Muong — 2 measurements and non-commutative geometry of quantum beams

We discuss a completely quantum mechanical treatment of the measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon. A beam of muons move in a strong uniform magnetic field and a weak focusing electrostatic field. Errors in the classical beam analysis are exposed. In the Dirac quantum beam analysis, an important role is played by non-commutative muon beam coordinates leading to a discrepancy between the classical and quantum theories. We obtain a quantum limit to the accuracy achievable in BNL type experiments. Some implications of the quantum corrected data analysis for supersymmetry are briefly mentioned.     

Quantum theory of continuous measurements and its applications in quantum optics

We present an overview of the quantum theory of continuous measurements and discuss some of its important applications in quantum optics. Quantum theory of continuous measurements is the appropriate generalization of the conventional formulation of quantum theory, which is adequate to deal with counting experiments where a detector monitors a system continuously over an interval of time and records the times of occurrence of a given type of event, such as the emission or arrival of a particle. We first discuss the classical theory of counting processes and indicate how one arrives at the celebrated photon counting formula of Mandel for classical optical fields. We then discuss the inadequacies of the so called quantum Mandel formula. We explain how the unphysical results that arise from the quantum Mandel formula are due to the fact that the formula is obtained on the basis of an erroneous identification of the coincidence probability densities associated with a continuous measurement situation. We then summarize the basic framework of the quantum theory of continuous measurements as developed by Davies. We explain how a complete characterization of the counting process can be achieved by specifying merely the measurement transformation associated with the change in the state of the system when a single event is observed in an infinitesimal interval of time. In order to illustrate the applications of the quantum theory of continuoius measurements in quantum optics, we first derive the photon counting probabilities of a single-mode free field and also of a single-mode field in interaction with an external source. We then discuss the general quantum counting formula of Chmara for a multi-mode electromagnetic field coupled to an external source. We explain how the Chmara counting formula is indeed the appropriate quantum generalization of the classical Mandel formula. To illustrate the fact that the quantum theory of continuous measurements has other diverse applications in quantum optics, besides the theory of photodetection, we summarize the theory of ‘quantum jumps’ developed by Zoller, Marte and Walls and Barchielli, where the continuous measurements framework is employed to evaluate the statistics of photon emission events in the resonance fluorescence of an atomic system.     

Quantum theory of the Hall effect

We discuss a model of both the classical and the integer quantum Hall effect which is based on a semiclassical Schrödinger-Chern-Simons action, where the Ohm equations result as equations of motion. The quantization of the classical Chern-Simons part of action under typical quantum Hall conditions results in the quantized Hall conductivity. We show further that the classical Hall effect is described by a theory which arises as the classical limit of a theory of the quantum Hall effect. The model also explains the preference and the domain of the edge currents on the boundary of samples.     

Quantum Physics and Classical Physics—In the Light of Quantum Logic

In contrast to the Copenhagen interpretation we consider quantum mechanics as universally valid and query whether classical physics is really intuitive and plausible. We discuss these problems within the quantum logic approach to quantum mechanics where the classical ontology is relaxed by reducing metaphysical hypotheses. On the basis of this weak ontology a formal logic of quantum physics can be established which is given by an orthomodular lattice. By means of the Solèr condition and Piron's result one obtains the classical Hilbert spaces. However, this approach is not fully convincing. There is no plausible justification of Solèr's law and the quantum ontology is partly too weak and partly too strong. We propose to replace this ontology by an ontology of unsharp properties and conclude that quantum mechanics is more intuitive than classical mechanics and that classical mechanics is not the macroscopic limit of quantum mechanics.     

Phase space representation of quantum dynamics

We discuss a phase space representation of quantum dynamics of systems with many degrees of freedom. This representation is based on a perturbative expansion in quantum fluctuations around one of the classical limits. We explicitly analyze expansions around three such limits: (i) corpuscular or Newtonian limit in the coordinate-momentum representation, (ii) wave or Gross-Pitaevskii limit for interacting bosons in the coherent state representation, and (iii) Bloch limit for the spin systems. We discuss both the semiclassical (truncated Wigner) approximation and further quantum corrections appearing in the form of either stochastic quantum jumps along the classical trajectories or the nonlinear response to such jumps. We also discuss how quantum jumps naturally emerge in the analysis of non-equal time correlation functions. This representation of quantum dynamics is closely related to the phase space methods based on the Wigner-Weyl quantization and to the Keldysh technique. We show how such concepts as the Wigner function, Weyl symbol, Moyal product, Bopp operators, and others automatically emerge from the Feynmann's path integral representation of the evolution in the Heisenberg representation. We illustrate the applicability of this expansion with various examples mostly in the context of cold atom systems including sine-Gordon model, one- and two-dimensional Bose-Hubbard model, Dicke model and others.     

Environmental recording of the angular momentum in quantum mechanics

We discuss the coupling of a quantum system through the angular momentum to the reservoir of quantum harmonic oscillators. In classical mechanics an observation of the oscillator trajectories allows one to determine the system's angular momentum. We discuss the quantum dynamics of the model. We show that the model of an observation of environmental coordinates can be related to some models of angular momentum measurement based on a stochastic Schrödinger equation.     

Transition Effect Matrices and Quantum Markov Chains

A transition effect matrix (TEM) is a quantum generalization of a classical stochastic matrix. By employing a TEM we obtain a quantum generalization of a classical Markov chain. We first discuss state and operator dynamics for a quantum Markov chain. We then consider various types of TEMs and vector states. In particular, we study invariant, equilibrium and singular vector states and investigate projective, bistochastic, invertible and unitary TEMs.     

