Geometric phase kickback in a mesoscopic qubit-oscillator system

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a method to measure geometric phases in a quantum harmonic oscillator using a qubit probe, revealing insights into quantum measurement and control in mesoscopic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a reverse Von Neumann measurement scheme that captures geometric phases via qubit-oscillator interactions, including effects of finite temperature and dissipation.

Findings

Geometric phase can be measured through qubit kickback.

The scheme is applicable to micro and nano-mechanical systems.

Finite-temperature effects are incorporated into the model.

Abstract

We illustrate a reverse Von Neumann measurement scheme in which a geometric phase induced on a quantum harmonic oscillator is measured using a microscopic qubit as a probe. We show how such a phase, generated by a cyclic evolution in the phase space of the harmonic oscillator, can be kicked back on the qubit, which plays the role of a quantum interferometer. We also extend our study to finite-temperature dissipative Markovian dynamics and discuss potential implementations in micro and nano-mechanical devices coupled to an effective two-level system.