The Logic of Quantum Measurements

We apply our previously developed formalism of contexts of histories, suitable to deal with quantum properties at different times, to the measurement process. We explore the logical implications which are allowed by the quantum theory, about the realization of properties of the microscopic measured system, before and after the measurement process with a given pointer value.     

Complete Measurements of Quantum Observables

We define a complete measurement of a quantum observable (POVM) as a measurement of the maximally refined (rank-1) version of the POVM. Complete measurements give information on the multiplicities of the measurement outcomes and can be viewed as state preparation procedures. We show that any POVM can be measured completely by using sequential measurements or maximally refinable instruments. Moreover, the ancillary space of a complete measurement can be chosen to be minimal.     

Quantum Measurements,Energy Conservation and Quantum Clocks

A spin chain extending from Alice to Bob with nearest neighbors interactions, initially in its ground state, is considered. Assuming that Bob measures the last spin of the chain, the energy of the spin chain has to increase, at least on average, due to the measurement disturbance. Presumably, the energy is provided by Bob's measurement apparatus. Assuming that, simultaneously to Bob's measurement, Alice measures the first spin, it is shown that either energy is not conserved, – implausible – or the projection postulate doesn't apply, and that there is signalling. An explicit measurement model shows that energy is conserved (as expected), but that the spin chain energy increase is not provided by the measurement apparatus(es), that the projection postulate is not always valid – illustrating the Wigner–Araki–Yanase (WAY) theorem – and that there is signalling, indeed. The signalling is due to the non‐local interaction Hamiltonian. This raises the question of whether a suitable quantum‐information‐inspired model of such non‐local Hamiltonians can be developed.     

Quantum Measurements and Finite Geometry

A complete set of mutually unbiased bases for a Hilbert space of dimension N is analogous in some respects to a certain finite geometric structure, namely, an affine plane. Another kind of quantum measurement, known as a symmetric informationally complete positive-operator-valued measure, is, remarkably, also analogous to an affine plane, but with the roles of points and lines interchanged. In this paper I present these analogies and ask whether they shed any light on the existence or non-existence of such symmetric quantum measurements for a general quantum system with a finite-dimensional state space.     

Separability Criteria for Quantum Mixed States

We investigate separability of mixed states in bipartite and multipartite quantum systems. If a quantum state in a bipartite system of arbitrary dimension (or in $2\times2\times N$ quantum systems) is separable, we show that some quantity in relation to Hermitian matrix is positive.     

Entropy Change in Quantum Measurements for Infinite-Dimensional Quantum Systems

International Journal of Theoretical Physics - In this paper, first, we prove the projective measurement increases the entropy in infinite-dimensional quantum systems, and discuss some useful...     

Criteria for Separability of Multipartite Quantum System

We first present the Hamel base of the density operator space for multipartite quantum system, and thus establish a representation of density matrix. Moreover, according to the structure of the density matrix for multipartite quantum system, we present two necessary criteria for separability of multipartite quantum system of arbitrary dimensions.     

Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Measurements

Quantum mechanics, in its orthodox version, imposes severe limits on what can be known, or even said, about the condition of a quantum system between two observations. A relatively new approach, based on so-called “weak measurements”, suggests that such forbidden knowledge can be gained by studying the system's response to an inaccurate weakly perturbing measuring device. It goes further to propose revising the whole concept of physics variables, and offers various examples of counterintuitive quantum behavior. Both views go to the very heart of quantum theory, and yet are rarely compared directly. A new technique must either transcend the orthodox limits, or just prove that these limits are indeed necessary. Both possibilities are studied and orthodoxy is vindicated.     

Quantum Euler Relation for Local Measurements

In classical thermodynamics the Euler relation is an expression for the internal energy as a sum of the products of canonical pairs of extensive and intensive variables. For quantum systems the situation is more intricate, since one has to account for the effects of the measurement back action. To this end, we derive a quantum analog of the Euler relation, which is governed by the information retrieved by local quantum measurements. The validity of the relation is demonstrated for the collective dissipation model, where we find that thermodynamic behavior is exhibited in the weak-coupling regime.     

