We propose a realistic scheme to determine the quantum state of a single mode cavity field even after it has started to decay due to the coupling with an environment. Although dissipation destroys quantum coherences, we show that at zero temperature enough information about the initial state remains, in an observable quantity, to allow the reconstruction of its Wigner function.
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/9907046,
title = {Quantum state reconstruction in the presence of dissipation},
author = {H. Moya-Cessa and S. M. Dutra and A. Vidiella-Barranco and J. A. Roversi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/9907046},
year = {2015}
}