Abstract
It is shown that the stochastic wave function representation of continuous, selective measurements of open quantum systems can be given a relativistically covariant form. As an example, a piecewise deterministic process for the state vector of the source of an optical cavity is constructed which is covariant under Lorentz transformations and which describes the stochastic dynamics induced by a continuous monitoring of the radiated photons through a moving detector. The most general case of a quantum dynamical semigroup generated by an arbitrary number of Lindblad operators is also treated. The resulting equation of motion clearly demonstrates that the stochastic formulation of open quantum systems can be generalized to meet the basic postulates of both quantum measurement theory and special relativity.
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Breuer, HP., Petruccione, F. (2001). Relativistic Theory of Continuous Measurements. In: Bricmont, J., Ghirardi, G., Dürr, D., Petruccione, F., Galavotti, M.C., Zanghi, N. (eds) Chance in Physics. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 574. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44966-3_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44966-3_14
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