arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Yakir Aharonov.
We consider quantum systems in entangled states post-selected in non-entangled states. Such systems exhibit unusual behavior, in particular when weak measurements are performed at intermediate times.
Weak value is increasingly acknowledged as an important research tool for probing quantum pre- and post-selected ensembles, where some extraordinary phenomena occur. We generalize this concept to the broader notion of "weak potential" which enables predicting the interactions between particles when one of them is pre-/post-selected and the interaction potential is small. A harmonic oscillator is considered, undergoing weak position and momentum measurements between strong position measurement, and shown to possess peculiar physical properties, affecting the momentum rather than the position of another oscillator interacting with it.
Weak measurement is unique in enabling measurements of non-commuting operators as well as otherwise-undetectable peculiar phenomena predicted by the Two-State-Vector-Formalism (TSVF). This article, the first in two parts, explores novel applications of weak measurement. We first revisit the basic principles of quantum measurement with the aid of the Michelson interferometer. Weak measurement is then introduced in a simple visualized manner by a specific choice of the reflecting mirror's position and momentum uncertainties. Having introduced the method, we proceed to its refinement for a single particle. We consider a photon going back and forth inside the interferometer, oscillating between a superposed and a localized state, while subjected to alternating strong and weak measurements. This cyclic process enables directly measuring both the photon's position ("which-path") and momentum (interference), without disturbing either. An alternative explanation of this result, not invoking weak values, is thoroughly considered and shown to be at odds with the experimental data. Finally a practical application of this experiment is demonstrated, where a single photon measures the various transmission coefficients of a multiport beam-splitter yet remains superposed. This method is then generalized to measurement of the wave-function itself, performed again on a single particle.
We address the problem of interference using the Heisenberg picture and highlight some new aspects through the use of pre-selection, post-selection, weak measurements, and modular variables, We present a physical explanation for the different behaviors of a single particle when the distant slit is open or closed: instead of having a quantum wave that passes through all slits, we have a localized particle with non-local interactions with the other slit(s). We introduce a Gedankenexperiment to measure this non-local exchange. While the Heisenberg picture and the Schrodinger pictures are equivalent formulations of quantum mechanics, nevertheless, the results discussed here support a new approach which has led to new insights, new intuitions, new experiments, and even the possibility of new devices that were missed from the old perspective.
We study a simple exactly solvable 2D model describing the interaction of a localized particle with an impurity. The localization potential $V(x)=-αδ(x)$ causes the particle to be trapped in the y-axis, and the `impurity' is modeled by a straight impenetrable edge extending along the positive x-axis. We show that the problem described can be treated as the Sommerfeld diffraction from an infinite edge. We use the model to present qualitative arguments on the nature of interaction of polarized light traveling along an optical fiber with external impurities.
We study classical and quantum phases in the adiabatic Born-Oppenheimer context. These include a classical astronomical case, the general dual description of the phases, a new "Paradox" connected to scattering Berry phase and its resolution and various elaboration of topological/geometrical/non-abelian phases.
We present the solution to the "mean king's problem" in the continuous variable setting. We show that in this setting, the outcome of a randomly-selected projective measurement of any linear combination of the canonical variables x and p can be ascertained with arbitrary precision. Moreover, we show that the solution is in turn a solution to an associated "conjunctive" version of the problem, unique to continuous variables, where the inference task is to ascertain all the joint outcomes of a simultaneous measurement of any number of linear combinations of x and p.
It is well-known that the electric and magnetic Aharonov-Bohm effects may be formally described on equal footing using the four-vector potential in a relativistic framework. We propose an illustrative manifestation of both effects in a single configuration, in which the specific path of the charged particle determines the weight of the electric and magnetic acquired relative phases. The phases can be distinctively obtained in the Coulomb gauge. The scheme manifests the pedagogical lesson that though each of the relative phases is gauge-dependent their sum is gauge-invariant.
In this paper we present the two-state vector formalism of quantum mechanics. It is a time-symmetrized approach to standard quantum theory particularly helpful for the analysis of experiments performed on pre- and post-selected ensembles. Several peculiar effects which naturally arise in this approach are considered. In particular, the concept of ``weak measurements'' (standard measurements with weakening of the interaction) is discussed in depth revealing a very unusual but consistent picture. Also, a design of a gedanken experiment which implements a kind of quantum ``time machine'' is described. The issue of time-symmetry in the context of the two-state vector formalism is clarified.
