Quantum trajectories and open many-body quantum systems

The study of open quantum systems has become increasingly important in the past years, as the ability to control quantum coherence on a single particle level has been developed in a wide variety of physical systems. In quantum optics, the study of open systems goes well beyond understanding the breakdown of quantum coherence. There, the coupling to the environment is sufficiently well understood that it can be manipulated to drive the system into desired quantum states, or to project the system onto known states via feedback in quantum measurements. Many mathematical frameworks have been developed to describe such systems, which for atomic, molecular, and optical (AMO) systems generally provide a very accurate…