Quantum limits to feedback control of linear systems

Andrew C. Doherty; Howard M. Wiseman

doi:10.1117/12.547184

25 May 2004 Quantum limits to feedback control of linear systems

Proceedings Volume 5468, Fluctuations and Noise in Photonics and Quantum Optics II; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.547184
Event: Second International Symposium on Fluctuations and Noise, 2004, Maspalomas, Gran Canaria Island, Spain

Abstract

In many optical and atomic systems it is now possible to monitor an individual quantum system with high signal to noise and feed back by altering the system dynamics in real time. This motivates further development of quantum mechanical descriptions of feedback control. We discuss recent work on closed loop control of open quantum systems, focusing on general linear systems for which the statistics of the problem are Gaussian. Such systems may be realized with linear optics, parametric amplifiers and homodyne detection. This problem allows a direct comparison with the classical linear, quadratic cost, Gaussian noise (LQG) optimal control problem. This highlights the key distinction between the quantum and classical theories for linear systems: that increased measurement sensitivity may run counter to the control objectives since it increases the backaction noise. While in an idealized classical control problem it is always preferable to obtain a better sensor, quantum mechanical problems generically have an optimal sensitivity since quantum mechanical measurements irreducibly disturb the system. The general theory will be illustrated by reference to specific simple examples.

Citation Download Citation

Andrew C. Doherty and Howard M. Wiseman "Quantum limits to feedback control of linear systems", Proc. SPIE 5468, Fluctuations and Noise in Photonics and Quantum Optics II, (25 May 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.547184

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