Pure states,mixtures, and reduction of the wave packet

The usual distinction in quantum mechanics between pure states and mixtures is shown not to be independent of the interpretation adopted. Thus, in a causal theory, certain states should be regarded as sharing the nature of both pure states and mixtures and, as a result, important questions in the theory of measurement must be considered in a different light.Associated with CNRS     

Universal quantum uncertainty relations: Minimum-uncertainty wave packet depends on measure of spread

Based on the statistical concept of the median, we propose a quantum uncertainty relation between semi-interquartile ranges of the position and momentum distributions of arbitrary quantum states. The relation is universal, unlike that based on the mean and standard deviation, as the latter may become non-existent or ineffective in certain cases. We show that the median-based one is not saturated for Gaussian distributions in position. Instead, the Cauchy-Lorentz distributions in position turn out to be the one with the minimal uncertainty, among the states inspected, implying that the minimum-uncertainty state is not unique but depends on the measure of spread used. Even the ordering of the states with respect to the distance from the minimum uncertainty state is altered by a change in the measure. We invoke the completeness of Hermite polynomials in the space of all quantum states to probe the median-based relation. The results have potential applications in a variety of studies including those on the quantum-to-classical boundary and on quantum cryptography.     

Proposed experimental investigation of uncertainty relations by measuring velocity dispersion of localized neutrons

Returning to the original EPR idea of disentangling the determination of conjugated quantities, an experiment is proposed to measure the velocity dispersion of neutrons localized more sharply than the uncertainty implies, and also prepare ensembles with such properties. An essential feature is a detector consisting of a monolayer of Cd or Gd to measure neutron time-of-flights via their capture gamma-rays with a precise spatial coordinate, and also to produce neutrons in a monolayer with such a coordinate. In both cases one obtains knowledge by an indirect measurement without disturbing the particle.     

Semiclassical localization and uncertainty principle

Semiclassical localizability problems in phase space constitute a manifestation of the uncertainty principle, one of the cornerstones of our present understanding of Nature. We revisit the subject here within the framework of the celebrated semiclassical Husimi distributions and their associated Wehrl entropy. By recourse to the concept of escort distributions, a well-established statistical concept, we show that it is possible to significantly improve on the current phase-space classical-localization power, thus approaching more closely than before the bounds imposed by Husimi's thermal uncertainty relation.     

Repulsive gravitational effect of a quantum wave packet and experimental scheme with superfluid helium

We consider the gravitational effect of quantum wave packets when quantum mechanics, gravity, and thermodynamics are simultaneously considered. Under the assumption of a thermodynamic origin of gravity, we propose a general equation to describe the gravitational effect of quantum wave packets. In the classical limit, this equation agrees with Newton’s law of gravitation. For quantum wave packets, however, it predicts a repulsive gravitational effect. We propose an experimental scheme using superfluid helium to test this repulsive gravitational effect. Our studies show that, with present technology such as superconducting gravimetry and cold atom interferometry, tests of the repulsive gravitational effect for superfluid helium are within experimental reach.     

Uncertainty principle and uncertainty relations

It is generally believed that the uncertainty relation q p1/2, where q and p are standard deviations, is the precise mathematical expression of the uncertainty principle for position and momentum in quantum mechanics. We show that actually it is not possible to derive from this relation two central claims of the uncertainty principle, namely, the impossibility of an arbitrarily sharp specification of both position and momentum (as in the single-slit diffraction experiment), and the impossibility of the determination of the path of a particle in an interference experiment (such as the double-slit experiment).The failure of the uncertainty relation to produce these results is not a question of the interpretation of the formalism; it is a mathematical fact which follows from general considerations about the widths of wave functions.To express the uncertainty principle, one must distinguish two aspects of the spread of a wave function: its extent and its fine structure. We define the overall widthW and the mean peak width w of a general wave function and show that the productW w is bounded from below if is the Fourier transform of . It is shown that this relation expresses the uncertainty principle as it is used in the single- and double-slit experiments.     

Variation of single-particle occupations and the uncertainty principle

A relation between a temporal variation of the occupation of a single-particle state and the uncertainty of a single-particle energy is derived. The analogous space-momentum uncertainty principle provides a lower bound for the kinetic energy density. The bound has the form of the von Weizsäcker correction to the ground-state Thomas-Fermi energy density.     

