedback control protocols can stabilize and enhance the operation of quantum devices, however, unavoidable delays in the feedback loop adversely affect their performance. We introduce a quantum control methodology, combining open-loop control with quantum filtering, which is not constrained by feedback delays. For the problems studied (rapid purification and rapid measurement) we analytically derive lower bounds on the control performance that are comparable with the best corresponding bounds for feedback protocols.
We experimentally investigate the mode characteristics of multimode radiation fields propagating through frequency dependent Gaussian channels. After manipulating the twin beams emitted from a conventional parametric down-conversion source via spectral filtering, we study the changes in their mode characteristics, utilizing the joint normalized correlation functions. While filtering reduces the number of spectral modes, it also leads to an apparent mode mismatch, which destroys the perfect photon-number correlation between the twin beams, and influences the mode properties of heralded states.
We reveal the potentially important role of a general mechanism that has hitherto not been invoked in quantum heat management schemes, namely, spectral filtering of the coupling between the heat baths in the setup and the quantum system that controls the heat flow. Such filtering is enabled by interfaces between the system and the baths by means of harmonic-oscillator modes whose resonant frequencies and coupling strengths are used as control parameters of the system-bath coupling spectra. We show that this uniquely quantum-electrodynamic mechanism, here dubbed bath spectral filtering, boosts …
Rodeo Filtering for Direct Steady-State Estimation in Open Quantum Systems
Seoul National University（首尔大学）；Pusan National University（釜山国立大学）；University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign（伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校）；Kyung Hee University（庆熙大学）
We consider coherent feedback control of quantum transport and focus on the application of simple controllers and the effects of a finite bias voltage. We show that simple single-parameter controllers can give rise to a range of useful effects such as amplification of changes in plant transmission, increased resolution of energy filtration, and the detection of differences between otherwise indistinguishable plants. We explore how these effects are impacted by the phase-averaging effects associated with the application of a finite bias and identify important voltage scales for the maintenance …
We exploit the separation of the filtering and control aspects of quantum feedback control to consider the optimal control as a classical stochastic problem on the space of quantum states. We derive the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations using the elementary arguments of classical control theory and show that this is equivalent, in the Stratonovich calculus, to a stochastic Hamilton-Pontryagin setup. We show that, for cost functionals that are linear in the state, the theory yields the traditional Bellman equations treated so far in quantum feedback.
The following notes are based on lectures delivered at the research school Modeling and Control of Open Quantum Systems (Modélisation et contrôle des systèmes quantiques ouverts) at CIRM, Marseille, 16-20 April, 2018, as part of the Trimester \textit{Measurement and Control of Quantum Systems: Theory and Experiments} organized at Institut Henri Poincaré, Paris, France. The aim is to introduce quantum filtering to an audience with a background in either quantum theory or classical filtering.
Narrow-band filtering of light is widely used in optical spectroscopy. Atomic filters, which rely on the Faraday effect, allow for GHz-wide transmission spectra, which are intrinsically matched to an atomic transition. We present an experimental realization and a theoretical study of a Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filter (FADOF) based on cesium and its D$_1$-line-transition ($6^2S_{1/2}\rightarrow6^2P_{1/2}$) around 894nm. We also present the prospects and visions for combining this filter with the single photon emission of a single quantum dot (QD), which matches with the atomic trans…
We design two simple quantum devices applicable as an adjustable quantum spectral filter and as a flux controller. Their function is based upon the threshold resonance in a Fülöp-Tsutsui type star graph with an external potential added on one of the lines. Adjustment of the potential strength directly controls the quantum flow from the input to the output line. This is the first example to date in which the quantum flow control is achieved by addition of an external field not on the channel itself, but on other lines connected to the channel at a vertex.
The engineering and control of devices at the quantum-mechanical level--such as those consisting of small numbers of atoms and photons--is a delicate business. The fundamental uncertainty that is inherently present at this scale manifests itself in the unavoidable presence of noise, making this a novel field of application for stochastic estimation and control theory. In this expository paper we demonstrate estimation and feedback control of quantum mechanical systems in what is essentially a noncommutative version of the binomial model that is popular in mathematical finance. The model is ext…
Despite quantum networking concepts, designs, and hardware becoming increasingly mature, there is no consensus on the optimal wavelength for free-space systems. We present an in-depth analysis of a daytime free-space quantum channel as a function of wavelength and atmospheric spatial coherence (Fried coherence length). We choose decoy-state quantum key distribution bit yield as a performance metric in order to reveal the ideal wavelength choice for an actual qubit-based protocol under realistic atmospheric conditions. Our analysis represents a rigorous framework to analyze requirements for spa…
This paper provides an introduction to quantum filtering theory. An introduction to quantum probability theory is given, focusing on the spectral theorem and the conditional expectation as a least squares estimate, and culminating in the construction of Wiener and Poisson processes on the Fock space. We describe the quantum Itô calculus and its use in the modelling of physical systems. We use both reference probability and innovations methods to obtain quantum filtering equations for system-probe models from quantum optics.
We study the scattering in a quantum star graph with a Fülöp--Tsutsui coupling in its vertex and with external potentials on the lines. We find certain special couplings for which the probability of the transmission between two given lines of the graph is strongly influenced by the potential applied on another line. On the basis of this phenomenon we design a tunable quantum band-pass spectral filter. The transmission from the input to the output line is governed by a potential added on the controlling line. The strength of the potential directly determines the passband position, which allows …
