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arXiv:1410.3189 · New Journal of Physics

Post-selected von Neumann measurement with Hermite–Gaussian and Laguerre–Gaussian pointer states

Yusuf Turek, H. Kobayashi, Tomotada Akutsu, Chang-Pu Sun, Yutaka Shikano

Published Aug 18, 2015• 39 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Through the von Neumann interaction followed by post-selection, we can extract not only the eigenvalue of an observable of the measured system but also the weak value. In this post-selected von Neumann measurement, the initial pointer state of the measuring device is assumed to be a fundamental Gaussian wave function. By considering the optical implementation of the post-selected von Neumann measurement, higher-order Gaussian modes can be used. In this paper, we consider the Hermite–Gaussian (HG) and Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) modes as pointer states and calculate the average shift of the pointer states of the post-selected von Neumann measurement by assuming the system observable with and for an arbitrary interaction strength, where represents the identity operator. Our results show that the HG and LG pointer states for a given coupling direction have advantages and disadvantages over the fundamental Gaussian mode in improving the signal-to-noise ratio. We expect that our general treatment of the weak values will be helpful for understanding the connection between weak- and strong-measurement regimes and may be used to propose new experimental setups with higher-order Gaussian beams to investigate further the applications of weak measurement in optical systems such as the optical vortex.

DOI
10.1088/1367-2630/17/8/083029

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Through the von Neumann interaction followed by post-selection, we can extract not only the eigenvalue of an observable of the measured system but also the weak value. In this post-selected von Neumann measurement, the initial pointer state of the measuring device is assumed to be a fundamental Gaussian wave function. By considering the optical implementation of the post-selected von Neumann measurement, higher-order Gaussian modes can be used. In this paper, we consider the Hermite–Gaussian (HG) and Laguerre–Gaussian (LG) modes as pointer states and calculate the average shift of the pointer states of the post-selected von Neumann measurement by assuming the system observable with and for an arbitrary interaction strength, where represents the identity operator. Our results show that the HG and LG pointer states for a given coupling direction have advantages and disadvantages over the fundamental Gaussian mode in improving the signal-to-noise ratio. We expect that our general treatment of the weak values will be helpful for understanding the connection between weak- and strong-measurement regimes and may be used to propose new experimental setups with higher-order Gaussian beams to investigate further the applications of weak measurement in optical systems such as the optical vortex.
We investigated an orbital angular momentum (OAM) pointer within the framework of von Neumann measurements and discovered its significant impact on optimizing superpositions of Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) states. Calculations of the quadrature squeezing, the second-order cross-correlation function, the Wigner function, and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) support our findings. Specifically, by carefully selecting the anomalous weak value and the coupling strength between the measured system and the pointer, we demonstrated that the initial Gaussian state transforms into a non-Gaussian state after postselection. This transition highlights the potential of OAM pointers in enhancing the performance of quantum systems by tailoring state properties for specific applications.
Exploring high sensitivity on the measurement of angular rotations is an outstanding challenge in optics and metrology. In this work, we employ the m n -order Hermite–Gaussian (HG) beam in the weak measurement scheme with an angular rotation interaction, where the rotation information is taken by another HG mode state completely after the post-selection. By taking a projective measurement on the final light beam, the precision of angular rotation is improved by a factor of 2 m n + m + n . For verification, we perform an optical experiment where the minimum detectable angular rotation improves 15 -fold with HG55 mode over that of HG11 mode, and achieves a sub-microradian scale of the measurement precision. Our theoretical framework and experimental results not only provide a more practical and convenient scheme for ultrasensitive measurement of angular rotations but also contribute to a wide range of applications in quantum metrology.
As a special experimental technique, weak measurements extract very little information from the measured system and does not cause the measured state to collapse. When coupling the Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) state with a well-defined pre- and post-selected system of a weak measurement process, there will be an indirect interconnection between the expected value of coordinate operators of the final state and the mode indices of the measured LG state. The mode of the light is impacted very slightly after the weak measurement. Based on this we propose an experiment scheme and have managed to experimentally measure the mode indices of LG beams spanning from l = -6 to l = +6, p = 0 to p = +8 accurately with the final intensity distributions approximatly at their origin.
Here, joint spatial weak measurements with higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) point states are investigated experimentally. From the intensity patterns of the final LG point states, two dimensional position operators 〈X〉 and 〈Y〉 as well as high-order position operators 〈XY〉, 〈X2 − Y2〉, 〈X3〉, and 〈Y3〉 are extracted simultaneously, from which both the complex weak values and joint weak values of two non-commuting observables can be obtained. The enhancement of joint weak values by the postselection state are analyzed. The simple relationship between the expectation values of position operators and the azimuthal and radial indexes of LG modes allows us to identify the mode indexes directly. A simple and robust scheme based on an optical window is demonstrated to monitor the LG mode indexes. These findings deepen the understanding of the weak measurement and provide an alternate and effective method for LG mode index monitoring.
We investigate, within the weak measurement theory, the advantages of nonclassical pointer states over semiclassical ones for coherent, squeezed vacuum, and Schr\"odinger cat states. These states are utilized as pointer states for the system operator $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{A}$ with property ${\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{A}}^{2}=\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{I}$, where $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{I}$ represents the identity operator. We calculate the ratio between the signal-to-noise ratio of nonpostselected and postselected weak measurements. The latter is used to find the quantum Fisher information for the above pointer states. The average shifts for those pointer states with arbitrary interaction strength are investigated in detail. One key result is that we find the postselected weak measurement scheme for nonclassical pointer states to be superior to semiclassical ones. This can improve the precision of the measurement process.
Background: Weak measurement involves weak coupling between the system and the measuring device (pointer) enables large amplification and high precision measurement of small physical parameters. The outcome of this special measurement procedure involving nearly mutually orthogonal pre- and post-selection of states in such weakly interacting systems leads to weak value that can become exceedingly large and lie outside the eigenvalue spectrum of the measured observable. This unprecedented ability of weak value amplification of small physical parameters has been successfully exploited for various metrological applications in the optical domain and beyond. Even though it is a quantum mechanical concept, it can be understood using the classical electromagnetic theory of light and thus can be realized in classical optics. Objective: Here, we briefly review the basic concepts of weak measurement and weak value amplification, provide illustrative examples of its implementation in various optical domains. The applications involve measuring ultra-sensitive beam deflections, high precision measurements of angular rotation, phase shift, temporal shift, frequency shift and so forth, and expand this extraordinary concept in the domain of nano-optics and plasmonics. Methods: In order to perform weak value amplification, we have used Gaussian beam and spectral response as the pointer subsequently. The polarization state associated with the pointer is used as pre and post-selection device. Results: We reveal the weak value amplification of sub-wavelength optical effects namely the Goos-Hänchen shift and the spin hall shift. Further, we demonstrate weak measurements using spectral line shape of resonance as a natural pointer, enabling weak value amplification beyond the conventional limit, demonstrating natural weak value amplification in plasmonic Fano resonances and so forth. The discussed concepts could have useful implications in various nano-optical systems to amplify tiny signals or effects. Conclusion: The emerging prospects of weak value amplification towards the development of novel optical weak measurement devices for metrological applications are extensively discussed.