Measurement of a qubit and measurement with a qubit

Antonio Di Lorenzo

Published 2013-02-04Version 1

Generally, the measurement process consists in coupling a system to a detector that can give a continuous output. However, it may be interesting to use as a detector a system with a discrete spectrum, especially in view of applications to quantum information. Here, we study 1) a two-level system measuring another two-level system (qubit); 2) a generic system measuring a qubit; 3) a qubit measuring a generic system. The results include the case when a postselection on the measured system is made. We provide the exact solution, and also a controlled expansion in the coupling parameter, giving formulas valid in the weak measurement regime for arbitrary preparation and postselection. The concept of generalized Wigner functions is introduced.