MEASUREMENT-INDUCED QUANTUM FLUCTUATIONS AND BISTABILITY OF A RELATIVISTIC ELECTRON IN A PENNING TRAP

A detailed quantum-mechanical description of an electron in a Penning trap is developed in which nonlinear relativistic effects as well as s tochastic effects arising from radiative damping and the continuous me asurement of the electronic motion are taken into account. A master eq uation is derived that describes the influence of these environmental effects on the bistable dynamics of the electron. Manifestations of me asurement-induced fluctuations on the bistable dynamics of individual continuous measurement processes are investigated with the help of the quantum state diffusion model.