We report the first observation of the Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno effects in an unstable system. Cold sodium atoms are trapped in a far-detuned standing wave of light that is accelerated for a controlled duration. For a large acceleration the atoms can escape the trapping potential via tunneling. Initially the number of trapped atoms shows strong non-exponential decay features, evolving into the characteristic exponential decay behavior. We repeatedly measure the number of atoms remaining trapped during the initial period of non-exponential decay. Depending on the frequency of measurements we observe a decay that is suppressed or enhanced as compared to the unperturbed system.
The decay of any unstable quantum state can be inhibited or enhanced by carefully tailored measurements, known as the quantum Zeno effect (QZE) or anti-Zeno effect (QAZE). To date, studies of QZE (QAZE) transitions have since expanded to various system-environment coupling, in which the time evolution can be suppressed (enhanced) not only by projective measurement but also through dissipation processes. However, a general criterion, which could extend to arbitrary dissipation strength and periodicity, is still lacking. In this letter, we show a general framework to unify QZE-QAZE effects and parity-time (PT) symmetry breaking transitions, in which the dissipative Hamiltonian associated to the measurement effect is mapped onto a PT-symmetric non- Hermitian Hamiltonian, thus applying the PT symmetry transitions to distinguish QZE (QAZE) and their crossover behavior. As a concrete example, we show that, in a two-level system periodically coupled to a dissipative environment, QZE starts at an exceptional point (EP), which separates the PT-symmetric (PTS) phase and PT-symmetry broken (PTB) phase, and ends at the resonance point (RP) of the maximum PT-symmetry breaking; while QAZE extends the rest of PTB phase and remains the whole PTS phase. Such findings reveal a hidden relation between QZE-QAZE and PTS-PTB phases in non-Hermitian quantum dynamics.
The effect of the anti-rotating terms on the short-time evolution and the quantum Zeno (QZE) and anti-Zeno (AQZE) effects is studied for a two-level system coupled to a bosonic environment. A unitary transformation and perturbation theory are used to obtain the electron self-energy, energy shift and the enhanced QZE or the AQZE, simultaneously. The calculated Zeno time depends on the atomic transition frequency sensitively. When the atomic transition frequency is smaller than the central frequency of the spectrum of boson environment, the Zeno time is prolonged and the anti-rotating terms enhance the QZE; when it is larger than that the Zeno time is reduced and the anti-rotating terms enhance the AQZE.
We experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, noise diagnostics by repeated quantum measurements. Specifically, we establish the ability of a single photon, subjected to random polarisation noise, to diagnose non-Markovian temporal correlations of such a noise process. In the frequency domain, these noise correlations correspond to colored noise spectra, as opposed to the ones related to Markovian, white noise. Both the noise spectrum and its corresponding temporal correlations are diagnosed by probing the photon by means of frequent, (partially-)selective polarisation measurements. Our main result is the experimental demonstration that noise with positive temporal correlations corresponds to our single photon undergoing a dynamical regime enabled by the quantum Zeno effect (QZE), while noise characterized by negative (anti-) correlations corresponds to regimes associated with the anti-Zeno effect (AZE). This demonstration opens the way to a new kind of noise spectroscopy based on QZE and AZE in photon (or other single-particle) state probing.
Surface diffusion of interacting adsorbates is here analyzed within the context of two fundamental phenomena of quantum dynamics, namely the quantum Zeno effect and the anti-Zeno effect. The physical implications of these effects are introduced here in a rather simple and general manner within the framework of non-selective measurements and for two (surface) temperature regimes: high and very low (including zero temperature). The quantum intermediate scattering function describing the adsorbate diffusion process is then evaluated for flat surfaces, since it is fully analytical in this case. Finally, a generalization to corrugated surfaces is also discussed. In this regard, it is found that, considering a Markovian framework and high surface temperatures, the anti-Zeno effect has already been observed, though not recognized as such.
We demonstrate through exact solutions that a spin bath leads to stronger (faster) dephasing of a qubit than a bosonic bath with identical bath-coupling spectrum. This difference is due to the spin-bath dressing by the coupling. Consequently, the quantum statistics of the bath strongly affects the pulse sequences required to dynamically decouple the qubit from its bath.