The quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects with driving fields in the weak and strong coupling regimes

TL;DR

This paper develops a general framework to analyze how driving fields influence the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects in open quantum systems across weak and strong coupling regimes, revealing both qualitative and quantitative changes.

Contribution

It provides a unified expression for decay rates under arbitrary driving and measurements, extending understanding to multi-qubit and strongly coupled systems.

Findings

Driving fields significantly alter decay rates and Zeno effects.

Theoretical framework applicable to multi-qubit and strongly coupled systems.

Quantitative analysis of driving effects on quantum measurement outcomes.

Abstract

Repeated measurements in quantum mechanics can freeze (the quantum Zeno effect) or enhance (the quantum anti-Zeno effect) the time-evolution of a quantum system. In this paper, we present a general treatment of the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects for arbitrary driven open quantum systems, assuming only that the system-environment coupling is weak. In particular, we obtain a general expression for the effective decay rate of a two-level system subjected to arbitrary driving fields as well as periodic measurements. We demonstrate that the driving fields change the decay rate, and hence the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno behavior, both qualitatively and quantitatively. We also extend our results to systems consisting of more than one two-level system, as well as a two-level system strongly coupled to an environment of harmonic oscillators, to further illustrate the non-trivial effect of the driving fields on the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects.