Baptiste Schubnel

The preparation of states in quantum mechanics

The important problem of how to prepare a quantum mechanical system, S, in a specific initial state of interest—e.g., for the purposes of some experiment—is addressed. Three distinct methods of state preparation are described. One of these methods has the attractive feature that it enables one to prepare S in a preassigned initial state with certainty, i.e., the probability of success in preparing S in a given state is unity. This method relies on coupling S to an open quantum-mechanical environment, E, in such a way that the dynamics of S∨E pulls the state of S towards an “attractor,” which is the desired initial state of S. This method is analyzed in detail.

A “garden of forking paths” – The quantum mechanics of histories of events

This is a survey of a novel approach, called “ETH approach”, to the quantum theory of events happening in isolated physical systems and to the effective time evolution of states of systems featuring events. In particular, we attempt to present a clear explanation of what is meant by an “event” in quantum mechanics and of the significance of this notion. We then outline a theory of direct (projective) and indirect observations or recordings of physical quantities and events. Some key ideas underlying our general theory are illustrated by studying a simple quantum-mechanical model of a mesoscopic system.

Scattering theory for Lindblad master equations

We study scattering theory for a quantum-mechanical system consisting of a particle scattered off a dynamical target that occupies a compact region in position space. After taking a trace over the degrees of freedom of the target, the dynamics of the particle is generated by a Lindbladian acting on the space of trace-class operators. We study scattering theory for a general class of Lindbladians with bounded interaction terms. First, we consider models where a particle approaching the target is always re-emitted by the target. Then we study models where the particle may be captured by the target. An important ingredient of our analysis is a scattering theory for dissipative operators on Hilbert space.

Quantum Electrodynamics of Atomic Resonances

A simple model of an atom interacting with the quantized electromagnetic field is studied. The atom has a finite mass m, finitely many excited states and an electric dipole moment,

Quantum Probability Theory and the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

{\vec{d}_0 = -\lambda_{0} \vec{d}}

ANALYTICITY OF THE SELF-ENERGY IN TOTAL MOMENTUM OF AN ATOM COUPLED TO THE QUANTIZED RADIATION FIELD

d→0=-λ0d→, where

Indirect Acquisition of Information in Quantum Mechanics

{\| d^{i}\| = 1, i = 1, 2, 3,}