Tensor Products of Quantum Structures and Their Applications in Quantum Measurements

Tensor products of quantum logics and effect algebras with some known problems are reviewed. It is noticed that although tensor products of effect algebras having at least one state exist, in the category of complex Hilbert space effect algebras similar problems as with tensor products of projection lattices occur. Nevertheless, if one of the two coupled physical systems is classical, tensor product exists and can be considered as a Boolean power. Some applications of tensor products (in the form of Boolean powers) to quantum measurements are reviewed.     

Classical Versus Quantum Probability in Sequential Measurements

We demonstrate in this paper that the probabilities for sequential measurements have features very different from those of single-time measurements. First, they cannot be modelled by a classical stochastic process. Second, they are contextual, namely they depend strongly on the specific measurement scheme through which they are determined. We construct Positive-Operator-Valued measures (POVM) that provide such probabilities. For observables with continuous spectrum, the constructed POVMs depend strongly on the resolution of the measurement device, a conclusion that persists even if we consider a quantum mechanical measurement device or the presence of an environment. We then examine the same issues in alternative interpretations of quantum theory. We first show that multi-time probabilities cannot be naturally defined in terms of a frequency operator. We next prove that local hidden variable theories cannot reproduce the predictions of quantum theory for sequential measurements, even when the degrees of freedom of the measuring apparatus are taken into account. Bohmian mechanics, however, does not fall in this category. We finally examine an alternative proposal that sequential measurements can be modeled by a process that does not satisfy the Kolmogorov axioms of probability. This removes contextuality without introducing non-locality, but implies that the empirical probabilities cannot be always defined (the event frequencies do not converge). We argue that the predictions of this hypothesis are not ruled out by existing experimental results (examining in particular the “which way” experiments); they are, however, distinguishable in principle.     

Decoherence and Wavefunction Collapse in Quantum Measurements

Examining the notion of wavefunction collapse (WFC) in quantum measurements, which came again to be in question in the recent debate on the quantum Zeno effect, we remark that WFC is realized only through decoherence among branch waves by detection, after a spectral decomposition process from an initial object wavefunction to a superposition of branch waves corresponding to relevant measurement propositions. We improve the definition of the decoherence parameter, so as to be fitted to general cases, by which we can quantitatively estimate the degree of WFC given by detectors. Finally, we briefly discuss whether two special detector models, with very huge and very small degrees of freedom, can provoke WFC.     

Stronger Criteria for Nonseparability in n-Partite Quantum States

We investigate the multipartite entanglement in arbitrary dimensional systems, and separability criteria for nonseparability in n-partite quantum states are derived. Examples such as the generalized noisy-W state and the GHZ basis states mixed with white noise are provided to show that our criteria are independent of and stronger than previously reported ones. Our criteria can also be expressed by the elements of the density matrix, which allows a simple and practical evaluation and computation. The experimental implementation of our criteria is also discussed.     

Formulation of Optical Quantum Nondemolition Criteria in Linearized Systems

Abstract We apply the quantum regression theorem and the input-output relation of the single-ended cavity to the linearized systems, and formulate the optical quantum nondemolition (QND) criteria. In an application, we discuss squeezing and QND nature for a crossed Kerr dispersive model.     

Map for Simultaneous Measurements for a Quantum Logic

In this paper we will study a function of simultaneous measurements for quantum events (s-map) which will be compared with the conditional states on an orthomodular lattice as a basic structure for quantum logic. We will show the connection between s-map and a conditional state. On the basis of the Rényi approach to the conditioning, conditional states, and the independence of events with respect to a state are discussed. Observe that their relation of independence of events is not more symmetric contrary to the standard probabilistic case. Some illustrative examples are included.