High-Efficiency Quantum Interrogation Measurements via the Quantum Zeno Effect

1999/09/27 by Paul G. Kwiat, P. G. Kwiat, A. G. White +10 · 2 voices · 4 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #quant-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.83.4725

openalex publication_date 1999/12/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

The phenomenon of quantum interrogation allows one to optically detect the presence of an absorbing object, without the measuring light interacting with it. In an application of the quantum Zeno effect, the object inhibits the otherwise coherent evolution of the light, such that the probability that an interrogating photon is absorbed can in principle be arbitrarily small. We have implemented this technique, achieving efficiencies of up to 73%, and consequently exceeding the 50% theoretical maximum of the original ``interaction-free'' measurement proposal. We have also predicted and experimentally verified a previously unsuspected dependence on loss.

Citations

• Interaction-Free Measurement
• Quantum Mechanical Interaction-Free Measurements

Cited by

• Quantum Zeno Effect in the Spatial Evolution of a Single Atom
• High-efficiency Weak-trace-free Counterfactual Communication via Quantum Zeno Effect
• New insights of quantum Zeno phenomenon: an indirect correlation effect among subsystems
• Experimental Demonstration of Counterfactual Quantum Communication

Discussions

• In classical physics the evolution of a measurable quantity, such as the $x$ position of a particle is described by a function $x(t)$ such that if you measure $x$ at time $t$ you get the result $x(t)$ [stackexchange, 5 points]
• Is it possible to test whether a certain qubit ${\mid}\psi\rangle$ equals, say, ${\mid}\psi_0\rangle = a{\mid}0\rangle + b{\mid}1\rangle$ ; i.e., can one get a boolean out of ${\mid}\psi\rangle \stack [stackexchange, 5 points]

Related

• Observation of Quantum Zeno blockade on Chip
• Quantum Interrogation with particles
• Entangling photons via the quantum Zeno effect
• High-efficiency Weak-trace-free Counterfactual Communication via Quantum Zeno Effect
• A unified picture for quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects -- a review