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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

On Quantum Fluctuations Relations with Generalized Energy Measurements

Quantum fluctuations relations are typically derived with projective measurements of energy at the beginning and the end of the protocol. Though projective measurements are easy to treat theoretically, they may be difficult to implement in experiments. We show that recent results on the force protocol with generalized measurements remain valid with more general forms of quantum evolution. In the case considered, states of an open quantum system are transformed according to an arbitrary trace-preserving completely positive map. The energy measurements used in the protocol are prescribed as a superposition of projective ones. Such measurements can be parameterized by a continuous variable substituted into acceptance functions of the apparatuses. The role of limited measurement precision is also clarified here. As is known, the standard Jarzynski equality and the Tasaki–Crooks theorem remain valid for the case of unital quantum channels. Using characteristic functions, we recast standard relations for the scenario with generalized measurements. With respect to the Jarzynski equality, generalized measurements lead to a negative shift in observed values of the difference of free energies. A deviation of the actual quantum channel from unital ones may also generate some shift with an arbitrary sign.     

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.     

On Bounded Posets Arising from Quantum Mechanical Measurements

Let S be a set of states of a physical system. The probabilities p(s) of the occurrence of an event when the system is in different states s ∈ S define a function from S to [0, 1] called a numerical event or, more precisely, an S-probability. If one orders a set P of S-probabilities in respect to the order of functions, further includes the constant functions 0 and 1 and defines p′ = 1 ? p for every p ∈ P, then one obtains a bounded poset of S-probabilities with an antitone involution. We study these posets in respect to various conditions about the existence of the sum of certain functions within the posets and derive properties from these conditions. In particular, questions of relations between different classes of S-probabilities arising this way are settled, algebraic representations are provided and the property that two S-probabilities commute is characterized which is essential for recognizing a classical physical system.     

Some Remarks on Unsharp Quantum Measurements,Quantum Non-Demolition,and All That

The theory of unsharp quantum measurements is reviewed as a generalization of the von Neumann-Lüders measurement theory and applied to measurements of continuous quantities. A generalized notion of repeatability is proposed which is applicable even to intrinsically unsharp continuous observables. As an illustration a precise formulation of a quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement performed on a harmonic oscillator is given.     

Measurements of Entanglement and a Quantum de Finetti Theorem

The problem of defining a natural measure of entanglement of mixed states on tensor products is considered from the point of view of a quantum de Finetti theorem for Bosons.     

Concrete Representation and Separability Criteria for Symmetric Quantum State

Using the typical generators of the special unitary groups S U(2), the concrete representation of symmetric quantum state is established, then the relations satisfied by those coefficients in the representation are presented. Based on the representation of density matrix, the PPT criterion and CCNR criterion are proved to be equivalent on judging the separability of symmetric quantum states. Moreover, it is showed that the matrix Γ _ρ of symmetric quantum state only has five efficient entries, thus the calculation of ∥Γ _ρ ∥ is simplified. Finally, the quantitative expressions of real symmetric quantum state under the ∥Γ _ρ ∥ separability criterion are obtained.     

artial Hermitian Conjugate Separability Criteria for Pure Quantum States

We propose a criterion for the separability of quantum pure states using the concept of a partial Hermitian conjugate. It is equivalent to the usual positive partial transposition criteria, with a simple physical interpretation.