Quantum Trajectories

This is a rapidly developing field to which the author is a leading contributor New methods in quantum dynamics and computational techniques, with applications to interesting physical problems, are brought together in this book Useful to both students and researchers

This course-based monograph introduces the reader to the theory of continuous measurements in quantum mechanics and provides some benchmark applications. The approach chosen, quantum trajectory theory, is based on the stochastic Schrödinger and master equations, which determine the evolution of the a-posteriori state of a continuously observed quantum system and give the distribution of the measurement output. The present introduction is restricted to finite-dimensional quantum systems and diffusive outputs. Two appendices introduce the tools of probability theory and quantum measurement theory which are needed for the theoretical developments in the first part of the book. First, the basic equations of quantum trajectory theory are introduced, with all their mathematical properties, starting from the existence and uniqueness of their solutions. This makes the text also suitable for other applications of the same stochastic differential equations in different fields such as simulations of master equations or dynamical reduction theories. In the next step the equivalence between the stochastic approach and the theory of continuous measurements is demonstrated. To conclude the theoretical exposition, the properties of the output of the continuous measurement are analyzed in detail. This is a stochastic process with its own distribution, and the reader will learn how to compute physical quantities such as its moments and its spectrum. In particular this last concept is introduced with clear and explicit reference to the measurement process. The two-level atom is used as the basic prototype to illustrate the theory in a concrete application. Quantum phenomena appearing in the spectrum of the fluorescence light, such as Mollow’s triplet structure, squeezing of the fluorescence light, and the linewidth narrowing, are presented. Last but not least, the theory of quantum continuous measurements is the natural starting point to develop a feedback control theory in continuous time for quantum systems. The two-level atom is again used to introduce and study an example of feedback based on the observed output.

The application of quantum mechanics to many-particle systems has been an active area of research in recent years as researchers have looked for ways to tackle difficult problems in this area. The quantum trajectory method provides an efficient computational technique for solving both stationary and time-evolving states, encompassing a large area of quantum mechanics. Quantum Trajectories brings the expertise of an international panel of experts who focus on the epistemological significance of quantum mechanics through the quantum theory of motion. Emphasizing a classical interpretation of quantum mechanics as developed by de Bröglie and Bohm, this volume: Introduces the concept of the quantum theory of motion Explains the connection with conventional quantum mechanics Presents various numerical techniques generated from the Bohmian approach Describes the epistemological significance of quantum trajectories Provides an authoritative account of the foundations of quantum mechanics vis-à-vis that of the Bohmian mechanics The popularity of using the quantum trajectory as a computational tool has exploded over the last decade, finally bringing this methodology to the level of practical applications. Many of the experts in the field who have either developed the methodology or have improved upon it have contributed chapters to this volume, making it a state-of-the-art expression of the field as it exists today and providing insight into the future of this technology.

Quantum trajectory theory is largely employed in theoretical quantum optics and quantum open system theory and is closely related to the conceptual formalism of quantum mechanics (quantum measurement theory). However, even research articles show that not all the features of the theory are well known or completely exploited. We wrote this monograph mainly for researchers in theoretical quantum optics and related ?elds with the aim of giving a self-contained and solid p- sentation of a part of quantum trajectory theory (the diffusive case) together with some signi?cant applications (mainly with purposes of illustration of the theory, but which in part have been recently developed). Another aim of the monograph is to introduce to this subject post-graduate or PhD students. To help them, in the most mathematical and conceptual chapters, summaries are given to ?x ideas. Moreover, as stochastic calculus is usually not in the background of the studies in physics, we added Appendix A to introduce these concepts. The book is written also for ma- ematicians with interests in quantum theories. Quantum trajectory theory is a piece of modern theoretical physics which needs an interplay of various mathematical subjects, such as functional analysis and probability theory (stochastic calculus), and offers to mathematicians a beautiful ?eld for applications, giving suggestions for new mathematical developments.

Trajectory-based formalisms are an intuitively appealing way of describing quantum processes because they allow the use of "classical" concepts. Beginning as an introductory level suitable for students, this two-volume monograph presents (1) the fundamentals and (2) the applications of the trajectory description of basic quantum processes. This second volume is focussed on simple and basic applications of quantum processes such as interference and diffraction of wave packets, tunneling, diffusion and bound-state and scattering problems. The corresponding analysis is carried out within the Bohmian framework. By stressing its interpretational aspects, the book leads the reader to an alternative and complementary way to better understand the underlying quantum dynamics.

This second volume of Howard Carmichael’s work continues the development of the methods used in quantum optics to treat open quantum systems and their fluctuations. Its early chapters build upon the phase-space methods introduced in Volume 1. Written on a level suitable for debut researchers or students in an advanced course in quantum optics, or a course in quantum mechanics or statistical physics that deals with open quantum systems.

This new edition gives a unique and broad coverage of basic laser-related phenomena that allow graduate students, scientists and engineers to carry out research in quantum optics and laser physics. It covers quantization of the electromagnetic field, quantum theory of coherence, atom-field interaction models, resonance fluorescence, quantum theory of damping, laser theory using both the master equation and the Langevin theory, the correlated emission laser, input-output theory with applications to non-linear optics, quantum trajectories, quantum non-demolition measurements and generation of non-classical vibrational states of ions in a Paul trap. In this third edition, there is an enlarged chapter on trapped ions, as well as new sections on quantum computing and quantum bits with applications. There is also additional material included for quantum processing and entanglement. These topics are presented in a unified and didactic manner, each chapter is accompanied by specific problems and hints to solutions to deepen the knowledge.

The contributions to this volume are based on selected lectures from the first international workshop on decoherence, information, complexity and entropy (DICE). The aim of this volume is to reflect the growing importance ot common concepts behind seemingly different fields such as quantum mechanics, general relativity and statistical physics in a form accessible to nonspecialist researchers. Many presentations include original results which published here for the first time.