No Arabic abstract
Heisenbergs position-measurement--momentum-disturbance relation is derivable from the uncertainty relation $sigma(q)sigma(p) geq hbar/2$ only for the case when the particle is initially in a momentum eigenstate. Here I derive a new measurement--disturbance relation which applies when the particle is prepared in a twin-slit superposition and the measurement can determine at which slit the particle is present. The relation is $d times Delta p geq 2hbar/pi$, where $d$ is the slit separation and $Delta p=D_{M}(P_{f},P_{i})$ is the Monge distance between the initial $P_{i}(p)$ and final $P_{f}(p)$ momentum distributions.
While the slogan no measurement without disturbance has established itself under the name Heisenberg effect in the consciousness of the scientifically interested public, a precise statement of this fundamental feature of the quantum world has remained elusive, and serious attempts at rigorous formulations of it as a consequence of quantum theory have led to seemingly conflicting preliminary results. Here we show that despite recent claims to the contrary [Rozema et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 109, 100404 (2012)], Heisenberg-type inequalities can be proven that describe a trade-off between the precision of a position measurement and the necessary resulting disturbance of momentum (and vice versa). More generally, these inequalities are instances of an uncertainty relation for the imprecisions of any joint measurement of position and momentum. Measures of error and disturbance are here defined as figures of merit characteristic of measuring devices. As such they are state independent, each giving worst-case estimates across all states, in contrast to previous work that is concerned with the relationship between error and disturbance in an individual state.
Although Heisenbergs uncertainty principle is represented by a rigorously proven relation about intrinsic indeterminacy in quantum states, Heisenbergs error-disturbance relation (EDR) has been commonly believed as another aspect of the principle. However, recent developments of quantum measurement theory made Heisenbergs EDR testable to observe its violations. Here, we study the EDR for Stern-Gerlach measurements. In a previous report [arXiv:1910.07929], it has been pointed out that their EDR is close to the theoretical optimal. The present note reports that even the original Stern-Gerlach experiment in 1922, the available experimental data show, violates Heisenbergs EDR. The results suggest that Heisenbergs EDR is more ubiquitously violated than it has long been supposed.
Incompatible observables can be approximated by compatible observables in joint measurement or measured sequentially, with constrained accuracy as implied by Heisenbergs original formulation of the uncertainty principle. Recently, Busch, Lahti, and Werner proposed inaccuracy trade-off relations based on statistical distances between probability distributions of measurement outcomes [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 160405 (2013); Phys. Rev. A 89, 012129 (2014)]. Here we reform their theoretical framework, derive an improved relation for qubit measurement, and perform an experimental test on a spin system. The relation reveals that the worst-case inaccuracy is tightly bounded from below by the incompatibility of target observables, and is verified by the experiment employing joint measurement in which two compatible but typically non-commutative observables on one qubit are measured simultaneously.
Making a which-way measurement (WWM) to identify which slit a particle goes through in a double-slit apparatus will reduce the visibility of interference fringes. There has been a long-standing controversy over whether this can be attributed to an uncontrollable momentum transfer. To date, no experiment has characterised the momentum change in a way that relates quantitatively to the loss of visibility. Here, by reconstructing the Bohmian trajectories of single photons, we experimentally obtain the distribution of momentum change, which is observed to be not a momentum kick that occurs at the point of the WWM, but nonclassically accumulates during the propagation of the photons. We further confirm a quantitative relation between the loss of visibility consequent on a WWM and the total (late-time) momentum disturbance. Our results emphasize the role of the Bohmian momentum in giving an intuitive picture of wave-particle duality and complementarity.
The issue of interference and which-way information is addressed in the context of 3-slit interference experiments. A new path distinguishability ${mathcal D_Q}$ is introduced, based on Unambiguous Quantum State Discrimination (UQSD). An inequality connecting the interference visibility and path distinguishability, ${mathcal V} + {2{mathcal D_Q}over 3- {mathcal D_Q}} le 1$, is derived which puts a bound on how much fringe visibility and which-way information can be simultaneously obtained. It is argued that this bound is tight. For 2-slit interference, we derive a new duality relation which reduces to Englerts duality relation and Greenberger-Yasins duality relation, in different limits.