  Quantum feedback can stabilize a two-level atom against decoherence
(spontaneous emission), putting it into an arbitrary (specified) pure state.
This requires perfect homodyne detection of the atomic emission, and
instantaneous feedback. Inefficient detection was considered previously by two
of us. Here we allow for a non-zero delay time $\tau$ in the feedback circuit.
Because a two-level atom is a nonlinear optical system, an analytical solution
is not possible. However, quantum trajectories allow a simple numerical
simulation of the resulting non-Markovian process. We find the effect of the
time delay to be qualitatively similar to that of inefficient detection. The
solution of the non-Markovian quantum trajectory will not remain fixed, so that
the time-averaged state will be mixed, not pure. In the case where one tries to
stabilize the atom in the excited state, an approximate analytical solution to
the quantum trajectory is possible. The result, that the purity ($P=2{\rm
Tr}[\rho^{2}]-1$) of the average state is given by $P=1-4\gamma\tau$ (where
$\gamma$ is the spontaneous emission rate) is found to agree very well with the
numerical results.
