Abstract
We observe the quantum Zeno effect—where the act of measurement slows the rate of quantum state transitions—in a superconducting qubit using linear circuit quantum electrodynamics readout and a near-quantum-limited following amplifier. Under simultaneous strong measurement and qubit drive, the qubit undergoes a series of quantum jumps between states. These jumps are visible in the experimental measurement record and are analyzed using maximum likelihood estimation to determine qubit transition rates. The observed rates agree with both analytical predictions and numerical simulations. The analysis methods are suitable for processing general noisy random telegraph signals.
Highlights
The backaction of measurement is a peculiarly quantum mechanical phenomenon which gives rise to striking outcomes, such as the quantum Zeno effect (QZE)
We report the direct observation of the QZE in a superconducting qubit undergoing continuous strong measurement with simultaneous qubit driving
Our analysis of driven transition rates is restricted to the ∣gñ ∣eñ transition rate, denoted G, which can be expressed as the sum of three rates: G = G,drive + G,DD + G,th
Summary
The backaction of measurement is a peculiarly quantum mechanical phenomenon which gives rise to striking outcomes, such as the quantum Zeno effect (QZE). In the QZE, the act of measurement inhibits transitions between eigenstates of the measured observable, slowing the state evolution of a ‘watched’ quantum system. The QZE was described in its modern form in 1977 by Misra and Sudarshan [1], some related questions were tackled in prior papers [2, 3], and the potential for repeated measurements to influence the state evolution of a quantum system was already known to von Neumann in 1932 [4]. Theoretical proposals exist to observe the QZE in the quantum trajectory of a continuously monitored superconducting qubit [19] or in the suppression by measurement of low-frequency superconducting flux qubit dephasing [20]
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