Ergodicity in randomly perturbed quantum systems

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how ergodic behavior emerges in open quantum systems under random perturbations and the quantum Zeno effect, supported by analytical large deviation theory and experimental ultra-cold atom tests.

Contribution

It analytically links ergodicity to quantum Zeno dynamics under stochastic perturbations and validates findings experimentally with ultra-cold atoms.

Findings

Ergodic properties arise in quantum systems under random environmental perturbations.

Large deviation theory predicts deviations from non-stochastic behavior.

Experimental results with ultra-cold atoms confirm theoretical predictions.

Abstract

The theoretical cornerstone of statistical mechanics is the ergodic assumption that all accessible configurations of a physical system are equally likely. Here we show how such property arises when an open quantum system is continuously perturbed by an external environment effectively observing the system at random times while the system dynamics approaches the quantum Zeno regime. In this context, by large deviation theory we analytically show how the most probable value of the probability for the system to be in a given state eventually deviates from the non-stochastic case when the Zeno condition is not satisfied. We experimentally test our results with ultra-cold atoms prepared on an atom chip.