A review of new aspects concerning time-symmetry in Quantum Mechanics.
Non-statistical weak measurements yield weak values that are outside the range of eigenvalues and are not rare, suggesting that weak values are a property of every pre-and-post-selected ensemble. They also extend the applicability and valid regime of weak values.
We re-examine the status of the weak value of a quantum mechanical observable as an objective physical concept, addressing its physical interpretation and general domain of applicability. We show that the weak value can be regarded as a \emph{definite} mechanical effect on a measuring probe specifically designed to minimize the back-reaction on the measured system. We then present a new framework for general measurement conditions (where the back-reaction on the system may not be negligible) in which the measurement outcomes can still be interpreted as \emph{quantum averages of weak values}. We show that in the classical limit, there is a direct correspondence between quantum averages of weak values and posterior expectation values of classical dynamical properties according to the classical inference framework.
We suggest an interpretation of quantum mechanics, inspired by the ideas of Aharonov et al. of a time-symmetric description of quantum theory. We show that a special final boundary condition for the Universe, may be consistently defined as to determine single classical-like measurement outcomes, thus solving the "measurement problem". No other deviation is made from standard quantum mechanics, and the resulting theory is deterministic (in a two-time sense) and local. Quantum mechanical probabilities are recovered in general, but are eliminated from the description of any single measurement. We call this the Two-time interpretation of quantum mechanics. We analyze ideal measurements, showing how the quantum superposition is, in effect, dynamically reduced to a single classical state via a "two-time decoherence" process. We discuss some philosophical aspects of the suggested interpretation. We also discuss weak measurements using the two-time formalism, and remark that in these measurement situations, special final boundary conditions for the Universe, might explain some unaccounted for phenomena.
We show that in the framework of one-dimensional Bohmian Quantum Mechanics[1], for a particle subject to a potential undergoing a weak adiabatic change, the time averages of the particle's positions typically differ markedly from the ensemble averages. We Apply this result to the case where the weak perturbing potential is the back-action of a measuring device (i.e. a protective measurement). It is shown that under these conditions, most trajectories never cross the position measured (as already shown for a particular example in [3]).
A system consisting of two neutral spin 1/2 particles is analyzed for two magnetic field perturbations: 1) an inhomogeneous magnetic field over all space, and 2) external fields over a half space containing only one of the particles. The field is chosen to point from one particle to the other, which results in essentially a one-dimensional problem. A number of interesting features are revealed for the first case: the singlet, which has zero potential energy in the unperturbed case, remains unstable in the perturbing field. The spin zero component of the triplet evolves into a bound state with a double well potential, with the possibility of tunneling. Superposition states can be constructed which oscillate between entangled and unentangled states. For the second case, we show that changes in the magnetic field around one particle affect measurements of the spin of the entangled particle not in the magnetic field nonlocally. By using protective measurements, we show it is possible in principle to establish a nonlocal interaction using the two particles, provided the dipole-dipole potential energy does not vanish and is comparable to the potential energy of the particle in the external field.
In order to reduce errors, error correction codes (ECCs) need to be implemented fast. They can correct the errors corresponding to the first few orders in the Taylor expansion of the Hamiltonian of the interaction with the environment. If implemented fast enough, the zeroth order error predominates and the dominant effect is of error prevention by measurement (Zeno Effect) rather than correction. In this ``Zeno Regime'', codes with less redundancy are sufficient for protection. We describe such a simple scheme, which uses two ``noiseless'' qubits to protect a large number, $n$, of information qubits from noise from the environment. The ``noisless qubits'' can be realized by treating them as logical qubits to be encoded by one of the previously introduced encoding schemes.
Any charged particle moving faster than light through a medium emits Cherenkov radiation. We show that charged particles moving faster than light through the v a c u u m emit Cherenkov radiation. How can a particle move faster than light? The w e a k speed of a charged particle can exceed the speed of light. By definition, the weak velocity is / where v is the velocity operator and |a> and |b> are, respectively, the states of a particle before and after a velocity measurement. We discuss the consistency of weak values and show that superluminal weak speed is consistent with relativistic causality.