Quasi-probabilities in conditioned quantum measurement and a geometric/statistical interpretation of Aharonov's weak value

DOI10.1093/PTEP/PTX024zbMATH Open1477.81011arXiv1607.06406OpenAlexW2962877075MaRDI QIDQ3379705FDOQ3379705

Izumi Tsutsui, Jae-Ha Lee

Publication date: 27 September 2021

Published in: PTEP. Progress of Theoretical and Experimental Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We show that the joint behaviour of an arbitrary pair of quantum observables can be described by quasi-probabilities, which are extensions of the standard probabilities used for describing the behaviour of a single observable. The physical situations that require these quasi-probabilities arise when one considers quantum measurement of an observable conditioned by some other variable, with the notable example being the weak measurement employed to obtain Aharonov's weak value. Specifically, we present a general prescription for the construction of quasi-joint-probability (QJP) distributions associated with a given pair of observables. These QJP distributions are introduced in two complementary approaches: one from a bottom-up, strictly operational construction realised by examining the mathematical framework of the conditioned measurement scheme, and the other from a top-down viewpoint realised by applying the results of spectral theorem for normal operators and its Fourier transforms. It is then revealed that, for a pair of simultaneously measurable observables, the QJP distribution reduces to their unique standard joint-probability distribution, whereas for a non-commuting pair there exists an inherent indefiniteness in the choice, admitting a multitude of candidates that may equally be used for describing their joint behaviour. In the course of our argument, we find that the QJP distributions furnish the space of operators with their characteristic geometric structures such that the orthogonal projections and inner products of observables can, respectively, be given statistical interpretations as `conditionings' and `correlations'. The weak value $A_w$ for an observable $A$ is then given a geometric/statistical interpretation as either the orthogonal projection of $A$ onto the subspace generated by another observable $B$, or equivalently, as the conditioning of $A$ given $B$.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1607.06406

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Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Quantum measurement theory, state operations, state preparations (81P15)

Cited In (2)

• Cumulants and the moment algebra: Tools for analyzing weak measurements
• Homogeneous Yang–Baxter deformations as generalized diffeomorphisms

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