A complete theory of overmeasurement by measuring refinements of observables is presented. It encompasses a wider set of functions of observ- ables (coarsenings) . Thus the theory has a broad potential application.It is applied to a thorough investigation of simultaneous measurements. In partic- ular, the set of all simultaneous measurements for a given pair of compatible observables is determined.
A complete theory of overmeasurement by measuring refinements of observables is presented. It encompasses a wider set of functions of observ- ables (coarsenings) . Thus the theory has a broad potential application.It is applied to a thorough investigation of simultaneous measurements. In partic- ular, the set of all simultaneous measurements for a given pair of compatible observables is determined.
One of the central features of quantum theory is that there are pairs of quantum observables that cannot be measured simultaneously. This incompatibility of quantum observables is a necessary ingredient in several quantum phenomena, such as measurement uncertainty relations, violation of Bell inequalities, and steering. Two quantum observables that admit a simultaneous measurement are, in this respect, classical. A finer classification of classicality can be made by formulating four symmetric relations on the set of observables that are stronger than compatibility; they are broadcastability, one-side broadcastability, mutual nondisturbance, and nondisturbance. It is proven that the five relations form a hierarchy and their differences in terms of the required devices needed in a simultaneous measurement are explained. All four relations that are stronger than compatibility are completely characterized in the case of qubit observables.
A detailed theory of quantum premeasurement dynamics is presented in which a unitary composite-system operator that contains the relevant object-measuring-instrument interaction brings about the final premeasurement state. It does not include collapse, and it does not consider the environment. It is assumed that a discrete degenerate or non-degenerate observable is measured. Premeasurement is defined by the calibration condition, which requires that every initially statistically sharp value of the measured observable has to be detected with statistical certainty by the measuring instrument. The entire theory is derived as a logical consequence of this definition using the standard quantum formalism. The study has a comprehensive coverage, hence the article is actually a topical review. Connection is made with results of other authors, particularly with basic works on premeasurement. The article is a conceptual review, not a historical one. General exact premeasurement is defined in 7 equivalent ways. Nondemolition premeasurement, defined by requiring preservation of any sharp value of the measured observable, is characterized in 10 equivalent ways. Overmeasurement, i. e., a process in which the observable is measured on account of being a function of a finer observable that is actually measured, is discussed. Disentangled premeasurement, in which, by definition, to each result corresponds only one pointer-observable state in the final composite-system state, is investigated. Ideal premeasurement, a special case of both nondemolition premeasurement and disentangled premeasurement, is defined, and its most important properties are discussed. Finally, disentangled and entangled premeasurements, in conjunction with nondemolition or demolition premeasurements, are used for classification of all premeasurements.
A precise theory of the simultaneous meaSllrement of a pair of conjugate observables is necessary for obtaining the classical limit from the quantum theory, for determining the limitations of coherent quantum mechanical amplifiers, etc. The uncertainty principle, of course, does not directly address this problem, since it is a statement about the variances of two hypothetical ideal measurements. We will adopt the approach that there exist instantaneous inexplicable ideal measurements of a single observable. Just as von Neumann1uses an ideal measurements together with all interaction to explain an indirect observation, we use ideal measurements together with iuteractions to explain the simultaneous measurements of an observable and its conjugate.
refer to the joint measurement problem for noncommuting quantum observables: “One of the aspects of quantum theory which has attracted the most general attention, is the novelty of the logical notions which it presupposes. It asserts that even a complete mathematical description of a physical system S does not in general enable one to predict with certainty the result of an experiment on S, and that in particular one can never predict with certainty both the position and the momentum of S (Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle). It further asserts that most pairs of observations are incompatible, and cannot be made on S simultaneously (Principle of Non-commutativity of Observations).” The object of the present paper is to consider what approximate solution one may hope to find to the joint measurement problem. Our main conclusion, based on a rigorous notion of unsharp observable, is that one can reasonably expect to find approximate joint measurements for any pair of noncommuting sharp observables, provided a trade-off in the sense of a Heisenberg uncertainty relation for measurement inaccuracies is taken into account. In addition, it will be seen that as a consequence of the noncom-mutativity of the given observables, the approximating observables must have degrees of unsharpness that obey yet another trade-off relation in the spirit of Heisenberg’s principle. These connections will be
For any pair of bounded observables A and B with pure point spectra, we construct an associated 'joint observable' which gives rise to a notion of a joint (projective) measurement of A and B , and which conforms to the intuition that one can measure non-commuting observables simultaneously, provided one is willing to give up arbitrary precision. As an application, we show how our notion of a joint observable naturally allows for a construction of a 'functional calculus,' so that for any pair of observables A and B as above, and any (Borel measurable) function , a new 'generalized observable' is obtained. Moreover, we show that this new functional calculus has some rather remarkable properties.