Negative probabilities and information gain in weak measurements |
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Authors: | Xuanmin Zhu Qun Wei Quanhui Liu Shengjun Wu |
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Affiliation: | 1. School of Science, Xidian University, Xi?an 710071, China;2. School for Theoretical Physics, and Department of Applied Physics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China;3. Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale and Department of Modern Physics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China |
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Abstract: | We study the outcomes in a general measurement with postselection, and derive upper bounds for the pointer readings in weak measurement. The probabilities inferred from weak measurements change along with the coupling strength; and the true probabilities can be obtained when the coupling is strong enough. By calculating the information gain of the measuring device about which path the particles pass through, we show that the “negative probabilities” only emerge for cases when the information gain is little due to very weak coupling between the measuring device and the particles. When the coupling strength increases, we can unambiguously determine whether a particle passes through a given path every time, hence the average shifts always represent true probabilities, and the strange “negatives probabilities” disappear. |
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Keywords: | Weak measurement Negative probability Coupling strength Hardy?s paradox |
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