Quantum Bayesian approach to circuit QED measurement with moderate bandwidth

We consider continuous quantum measurement of a superconducting qubit in the circuit QED setup with a moderate bandwidth of the measurement resonator, i.e., when the "bad cavity" limit is not applicable. The goal is a simple description of the quantum evolution due to measurement, i.e., the measurement back-action. Extending the quantum Bayesian approach previously developed for the "bad cavity" regime, we show that the evolution equations remain the same, but now they should be applied to the entangled qubit-resonator state, instead of the qubit state alone. The derivation uses only elementary quantum mechanics and basic properties of coherent states, thus being accessible to non-experts.Comment: 26 page

Quantum Bayesian approach to circuit QED measurement

We present a simple formalism describing evolution of a qubit in the process of its measurement in a circuit QED setup. When a phase-sensitive amplifier is used, the evolution depends on only one output quadrature, and the formalism is the same as for a broadband setup. When a phase-preserving amplifier is used, the qubit evolution depends on two output quadratures. In both cases a perfect monitoring of the qubit state and therefore a perfect quantum feedback is possible.Comment: 11 pages; Contribution to Proceedings of Les Houches summer school "Quantum Machines" (2011

Density matrix purification due to continuous quantum measurement

We consider the continuous quantum measurement of a two-level system, for example, a single-Cooper-pair box measured by a single-electron transistor or a double-quantum dot measured by a quantum point contact. While the approach most commonly used describes the gradual decoherence of the system due to the measurement, we show that when taking into account the detector output, we get the opposite effect: gradual purification of the density matrix. The competition between purification due to measurement and decoherence due to interaction with the environment can be described by a simple Langevin equation which couples the random evolution of the system density matrix and the stochastic detector output. The gradual density matrix purification due to continuous measurement may be verified experimentally using present-day technology. The effect can be useful for quantum computing.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure; submitted to LT'2

Error matrices in quantum process tomography

We discuss characterization of experimental quantum gates by the error matrix, which is similar to the standard process matrix $\chi$ in the Pauli basis, except the desired unitary operation is factored out, by formally placing it either before or after the error process. The error matrix has only one large element, which is equal to the process fidelity, while other elements are small and indicate imperfections. The imaginary parts of the elements along the left column and/or top row directly indicate the unitary imperfection and can be used to find the needed correction. We discuss a relatively simple way to calculate the error matrix for a composition of quantum gates. Similarly, it is rather straightforward to find the first-order contribution to the error matrix due to the Lindblad-form decoherence. We also discuss a way to identify and subtract the tomography procedure errors due to imperfect state preparation and measurement. In appendices we consider several simple examples of the process tomography and also discuss an intuitive physical interpretation of the Lindblad-form decoherence.Comment: 21 pages (slightly revised version

Continuous quantum measurement with observer: pure wavefunction evolution instead of decoherence

We consider a continuous measurement of a two-level system (double-dot) by weakly coupled detector (tunnel point contact nearby). While usual treatment leads to the gradual system decoherence due to the measurement, we show that the knowledge of the measurement result can restore the pure wavefunction at any time (this can be experimentally verified). The formalism allows to write a simple Langevin equation for the random evolution of the system density matrix which is reflected and caused by the stochastic detector output. Gradual wavefunction ``collapse'' and quantum Zeno effect are naturally described by the equation.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Continuous quantum measurement with particular output: pure wavefunction evolution instead of decoherence

We consider a continuous measurement of a two-level system (double-dot) by weakly coupled detector (tunnel point contact nearby). While usual treatment leads to the gradual system decoherence due to the measurement, we show that the knowledge of the measurement result can restore the pure wavefunction at any time (this can be experimentally verified). The formalism allows to write a simple Langevin equation for the random evolution of the system density matrix which is reflected and caused by the stochastic detector output. Gradual wavefunction ``collapse'' and quantum Zeno effect are naturally described by the equation.Comment: short version of quant-ph/9807051 (4 pages, 2 figures

Quasi-Langevin method for shot noise calculation in single-electron tunneling

It is shown that quasi-Langevin method can be used for the calculation of the shot noise in correlated single-electron tunneling. We generalize the existing Fokker-Plank-type approach and show its equivalence to quasi-Langevin approach. The advantage of the quasi-Langevin method is a natural possibility to describe simultaneously the high (``quantum'') frequency range.Comment: 13 pages (RevTeX), 1 figur