We address continuous weak linear quantum measurement and argue that it is best understood in terms of statistics of the outcomes of the linear detectors measuring a quantum system, for example, a qubit. We mostly concentrate on a setup consisting of a qubit and three independent detectors that simultaneously monitor three noncommuting operator variables, those corresponding to three pseudospin components of the qubit. We address the joint probability distribution of the detector outcomes and the qubit variables. When analyzing the distribution in the limit of big values of the outcomes, we reveal a high degree of correspondence between the three outcomes and three components of the qubit pseudospin after the measurement. This enables a highfidelity monitoring of all three components. We discuss the relation between the monitoring described and the algorithms of quantum information theory that use the results of the partial measurement. We develop a proper formalism to evaluate the statistics of continuous weak linear measurement. The formalism is based on Feynman-Vernon approach, roots in the theory of full counting statistics, and boils down to a Bloch-Redfield equation augmented with counting fields.

Pre and post-selection, weak measurements and the flow of time in quantum mechanics AIP Conf.Abstract. We address continuous weak linear quantum measurement and argue that it is best understood in terms of statistics of the outcomes of the Unear detectors measuring a quantum system, for example, a qubit. We develop a proper formalism to evaluate the statistics of such measurement. Generally, we are able to evaluate the joint probability distribution of the detector outcomes and the qubit variables. We concentrate on two setups. The application of our method to the setup where a single pseudospin component is measured gives a comphrehensive picture of quantum non-demolition measurement. More interesting setup consists of a qubit and three independent detectors that simultaneously monitor three non-commuting operator variables, those corresponding to three pseudo-spin components of the qubit. When analyzing the distribution in the limit of big values of the outcomes, we reveal a high degree of correspondence between the three outcomes and three components of the qubit pseudo-spin after the measurement. This enables a high-fidelity monitoring of all three components. We discuss the relation between the monitoring described and the algorithms of quantum information theory that use the results of the partial measurement. The formalism is based on Feynman-Vernon approach, roots in the theory of full counting statistics, and boils down to a Bloch-Redfleld equation augmented with counting fields.

In this paper, we establish a general theoretical framework for the description of continuous quantum measurements and the statistics of the results of such measurements. The framework concerns the measurement of an arbitrary quantum system with arbitrary number of detectors under realistic assumption of instant detector reactions and white noise sources. We attend various approaches to the problem showing their equivalence. The approaches include the full counting statistics (FCS) evolution equation a for pseudo-density matrix, the drift-diffusion equation for a density matrix in the space of integrated outputs, and discrete stochastic updates. We provide the derivation of the underlying equations from a microscopic approach based on full counting statistics method, a phenomenological approach based on Lindblad construction, and interaction with auxiliary quantum systems representing the detectors. We establish the necessary conditions on the phenomenological susceptibilities and noises that guarantee the unambiguous interpretation of the measurement results and the positivity of the density matrix. Our results can be easily extended to describe various quantum feedback schemes where the manipulation decision is based on the values of detector outputs.