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Full-Text Articles in Quantum Physics
Quantum Reality With Negative-Mass Particles, Mordecai Waegell, Eliahu Cohen, Avshalom C. Elitzur, Jeff Tollaksen, Yakir Aharonov
Quantum Reality With Negative-Mass Particles, Mordecai Waegell, Eliahu Cohen, Avshalom C. Elitzur, Jeff Tollaksen, Yakir Aharonov
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
Physical interpretations of the time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics, due to Aharonov, Bergmann, and Lebowitz are discussed in terms of weak values. The most direct, yet somewhat naive, interpretation uses the time-symmetric formulation to assign eigenvalues to unmeasured observables of a system, which results in logical paradoxes, and no clear physical picture. A top–down ontological model is introduced that treats the weak values of observables as physically real during the time between pre- and post-selection (PPS), which avoids these paradoxes. The generally delocalized rank-1 projectors of a quantum system describe its fundamental ontological elements, and the highest-rank projectors corresponding to …
Weak Values Are Quantum: You Can Bet On It, Alessandro Romito, Andrew N. Jordan, Yakir Aharonov, Yuval Gefen
Weak Values Are Quantum: You Can Bet On It, Alessandro Romito, Andrew N. Jordan, Yakir Aharonov, Yuval Gefen
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
The outcome of a weak quantum measurement conditioned to a subsequent post-selection (a weak value protocol) can assume peculiar values. These results cannot be explained in terms of conditional probabilistic outcomes of projective measurements. However, a classical model has been recently put forward that can reproduce peculiar expectation values, reminiscent of weak values. This led the authors of that work to claim that weak values have an entirely classical explanation. Here we discuss what is quantum about weak values with the help of a simple model based on basic quantum mechanics. We first demonstrate how a classical theory can indeed …
A Bayesian Approach To Compatibility, Improvement, And Pooling Of Quantum States, Matthew S. Leifer, Robert W. Spekkens
A Bayesian Approach To Compatibility, Improvement, And Pooling Of Quantum States, Matthew S. Leifer, Robert W. Spekkens
Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research
In approaches to quantum theory in which the quantum state is regarded as a representation of knowledge, information, or belief, two agents can assign different states to the same quantum system. This raises two questions: when are such state assignments compatible? and how should the state assignments of different agents be reconciled? In this paper, we address these questions from the perspective of the recently developed conditional states formalism for quantum theory [1]. Specifically, we derive a compatibility criterion proposed by Brun, Finkelstein and Mermin from the requirement that, upon acquiring data, agents should update their states using a quantum …