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arXiv · 2202.11574

Comment on "Does the weak trace show the past of a quantum particle?"

Q. Duprey·A. Matzkin
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Abstract

In the paper "Does the weak trace show the past of a quantum particle?" [arXiv:2109.14060v2], it is argued that null weak values of the spatial projectors are inadequate to infer the presence of a quantum particle at an intermediate time between preparation and detection. This conclusion relies on two arguments - (i) the role of the disturbance induced by a weak measurement, and (ii) classical-like features like continuous paths that must purportedly be associated with a quantum particle presence. Here we first show that (i) arises from a misunderstanding of null weak values by putting forward a simple counter-example that highlights that the relevant quantities to examine are the vanishing amplitudes, not the wavefunction. Then we briefly argue that enforcing classical pre-conditions in order to account for quantum properties during unitary evolution is unlikely to lead to a consistent understanding of quantum phenomena.

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Q. Duprey, A. Matzkin. 2022-02-23. Comment on "Does the weak trace show the past of a quantum particle?". https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.11574

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