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arXiv:1511.03462 · Physical Review Letters

Experimental Test of Residual Error-Disturbance Uncertainty Relations for Mixed Spin- ½ States

Bülent Demirel, Stephan Sponar, Georg Sulyok, Masanao Ozawa, Yuji Hasegawa

Published Sep 27, 2016• 23 citations
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Abstract

The indeterminacy inherent in quantum measurements is an outstanding character of quantum theory, which manifests itself typically in the uncertainty principle. In the last decade, several universally valid forms of error-disturbance uncertainty relations were derived for completely general quantum measurements for arbitrary states. Subsequently, Branciard established a form that is optimal for spin measurements for some pure states. However, the bound in his inequality is not stringent for mixed states. One of the present authors recently derived a new bound tight in the corresponding mixed state case. Here, a neutron-optical experiment is carried out to investigate this new relation: it is tested whether error and disturbance of quantum measurements disappear or persist in mixing up the measured ensemble. The attainability of the new bound is experimentally observed, falsifying the tightness of Branciard's bound for mixed spin states.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.117.140402

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The indeterminacy inherent in quantum measurements is an outstanding character of quantum theory, which manifests itself typically in the uncertainty principle. In the last decade, several universally valid forms of error-disturbance uncertainty relations were derived for completely general quantum measurements for arbitrary states. Subsequently, Branciard established a form that is optimal for spin measurements for some pure states. However, the bound in his inequality is not stringent for mixed states. One of the present authors recently derived a new bound tight in the corresponding mixed state case. Here, a neutron-optical experiment is carried out to investigate this new relation: it is tested whether error and disturbance of quantum measurements disappear or persist in mixing up the measured ensemble. The attainability of the new bound is experimentally observed, falsifying the tightness of Branciard's bound for mixed spin states.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle was originally formulated in 1927 as a quantitative relation between the "mean error" of a measurement of one observable and the disturbance thereby caused on another observable. Heisenberg derived this famous relation under an additional assumption on quantum measurements that has been abandoned in the modern theory, and its universal validity was questioned in a debate on the sensitivity limit to gravitational-wave detectors in 1980s. A universally valid form of the error-disturbance relation was shown to be derived in the modern framework of general quantum measurements in 2003. We have experienced a considerable progress in theoretical and experimental study of error-disturbance relations in the last decade. In 2013 Branciard showed a new stronger form of universally valid error-disturbance relations, one of which is proved tight for spin measurements carried out in "pure" states. Nevertheless, a recent information-theoretical study of error-disturbance relations has suggested that Branciard relations can be considerably strengthened for measurements in mixed states. Here, we show a method for strengthening Branciard relations in mixed states and derive several new universally valid and stronger error-disturbance relations in mixed states. In particular, it is proved that one of them gives an ultimate error-disturbance relation for spin measurements, which is tight in any state. The new relations will play an important role in applications to state estimation problems including quantum cryptographic scenarios.
Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle in a formulation of uncertainties, intrinsic to any quantum system, is rigorously proven and demonstrated in various quantum systems. Nevertheless, Heisenberg’s original formulation of the uncertainty principle was given in terms of a reciprocal relation between the error of a position measurement and the thereby induced disturbance on a subsequent momentum measurement. However, a naive generalization of a Heisenberg-type error-disturbance relation for arbitrary observables is not valid. An alternative universally valid relation was derived by Ozawa in 2003. Though universally valid, Ozawa’s relation is not optimal. Recently, Branciard has derived a tight error-disturbance uncertainty relation (EDUR), describing the optimal trade-off between error and disturbance under certain conditions. Here, we report a neutron-optical experiment that records the error of a spin-component measurement, as well as the disturbance caused on another spin-component to test EDURs. We demonstrate that Heisenberg’s original EDUR is violated, and Ozawa’s and Branciard’s EDURs are valid in a wide range of experimental parameters, as well as the tightness of Branciard’s relation.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is probably the most famous statement of quantum physics and its essential aspects are well described by a formulations in terms of standard deviations. However, a naive Heisenberg-type error-disturbance relation is not valid. An alternative universally valid relation was derived by Ozawa in 2003. Though universally valid Ozawa's relation is not optimal. Recently, Branciard has derived a tight error-disturbance uncertainty relation (EDUR), describing the optimal trade-off between error and disturbance. Here, we report a neutron-optical experiment that records the error of a spin-component measurement, as well as the disturbance caused on another spin-component to test EDURs. We demonstrate that Heisenberg's original EDUR is violated, and the Ozawa's and Branciard's EDURs are valid in a wide range of experimental parameters, applying a new measurement procedure referred to as two-state method.
In his seminal paper, which was published in 1927, Heisenberg originally introduced a relation between the precision of a measurement and the disturbance it induces onto another measurement. Here, we report a neutron-optical experiment that records the error of a spin-component measurement as well as the disturbance caused on a measurement of another spin-component to test error-disturbance uncertainty relations (EDRs). We demonstrate that Heisenberg’s original EDR is violated and the Ozawa and Branciard EDRs are valid in a wide range of experimental parameters.
Information-theoretic definitions for noise and disturbance in quantum measurements were given in [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 050401 (2014)] and a state-independent noise-disturbance uncertainty relation was obtained. Here, we derive a tight noise-disturbance uncertainty relation for complementary qubit observables and carry out an experimental test. Successive projective measurements on the neutron's spin-1/2 system, together with a correction procedure which reduces the disturbance, are performed. Our experimental results saturate the tight noise-disturbance uncertainty relation for qubits when an optimal correction procedure is applied.
In its original formulation, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle describes a trade-off relation between the error of a quantum measurement and the thereby induced disturbance on the measured object. However, this relation is not valid in general. An alternative universally valid relation was derived by Ozawa in 2003, defining error and disturbance in a general concept, experimentally accessible via a tomographic method. Later, it was shown by Hall that these errors correspond to the statistical deviation between a physical property and its estimate. Recently, it was discovered that these errors can be observed experimentally when weak values are determined through a procedure named “feedback compensation.” Here, we apply this procedure for the complete experimental characterization of the error-disturbance relation between a which-way observable in an interferometer and another observable associated with the output of the interferometer, confirming the theoretically predicted relation. As expected for pure states, the uncertainty is tightly fulfilled.