General quantum measurements in relativistic quantum field theory

Abstract

Single particle detection is described in a limited way by simple models of measurements in quantum field theory. We show that a general approach, using Kraus operators in spacetime constructed from natural combinations of fields, leads to an efficient model of a single particle detector. The model is free from any auxiliary objects as it is defined solely within the existing quantum field framework. It can be applied to a large family of setups where the time resolution of the measurement is relevant, such as Bell correlations or sequential measurement. We also discuss the limitations and working regimes of the model.

15 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (5)

• How often does the Unruh-DeWitt detector click? Regularisation by a spatial profile
• Modelling a Particle Detector in Field Theory
• Detecting an Itinerant Optical Photon Twice without Destroying It
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Cited by in corpus (2)

• Spectral decomposition of field operators and causal measurement in quantum field theory
• Exact results, transient generalized Gibbs ensembles, and analytic approximations for spacetime propagators of massive, real scalar fields in one spatial dimension