Non-Hermitian dynamics in the quantum Zeno limit

Abstract

Measurement is one of the most counter-intuitive aspects of quantum physics. Frequent measurements of a quantum system lead to quantum Zeno dynamics where time evolution becomes confined to a subspace defined by the projections. However, weak measurement performed at a finite rate is also capable of locking the system into such a Zeno subspace in an unconventional way: by Raman-like transitions via virtual intermediate states outside this subspace, which are not forbidden. Here, we extend this concept into the realm of non-Hermitian dynamics by showing that the stochastic competition between measurement and a system's own dynamics can be described by a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. We obtain an analytic solution for ultracold bosons in a lattice and show that a dark state of the tunnelling operator is a steady state in which the observable's fluctuations are zero and tunnelling is suppressed by destructive matter-wave interference. This opens a new venue of investigation beyond the canonical quantum Zeno dynamics and leads to a new paradigm of competition between global measurement backaction and short-range atomic dynamics.