Quantum state diffusion, localization and quantum dispersion entropy

Abstract

The quantum state diffusion model introduced in an earlier paper represents the evolution of an individual open quantum system by an Ito diffusion equation for its quantum state. The diffusion and drift terms in this equation are derived from interaction with the environment. In this paper two localization theorems are proved. The dispersion entropy theorem shows that under special conditions, which are commonly satisfied to a good approximation, the mean quantum dispersion entropy, which measures the mean dispersion or delocalization of the quantum states, decreases at a rate equal to a weighted sum of effective interaction rates, so that the localization always increases in the mean, except when the effective interaction with the environment is zero. The general localization theorem provides a formula for more general conditions.