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arXiv:1411.7218

Uncertainty and Complementarity Relations in Weak Measurement

Arun Kumar Pati, Junde Wu

Published Nov 26, 2014• 3 citations
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Abstract

We prove uncertainty relations that quantitatively express the impossibility of jointly sharp preparation of pre- and post-selected quantum states for measuring incompatible observables during the weak measurement. By defining a suitable operator whose average in the pre-selected quantum state gives the weak value, we show that one can have new uncertainty relations for variances of two such operators corresponding to two non-commuting observables. These generalize the recent stronger uncertainty relations that give non-trivial lower bounds for the sum of variances of two observables which fully capture the concept of incompatible observables. Furthermore, we show that weak values for two non-commuting projection operators obey a complementarity relation. Specifically, we show that for a pre-selected state if we measure a projector corresponding to an observable $A$ weakly followed by the strong measurement of another observable $B$ (for the post-selection) and, for the same pre-selected state we measure a projector corresponding to an observable $B$ weakly followed by the strong measurement of the observable $A$ (for the post-selection), then the product of these two weak values is always less than one. This shows that even though individually they are complex and can be large, their product is always bounded.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1411.7218

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We prove uncertainty relations that quantitatively express the impossibility of jointly sharp preparation of pre- and post-selected quantum states for measuring incompatible observables during the weak measurement. By defining a suitable operator whose average in the pre-selected quantum state gives the weak value, we show that one can have new uncertainty relations for variances of two such operators corresponding to two non-commuting observables. These generalize the recent stronger uncertainty relations that give non-trivial lower bounds for the sum of variances of two observables which fully capture the concept of incompatible observables. Furthermore, we show that weak values for two non-commuting projection operators obey a complementarity relation. Specifically, we show that for a pre-selected state if we measure a projector corresponding to an observable AAA weakly followed by the strong measurement of another observable BBB (for the post-selection) and, for the same pre-selected state we measure a projector corresponding to an observable BBB weakly followed by the strong measurement of the observable AAA (for the post-selection), then the product of these two weak values is always less than one. This shows that even though individually they are complex and can be large, their product is always bounded.
The products of weak values of quantum observables are shown to be of value in deriving quantum uncertainty and complementarity relations, for both weak and strong measurement statistics. First, a ``product representation formula'' allows the standard Heisenberg uncertainty relation to be derived from a classical uncertainty relation for complex random variables. We show this formula also leads to strong uncertainty relations for unitary operators and underlies an interpretation of weak values as optimal (complex) estimates of quantum observables. Furthermore, we show that two incompatible observables that are weakly and strongly measured in a weak measurement context obey a complementarity relation under the interchange of these observables, in the form of an upper bound on the product of the corresponding weak values. Moreover, general tradeoff relations between weak purity, quantum purity, and quantum incompatibility, and also between weak and strong joint probability distributions, are obtained based on products of real and imaginary components of weak values, where these relations quantify the degree to which weak probabilities can take anomalous values in a given context.
The Heisenberg-Robertson uncertainty relation quantitatively expresses the impossibility of jointly sharp preparation of incompatible observables. However, it does not capture the concept of incompatible observables because it can be trivial even for two incompatible observables. We experimentally demonstrate that the new stronger uncertainty relations proposed by Maccone and Pati [Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 260401 (2014)] relating to the sum of variances are valid in a state-dependent manner and that the lower bound is guaranteed to be nontrivial when two observables are incompatible on the state of the system being measured. The behavior we find agrees with the predictions of quantum theory and obeys the new uncertainty relations even for the special states which trivialize the Heisenberg-Robertson relation. We realize a direct measurement model and perform an experimental investigation of the strengthened relations.
Time averaging of weak values using the quantum transition path time probability distribution enables us to establish a general uncertainty relation for the weak values of two not necessarily Hermitian operators. This new relation is a weak value analog of the Schr\"odinger strong value uncertainty relation. It leads to the conclusion that it is possible to determine with high accuracy the simultaneous mean weak values of noncommuting operators by judicious choice of the pre- and postselected states even when the postselected state is not an eigenfunction of one of the respective operators. When the time fluctuations of the two weak values are proportional to each other there is no uncertainty limitation on their variances and, in principle, their means can be determined with arbitrary precision even though their corresponding operators do not commute. To exemplify these properties we consider specific weak value uncertainty relations for the time-energy, coordinate-momentum, and coordinate--kinetic-energy pairs. In addition we analyze spin operators and the Stern-Gerlach experiment in weak and strong inhomogeneous magnetic fields. This classic case leads to anomalous spin values when the field is weak. The weak value uncertainty relation implies that anomalous spin values are associated with large variances so that their measurement demands increased signal averaging. These examples establish the importance of considering the time dependence of weak values in scattering experiments.
We prove a few state-dependent uncertainty relations for the product as well as the sum of variances of two incompatible observables. These uncertainty relations are shown to be tighter than the Robertson-Schr\"odinger uncertainty relation and other ones existing in the current literature. Also, we derive a state-dependent upper bound to the sum and the product of variances using the reverse Cauchy-Schwarz inequality and the Dunkl-Williams inequality. Our results suggest that not only can we not prepare quantum states for which two incompatible observables can have sharp values, but also we have both the lower and the upper limits on the variances of quantum mechanical observables at a fundamental level.