Decoherence and Measurement in Open Quantum Systems

We review results of a recently developed model of a microscopic quantum system interacting with the macroscopic world components which are modeled by collections of bosonic modes. The interaction is via a general operator $\Lambda$ of the system, coupled to the creation and annihilation operators of the environment modes. We assume that in the process of a nearly instantaneous quantum measurement, the function of the environment involves two distinct parts: the pointer and the bath. Interaction of the system with the bath leads to decoherence such that the system and the pointer both evolve into a statistical mixture state described by the density matrix such that the system is in one of the eigenstates of $\Lambda$ with the correct quantum mechanical probability, whereas the expectation values of pointer operators retain amplified information on that eigenstate. We argue that this process represents the initial step of a quantum measurement. Calculation of the elements of the reduced density matrix of the system and pointer is carried out exactly, and time dependence of decoherence is identified. We discuss general implications of our model of energy-conserving coupling to a heat bath for processes of adiabatic quantum decoherence. We also evaluate changes in the expectation values of certain pointer operators and suggest that these can be interpreted as macroscopic indicators of the measurement outcome.Comment: 12 pages in LaTeX, requires the spie.sty style fil

A Hamiltonian for quantum copying

We derive an explicit Hamiltonian for copying the basis up and down states of a quantum two-state system - a qubit - onto n "copy" qubits initially all prepared in the down state. In terms of spin components, for spin-1/2 particle spin states, the resulting Hamiltonian involves n- and (n+1)-spin interactions. The case n=1 also corresponds to a quantum-computing controlled-NOT gate.Comment: 16 pages in plain Te

Design of gates for quantum computation: the NOT gate

We offer an alternative to the conventional network formulation of quantum computing. We advance the analog approach to quantum logic gate/circuit construction. As an illustration, we consider the spatially extended NOT gate as the first step in the development of this approach. We derive an explicit form of the interaction Hamiltonian corresponding to this gate and analyze its properties. We also discuss general extensions to the case of certain time-dependent interactions which may be useful for practical realization of quantum logic gates.Comment: 9 pages in LaTe

Semiconductor quantum computer design with 100 nm separation of nuclear-spin qubits

We combine elements of the 1998 quantum computing proposals by Privman, Vagner and Kventsel, and by Kane, with the new idea of nuclear-spin qubit interactions mediated indirectly via the bound outer electrons of impurity atoms whose nuclear spins 1/2 are the qubits. These electrons, in turn, interact via the two-dimensional electron gas in the quantum Hall effect regime. The resulting quantum computing scheme retains all the gate-control and measurement aspects of the proposal by Kane, but allows qubit spacing at distances of order 100 nm, attainable with the present-day semiconductor-heterostructure device technologies.Comment: 3 pages in PD

Extended Quantum XOR Gate in Terms of Two-Spin Interactions

Considerations of feasibility of quantum computing lead to the study of multispin quantum gates in which the input and output two-state systems (spins) are not identical. We provide a general discussion of this approach and then propose an explicit two-spin interaction Hamiltonian which accomplishes the quantum XOR gate function for a system of three spins: two input and one output.Comment: 15 pages in plain TeX with 1 Postscript figur

Measurement of a Quantum System Coupled to Independent Heat-Bath and Pointer Modes

We present an exact derivation of a process in which a microscopic measured system interacts with heat-bath and pointer modes of a measuring device, via a coupling involving a general Hermitian operator $\Lambda$ of the system. In the limit of strong interaction with these modes, over a small time interval, we derive the exact effective many-body density matrix of the measured system plus pointer. We then discuss the interpretation of the dynamics considered as the first stage in the process of quantum measurement, eventually involving the wave-function collapse due to interactions with "the rest of the universe." We establish that the effective density matrix represents the required framework for the measured system and the pointer part of the measuring device to evolve into a statistical mixture described by direct-product states such that the system is in each eigenstate of $\Lambda$ with the correct quantum-mechanical probability, whereas the expectation values of pointer-space operators retain amplified information of the system's eigenstate.Comment: 19 pages in plain Te

Relaxation of Shallow Donor Electron Spin due to Interaction with Nuclear Spin Bath

We study the low-temperature dynamics of a shallow donor, e.g., $^{31}$P, impurity electron spin in silicon, interacting with the bath of nuclear spins of the $^{29}$Si isotope. For small applied magnetic fields, the electron spin relaxation is controlled by the steady state distribution of the nuclear spins. We calculate the relaxation times $T_1$ and $T_2$ as functions of the external magnetic field, and conclude that nuclear spins play an important role in the donor electron spin decoherence in Si:P at low magnetic fields.Comment: 12 pages in PD