Unsharp positive operator-valued measurements allow a variety of measurement applications which minimally disrupt the state of the quantum system. Experimental schemes are proposed for implementing unsharp measurements on the qubit levels of a trapped ion. The schemes rely on introducing weak entanglement between the state of a target ion and that of an auxiliary ion, using standard ion-trap quantum logic operations, and then realizing an unsharp measurement through projective measurement on the auxiliary atom. We analyze common sources of error and their effect on different applications of unsharp measurements.

• Received 9 November 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.87.012131