Logic Operations Using the Zeno Effect

The quantum Zeno effect can be used to implement quantum logic operations using single photons as the qubits. In this context the Zeno effect is used to inhibit failure events that would otherwise occur in a linear optics system. In practice, no actual measurements are required and equivalent results can be obtained using strong two-photon absorption to inhibit the growth of undesired probability amplitudes. It is shown here that similar effects can be used to implement classical logic and memory devices. In these devices nonlinear dissipation is used to prevent the buildup of an electromagnetic field in a resonator. Aside from their potential practical applications, these results show that the Zeno effect is a possibility in any system characterized by a wave equation.