We consider the quantum measurement properties of a driven cavity with a Kerr-type nonlinearity which is used to amplify a dispersively coupled input signal. Focusing on an operating regime which is near a bifurcation point, we derive simple asymptotic expressions describing the cavity's noise and response. We show that the cavity's backaction and imprecision noise allow for quantum limited linear amplification and position detection only if one is able to utilize the sizeable correlations between these quantities. This is possible when one amplifies a non-resonant signal, but is not possible in QND qubit detection. We also consider the possibility of using the nonlinear cavity's backaction for cooling a mechanical mode.

We propose and analyze a scanning microscope to monitor "live" the quantum dynamics of cold atoms in a cavity QED setup. The microscope measures the atomic density with subwavelength resolution via dispersive couplings to a cavity and homodyne detection within the framework of continuous measurement theory. We analyze two modes of operation. First, for a fixed focal point the microscope records the wave packet dynamics of atoms with time resolution set by the cavity lifetime. Second, a spatial scan of the microscope acts to map out the spatial density of stationary quantum states. Remarkably, in the latter case, for a good cavity limit, the microscope becomes an effective quantum nondemolition device, such that the spatial distribution of motional eigenstates can be measured backaction free in single scans, as an emergent quantum nondemolition measurement.

We propose a cold atom implementation to attain the continuum limit of (1+1)-d CP(N −1) quantum field theories. These theories share important features with (3 + 1)-d QCD, such as asymptotic freedom and θ-vacua. Moreover, their continuum limit can be accessed via the mechanism of dimensional reduction. In our scheme, the CP(N −1) degrees of freedom emerge at low energies from a ladder system of SU(N) quantum spins, where the N spin states are embodied by the nuclear Zeeman states of alkaline-earth atoms, trapped in an optical lattice. Based on Monte Carlo results, we establish that the continuum limit can be demonstrated by an atomic quantum simulation by employing the feature of asymptotic freedom. We discuss a protocol for the adiabatic preparation of the ground state of the system, the real-time evolution of a false θ-vacuum state after a quench, and we propose experiments to unravel the phase diagram at non-zero density.