Fidelity plateaus from correlated noise in isolated few-level quantum systems

Abstract

We show that, in an isolated two-level quantum system described by a time-dependent Hamiltonian, correlated noise in the Hamiltonian's parameters can lead to an arbitrarily long plateau in the state-preparation fidelity as a function of elapsed time. We explain the formation of this plateau using the Bloch-sphere representation, deriving analytical expressions for its start and end times and its height. We also briefly discuss the extent to which this phenomenon is expected to be visible in more general quantum systems with $N>2$ levels.