Quantum Zeno effect in the strong measurement regime of circuit quantum electrodynamics

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the quantum Zeno effect in a superconducting qubit by using strong measurement and analysis of quantum jumps, aligning experimental results with theoretical predictions.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of the quantum Zeno effect in circuit QED and introduces analysis methods for noisy quantum jump signals.

Findings

Quantum Zeno effect observed in superconducting qubits

Quantum jump rates match analytical and numerical models

Analysis techniques effective for noisy telegraph signals

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.