Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Physics
Quantum Violation Of The Pigeonhole Principle And The Nature Of Quantum Correlations, Yakir Aharonov, Fabrizio Colombo, S. Popescu, Irene Sabadini, Daniele C. Struppa, Jeff Tollaksen
Quantum Violation Of The Pigeonhole Principle And The Nature Of Quantum Correlations, Yakir Aharonov, Fabrizio Colombo, S. Popescu, Irene Sabadini, Daniele C. Struppa, Jeff Tollaksen
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
The pigeonhole principle: "If you put three pigeons in two pigeonholes at least two of the pigeons end up in the same hole" is an obvious yet fundamental principle of Nature as it captures the very essence of counting. Here however we show that in quantum mechanics this is not true! We find instances when three quantum particles are put in two boxes, yet no two particles are in the same box. Furthermore, we show that the above "quantum pigeonhole principle" is only one of a host of related quantum effects, and points to a very interesting structure of quantum …
Can A Future Choice Affect A Past Measurement's Outcome?, Yakir Aharonov, Eliahu Cohen, Avshalom C. Elitzur
Can A Future Choice Affect A Past Measurement's Outcome?, Yakir Aharonov, Eliahu Cohen, Avshalom C. Elitzur
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
An EPR experiment is studied where each particle within the entangled pair undergoes a few weak measurements (WMs) along some pre-set spin orientations, with the outcomes individually recorded. Then the particle undergoes one strong measurement along an orientation chosen at the last moment. Bell-inequality violation is expected between the two final measurements within each EPR pair. At the same time, statistical agreement is expected between these strong measurements and the earlier weak ones performed on that pair. A contradiction seemingly ensues: (i) Bell’s theorem forbids spin values to exist prior to the choice of the orientation measured; (ii) A weak …
Quantum Non-Barking Dogs, Sara Imari Walker, Paul C. W. Davies, Prasant Samantray, Yakir Aharonov
Quantum Non-Barking Dogs, Sara Imari Walker, Paul C. W. Davies, Prasant Samantray, Yakir Aharonov
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
Quantum weak measurements with states both pre- and post-selected offer a window into a hitherto neglected sector of quantum mechanics. A class of such systems involves time dependent evolution with transitions possible. In this paper we explore two very simple systems in this class. The first is a toy model representing the decay of an excited atom. The second is the tunneling of a particle through a barrier. The post-selection criteria are chosen as follows: at the final time, the atom remains in its initial excited state for the first example and the particle remains behind the barrier for the …