Collapse of the wave packet without mixture

An explicit model of the quantum measurement process with determinstic dissipative dynamics is presented. The usual results of quantum mechanics are recovered, in complete compatibility with the realistic interpretation. The model exhibits the famous reduction of the wave packet and the occurrence of probability is explained as being due to a random correlation variable whose value is fixed at the very beginning of each of the individual processes. The way that the experimentalist observes the result has no effect on the final state of the system and, consequently, paradoxes like Schrödinger's cat or Wigner's friend are avoided.Partially supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation.     

New experimental test of the pauli exclusion principle using accelerator mass spectrometry

We report the results of a new experimental search for the Pauli-forbidden 1s(4) state of Be, denoted by Be ('). Using the Accelerator Mass Spectrometer facility at Purdue University, we set limits on the abundance of Be (') in metallic Be, Be ore, natural gas, and air. Our results improve on those obtained in a previous search for Be (') by a factor of approximately 300.     

Quantum theory of the generalised uncertainty principle

We extend significantly previous works on the Hilbert space representations of the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) in 3 + 1 dimensions of the form \([X_i,P_j] = i F_{ij}\) where \(F_{ij} = f({\mathbf {P}}^2) \delta _{ij} + g({\mathbf {P}}^2) P_i P_j\) for any functions f. However, we restrict our study to the case of commuting X’s. We focus in particular on the symmetries of the theory, and the minimal length that emerge in some cases. We first show that, at the algebraic level, there exists an unambiguous mapping between the GUP with a deformed quantum algebra and a quadratic Hamiltonian into a standard, Heisenberg algebra of operators and an aquadratic Hamiltonian, provided the boost sector of the symmetries is modified accordingly. The theory can also be mapped to a completely standard Quantum Mechanics with standard symmetries, but with momentum dependent position operators. Next, we investigate the Hilbert space representations of these algebraically equivalent models, and focus specifically on whether they exhibit a minimal length. We carry the functional analysis of the various operators involved, and show that the appearance of a minimal length critically depends on the relationship between the generators of translations and the physical momenta. In particular, because this relationship is preserved by the algebraic mapping presented in this paper, when a minimal length is present in the standard GUP, it is also present in the corresponding Aquadratic Hamiltonian formulation, despite the perfectly standard algebra of this model. In general, a minimal length requires bounded generators of translations, i.e. a specific kind of quantization of space, and this depends on the precise shape of the function f defined previously. This result provides an elegant and unambiguous classification of which universal quantum gravity corrections lead to the emergence of a minimal length.     

Generalized uncertainty principle and self-adjoint operators

In this work we explore the self-adjointness of the GUP-modified momentum and Hamiltonian operators over different domains. In particular, we utilize the theorem by von-Neumann for symmetric operators in order to determine whether the momentum and Hamiltonian operators are self-adjoint or not, or they have self-adjoint extensions over the given domain. In addition, a simple example of the Hamiltonian operator describing a particle in a box is given. The solutions of the boundary conditions that describe the self-adjoint extensions of the specific Hamiltonian operator are obtained.     

Continuous quantum measurements and the action uncertainty principle

The path-integral approach to quantum theory of continuous measurements has been developed in preceding works of the author. According to this approach the measurement amplitude determining probabilities of different outputs of the measurement can be evaluated in the form of a restricted path integral (a path integral in finite limits). With the help of the measurement amplitude, maximum deviation of measurement outputs from the classical one can be easily determined. The aim of the present paper is to express this variance in a simpler and transparent form of a specific uncertainty principle (called the action uncertainty principle, AUP). The most simple (but weak) form of AUP is S, whereS is the action functional. It can be applied for simple derivation of the Bohr-Rosenfeld inequality for measurability of gravitational field. A stronger (and having wider application) form of AUP (for ideal measurements performed in the quantum regime) is | ^t (S[q]/q(t))q(t)dt|, where the paths [q] and [q] stand correspondingly for the measurement output and for the measurement error. It can also be presented in symbolic form as (Equation) (Path) . This means that deviation of the observed (measured) motion from that obeying the classical equation of motion is reciprocally proportional to the uncertainty in a path (the latter uncertainty resulting from the measurement error). The consequence of AUP is that improving the measurement precision beyond the threshold of the quantum regime leads to decreasing information resulting from the measurement.     

