Quantum measurements,phase transitions,and spontaneous symmetry breaking

It is shown that if quantum measurement results in a phase transition in a detector medium, then due to orthogonality of Fock spaces of different vacuums the final state cannot be distinguished from the mixture. Examples for transitions in ferromagnetic and vapor-liquid systems are considered. A new formalism is proposed in which EPR-Bohm nonlocal correlations are described as spontaneous symmetry breaking of the pair system state.     

Quantum phase transitions in CePdAl probed by ultrasonic and thermoelectric measurements

CePdAl has been recently recognized as a frustrated antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion compound with a pressure- or field-tuned, extended quantum critical phase at zero temperature. Identifying characteristic signatures of the emerging quantum critical phase, which are expected to be distinct from those near a quantum critical point, remains challenging. In this work, by performing ultrasonic and thermoelectric measurements down to very low temperatures in a ³He-⁴He dilution refrigerator in the presence of magnetic field, we are able to obtain some crucial thermodynamic and thermal transport features of the quantum critical phase, including a frustration-related elastic softening detected by ultrasound and a Fermi-surface change probed by thermoelectric effect.     

Quantum nondemolition measurements of the phase and polarization Stokes parameters of optical fields

We propose a new method for performing continuous quantum nondemolition measurements (QNDM) of the polarization characteristics of light, the signal photon number, and the Stokes parameters of light. For devices that implement such measurements we take cubically nonlinear double-filament optical fibers with tunnel coupling of the filaments. Such a system employs a four-mode mixing of the waves (two probe modes and two signal modes). Linear optical elements needed for preliminary and subsequent conversion of the Stokes parameters are also used. We show that measurements of one Stokes parameter can be used for QNDM of the phase difference between the two initial modes. Here the accuracy of such measurements is determined by the initial fluctuations of the Stokes parameters of the probe modes and by the size of the nonlinear mode conversion coefficient in the optical fibers. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 13, 1235–1252 (April 1998)     

量子非破坏性测量

介绍了量子光学中的量子非破坏性（QND）测量,并列举了两个实例,指出QND测量是很重要的。     

Quantum phase expectation values of a mesoscopic Josephson junction from quantum current measurements

A simple way to acquire information on the mean values of the phase operators sinϕ and cosϕ of an ultrasmall Josephson junction prepared in an arbitrary pure or not state is reported. Our proposal exploits the recently predicted occurrence of current spikes in the I-V characteristic of a mesojunction irradiated by a quantum single-mode low-intensity coherent electromagnetic field. A necessary condition for the validity of our treatment is presented and discussed. Received 11 April 2001     

Quantum mechanical interaction-free measurements

A novel manifestation of nonlocality of quantum mechanics is presented. It is shown that it is possible to ascertain the existence of an object in a given region of space without interacting with it. The method might have practical applications for delicate quantum experiments.     

量子相变

量子相变是一种发生在绝对零度,由量子涨落而非热涨落导致的相变现象,满足著名的海森堡不确定关系。通过零温量子临界点的研究,可获知物质系统更广泛范围的行为,包括稀土磁性绝缘体,高温超导体和二维电子气体等。     

Quantum measurements,sequential and latent

The results of a hypothetical experiment requiring a sequence of quantum measurements are obtained retrospectively, after the experiment has been completed, from a single reading of an apparatus register. The experiment is carried out reversibly and Schrödinger's equation is satisfied until the terminal reading of the register. The technique is illustrated using a feasible method of measuring photon spin as the quantum object observable and using the photon energy as the apparatus register. The technique is used to discuss the watchdog effect, the effect of repeated measurements inhibiting quantum jumps.     

Quantum measurements and chiral magnetic effect

The effect of anisotropy for fluctuations of electric currents in magnetic field is addressed within framework of quantum measurements theory. It is shown that for free fermions in uniform magnetic field the anisotropy is of the same sign as one expects for chiral magnetic effect and is related to triangle anomaly. The corresponding decoherence functional contains anomalous off-diagonal terms leading to correlation of fluctuations between observables of opposite P-parity.     

Quantum strategies of quantum measurements

In the classical Monty Hall problem, one player can always win with probability 2/3. We generalize the problem to the quantum domain and show that a fair two-party zero-sum game can be carried out if the other player is permitted to adopt quantum measurement strategy.     

Quantum discord with weak measurements

Weak measurements cause small change to quantum states, thereby opening up the possibility of new ways of manipulating and controlling quantum systems. We ask, can weak measurements reveal more quantum correlation in a composite quantum state? We prove that the weak measurement induced quantum discord, called as the “super quantum discord”, is always larger than the quantum discord captured by the strong measurement. Moreover, we prove the monotonicity of the super quantum discord as a function of the measurement strength and in the limit of strong projective measurement the super quantum discord becomes the normal quantum discord. We find that unlike the normal discord, for pure entangled states, the super quantum discord can exceed the quantum entanglement. Our results provide new insights on the nature of quantum correlation and suggest that the notion of quantum correlation is not only observer dependent but also depends on how weakly one perturbs the composite system. We illustrate the key results for pure as well as mixed entangled states.     

Time-reversal and super-resolving phase measurements

We demonstrate phase super-resolution in the absence of entangled states. The key insight is to use the inherent time-reversal symmetry of quantum mechanics: our theory shows that it is possible to measure, as opposed to prepare, entangled states. Our approach is robust, requiring only photons that exhibit classical interference: we experimentally demonstrate high-visibility phase super-resolution with three, four, and six photons using a standard laser and photon counters. Our six-photon experiment demonstrates the best phase super-resolution yet reported with high visibility and resolution.     

Quantum particle trajectories and geometric phase

Particle trajectories are defined as integrable dx _μ dp ^μ=0 paths in projective space. Quantum states evolving on such trajectories, open or closed, do not delocalize in (x, p) projection, the phase associated with the trajectories related to the geometric (Berry) phase and the classical mechanics action. Properties at high energies of the states evolving on particle trajectories are discussed.