The quantum Zeno effect: a solvable model for indirect pre-measurements

Abstract

A simple model of indirect pre-measurements on an unstable quantum state is presented in this paper. The model is completely solvable and the solutions are used to compare the time evolution of the unstable state with and without the influence of the pre-measurement. We find that by choosing the details of the process of pre-measurement appropriately, it is possible to observe both suppression and enhancement of the rate of decay of the unstable state. When the pre-measurements are assumed to lead on to actual measurements, we see that the quantum Zeno effect, and in some instances the 'anti-Zeno' effect, can be produced by repeating the measurement many times in succession. The Zeno effect can appear in our model either as a real consequence of repeated measurements or sometimes merely as an artefact of the manner in which the observations on the system are performed. The anti-Zeno effect appears almost exclusively as an artefact of the details of the measurement. Numerical investigations are included to delineate the regimes in which the quantum Zeno effect and possibly the anti-Zeno effect can occur.