Quantum black hole and the modified uncertainty principle

Recently Ali et al. (2009) [13] proposed a Generalized Uncertainty Principle (or GUP) with a linear term in momentum (accompanied by Planck length). Inspired by this idea we examine the Wheeler-DeWitt equation for a Schwarzschild black hole with a modified Heisenberg algebra which has a linear term in momentum. We found that the leading contribution to mass comes from the square root of the quantum number n which coincides with Bekenstein?s proposal. We also found that the mass of the black hole is directly proportional to the quantum number n when quantum gravity effects are taken into consideration via the modified uncertainty relation but it reduces the value of mass for a particular value of the quantum number.     

Measurement of dilatational wave speed using an echo reduction test

Echo reduction is a measure of a materials ability to reduce the reflection of acoustic energy and is a typical measurement performed in acoustic tanks. In this paper, an inverse method is developed to estimate the complex dilatational wave speed of a material using echo reduction data. The theory of echo reduction is briefly discussed, the inverse method is developed and then an experiment is conducted to illustrate the technique. The real parts of the resultant wave speed measurements are then compared to measurements using identification of discrete wavelengths. It is shown that the two measurement techniques produce extremely similar estimates.     

On the failure of the time-energy uncertainty principle

We establish, for the quantum system made up of a single free particle, the formula E t(v/c) , where E is the precision to whichE can be ascertained in time t. The measurement can be carried out with zero disturbance inE itself.     

Towards an experimental test of gravity-induced quantum state reduction

Modern developments in condensed matter and cold atom physics have made the realization of macroscopic quantum states in the laboratory everyday practice. The ready availability of these states suggests the possibility of experimentally investigating different proposals for the mechanism of quantum state reduction. One such proposal is the hypothesis of Penrose and Diósi, according to which quantum state reduction is a manifestation of the incompatibilty of general relativity and the unitary time evolution of quantum physics. Dimensional analysis suggests that Schrödinger cat type states should collapse on measurable time-scales when masses and lengths of the order of bacterial scales are involved. We analyse this hypothesis in the context of the modern experimental realizations of macroscopic quantum states. First we consider ‘micromechanical’ quantum states, analysing the capacity of an atomic force microscopy based single spin detector to measure the gravitational state reduction, but we conclude that it seems impossible to suppress environmental decoherence to the required degree. We subsequently discuss ‘split’ cold atom condensates to find out that these are at present lacking the required mass-scale by many orders of magnitude. We then extend Penrose's analysis to superpositions of mass current carrying states, and we apply this to the flux quantum bits realized in superconducting circuits. We find that the flux qubits approach the scale where gravitational state reduction should become measurable, but bridging the few remaining orders of magnitude appears to be very difficult with present day technology.     

Discreteness of space from the generalized uncertainty principle

Various approaches to Quantum Gravity (such as String Theory and Doubly Special Relativity), as well as black hole physics predict a minimum measurable length, or a maximum observable momentum, and related modifications of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle to a so-called Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP). We propose a GUP consistent with String Theory, Doubly Special Relativity and black hole physics, and show that this modifies all quantum mechanical Hamiltonians. When applied to an elementary particle, it implies that the space which confines it must be quantized. This suggests that space itself is discrete, and that all measurable lengths are quantized in units of a fundamental length (which can be the Planck length). On the one hand, this signals the breakdown of the spacetime continuum picture near that scale, and on the other hand, it can predict an upper bound on the quantum gravity parameter in the GUP, from current observations. Furthermore, such fundamental discreteness of space may have observable consequences at length scales much larger than the Planck scale.     

Time development of a wave packet and the time delay

A one-dimensional scattering problem off a δ-shaped potential is solved analytically and the time development of a wave packet is derived from the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. The exact and explicit expression of the scattered wave packet supplies us with interesting information about the “time delay” by potential scattering in the asymptotic region. It is demonstrated that a wave packet scattered by a spin-flipping potential can give us quite a different value for the delay times from that obtained without spin-degrees of freedom.     

Generalized uncertainty principle and black hole thermodynamics

Banerjee-Ghosh's work shows that the singularity problem can be naturally avoided by the fact that black hole evaporation stops when the remnant mass is greater than the critical mass when including the generalized uncertainty principle (GUP) effects with first- and second-order corrections. In this paper, we first follow their steps to reexamine Banerjee-Ghosh's work, but we find an interesting result: the remnant mass is always equal to the critical mass at the final stage of black hole evaporation with the inclusion of the GUP effects. Then, we use Hossenfelder's GUP, i.e., another GUP model with higher-order corrections, to restudy the final evolution behavior of the black hole evaporation, and we confirm the intrinsic self-consistency between the black hole remnant and critical masses once more. In both cases, we also find that the thermodynamic quantities are not singular at the final stage of black hole evaporation.