Monte Carlo Method for a Quantum Measurement Process by a Single-Electron Transistor

TL;DR

This paper develops a Monte Carlo simulation method based on a stochastic master equation to model the continuous quantum measurement process of a superconducting qubit by a single-electron transistor, linking quantum trajectories with reduced density matrices.

Contribution

It derives a stochastic master equation for the SCB/SET measurement system and demonstrates its use in simulating quantum measurement dynamics and connecting different density matrix approaches.

Findings

Monte Carlo simulations of the measurement process are performed.

The connection between quantum trajectories and reduced density matrices is established.

Probability distributions of tunneling events are analyzed.

Abstract

We derive the quantum trajectory or stochastic (conditional) master equation for a single superconducting Cooper-pair box (SCB) charge qubit measured by a single-electron transistor (SET) detector. This stochastic master equation describes the random evolution of the measured SCB qubit density matrix which both conditions and is conditioned on a particular realization of the measured electron tunneling events through the SET junctions. Hence it can be regarded as a Monte Carlo method that allows us to simulate the continuous quantum measurement process. We show that the master equation for the "partially" reduced density matrix [Y. Makhlin et.al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 4578 (2000)] can be obtained when a "partial" average is taken on the stochastic master equation over the fine grained measurement records of the tunneling events in the SET. Finally, we present some Monte Carlo simulation results for the SCB/SET measurement process. We also analyze the probability distribution P(m,t) of finding m electrons that have tunneled into the drain of the SET in time t to demonstrate the connection between the quantum trajectory approach and the "partially" reduced density matrix approach.