Estimation of a general time-dependent Hamiltonian for a single qubit.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27075230.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms11218 and PMC identifier 4834628.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The Hamiltonian of a closed quantum system governs its complete time evolution. While Hamiltonians with time-variation in a single basis can be recovered using a variety of methods, for more general Hamiltonians the presence of non-commuting terms complicates the reconstruction. Here using a single trapped ion, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for estimating a time-dependent Hamiltonian of a single qubit. We measure the time evolution of the qubit in a fixed basis as a function of a time-independent offset term added to the Hamiltonian. The initially unknown Hamiltonian arises from transporting an ion through a static laser beam. Hamiltonian estimation allows us to estimate the spatial beam intensity profile and the ion velocity as a function of time. The estimation technique is general enough that it can be applied to other quantum systems, aiding the pursuit of high-operational fidelities in quantum control.