Overview of phases and phase transitions

We provide an overview of some modern developments in the theory of phases and phase transitions in classical and quantum systems. We show the link between non-ergodicity and fidelity in quantum systems and discuss topological phase transitions. We show that the quantum phase transitions are associated with qualitative changes in some properties of the quantum wavefunctions across the phase transition. We discuss the topological phase transition associated with p-wave superconductor since it is a topic of wide interest because of the possible observation of Majorana fermions.     

Long-Time Tails, Weak Localization, and Classical and Quantum Critical Behavior

An overview is given of the long-time and long-distance behavior of correlation functions in both classical and quantum statistical mechanics. After a simple derivation of the classical long-time tails in equilibrium time correlation functions, we discuss analogous long-distance phenomena in nonequilibrium classical systems. The paper then draws analogies between these phenomena and similar effects in quantum statistical mechanics, with emphasis on the soft modes that underly long-time tails and related phenomena. We also elucidate the interplay between critical phenomena and long-time tails, using the classical liquid-gas critical point and the quantum ferromagnetic transition as examples.     

Universally programmable quantum cellular automaton

We discuss the role of classical control in the context of reversible quantum cellular automata. Employing the structure theorem for quantum cellular automata, we give a general construction scheme to turn an arbitrary cellular automaton with external classical control into an autonomous one, thereby proving the computational equivalence of these two models. We use this technique to construct a universally programmable cellular automaton on a one-dimensional lattice with single cell dimension 12.     

Remote state preparation

Quantum teleportation uses prior entanglement and forward classical communication to transmit one instance of an unknown quantum state. Remote state preparation (RSP) has the same goal, but the sender knows classically what state is to be transmitted. We show that the asymptotic classical communication cost of RSP is one bit per qubit--half that of teleportation--and even less when transmitting part of a known entangled state. We explore the tradeoff between entanglement and classical communication required for RSP, and discuss RSP capacities of general quantum channels.     

Two-photon spectral coherence matrix and characterization of multi-parameter entangled states

In this Letter we discuss how the classical coherence matrix can be generalized to describe the quantum properties of broadband two-photon entangled states. Procedures for experimental evaluation of two-photon matrix elements have been outlined. We illustrate how this formalism can be used for characterization of multi-parameter optical entanglement and discuss its possible applications in quantum optical measurement and quantum coherent control.     

Classical and quantum self amplified spontaneous emission in a high gain free electron laser

We describe the quantum theory and the photon statistics of self amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) in a high gain free electron laser (FEL) using Glauber's quantum theory of coherence. We generalize a previous theory by taking into account many-mode effects and the initiation process resulting from classical shot noise, quantum noise, an injected coherent field and coherent bunching. In particular, we define the concept of quantum SASE which is appropriate when the initial quantum fluctuations dominate over the classical shot noise. We also discuss the conditions for the observation. Quantum SASE is a new quantum phenomenon in which the single electron uncertainty fluctuations of the conjugate variables position and momentum produce exponential amplification of the vacuum field.     

Exploring classically chaotic potentials with a matter wave quantum probe

We study an experimental setup in which a quantum probe, provided by a quasimonomode guided atom laser, interacts with a static localized attractive potential whose characteristic parameters are tunable. In this system, classical mechanics predicts a transition from regular to chaotic behavior as a result of the coupling between the different degrees of freedom. Our experimental results display a clear signature of this transition. On the basis of extensive numerical simulations, we discuss the quantum versus classical physics predictions in this context. This system opens new possibilities for investigating quantum scattering, provides a new testing ground for classical and quantum chaos, and enables us to revisit the quantum-classical correspondence.     

The noncommutative values of quantum observables

We discuss the notion of representing the values of physical quantities by the real numbers, and its limits to describe the nature to be understood in the relation to our appreciation that the quantum theory is a better theory of natural phenomena than its classical analog. Getting from the algebra of physical observables to their values for a fixed state is, at least for classical physics, really a homomorphic map from the algebra into the real number algebra. The limitation of the latter to represent the values of quantum observables with noncommutative algebraic relation is obvious. We introduce and discuss the idea of the noncommutative values of quantum observables and its feasibility, arguing that at least in terms of the representation of such a value as an infinite set of complex numbers, the idea makes reasonable sense theoretically as well as practically.     

Experimental study of a Back Action Evading device for continuos measurements on a macroscopic harmonic oscillator at the quantum limit level

The Back Action Evading technique is a particular kind of quantum non demolition measurement, first proposed by Caves et al. in 1980 [3]. We present an experimental study to implement the Back Action Evading measurement scheme in monitoring the amplitude of an harmonic oscillator excited by a classical force. Results showing the agreement of our theoretical model with the experimental behaviour of our apparatus in the classical regime are presented. We discuss also the optimization of the performance of our set-up, which should allow to monitor our oscillator in quantum regime even below the standard quantum limit level. Received: 22 March 1996     

On Defining the Hamiltonian Beyond Quantum Theory

Energy is a crucial concept within classical and quantum physics. An essential tool to quantify energy is the Hamiltonian. Here, we consider how to define a Hamiltonian in general probabilistic theories—a framework in which quantum theory is a special case. We list desiderata which the definition should meet. For 3-dimensional systems, we provide a fully-defined recipe which satisfies these desiderata. We discuss the higher dimensional case where some freedom of choice is left remaining. We apply the definition to example toy theories, and discuss how the quantum notion of time evolution as a phase between energy eigenstates generalises to other theories.