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Quantum Zeno effect and open systems

Marco Merkli

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canadá

29 de enero de 2026. 11:30 hrs. Auditorio José Ádem.

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ID de la reunión: 840 6072 8676
Contraseña: 637374

Resumen: We start by recalling the formalism of quantum theory and open quantum systems. We then explain the Quantum Zeno Effect, which says that (infinitely) frequent observations - measurements - of a system cause its dynamics to be halted. Previously, this effect was derived for *ad-hoc models*, where instantaneous measurements are built into the dynamics 'by hand'. We argue that it might be natural to represent the measurement by the interaction with another quantum system (measurement apparatus).

Frequent measurement would then correspond to strong coupling. We then show that indeed, for a wide class of quantum systems $S$ coupled to a Gaussian quantum field (measurement apparatus), in the limit of (infinitely) strong coupling, the dynamics of $S$ is precisely the Zeno dynamics predicted by the ad-hoc models. This is a physically more transparent derivation of the Quantum Zeno Effect. The talk is designed to be understandable for mathematicians/physicists without expertise in quantum theory. It is based on the recent collaboration with Stefano Marcantoni, available at https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2025-03-06-1656/pdf/