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How to detect an excited atom without disturbing it or how to locate a super-mine without exploding it

Lev Vaidman A

Published May 1, 1994• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Possible realistic implementations of a method for interaction-free measurements, due to Elitzur and Vaidman, are proposed and discussed. It is argued that the effect can be easily demonstrated in an optical laboratory.

Related papers

On the realization of interaction-free measurements

Lev Vaidman A

A possible realistic implementation of a method for interaction-free measurements, due to Elitzur and Vaidman, is proposed and discussed. It is argued that the effect can be observed in an optical laboratory.

Quantum Optics Journal of the European Optical Society Part B•Jun 1, 1994•48 citations

Interaction-free measurement

Alan J. DeWeerd

Interaction-free measurement is introduced through a set of problems suitable for undergraduates. Both the original scheme suggested by Elitzur and Vaidman and an improved one proposed by Kwiat et al. are considered. Theoretical predictions are compared to experimental data.

American Journal of Physics•Mar 1, 2002•52 citations

The Elitzur-Vaidman Interaction-Free Measurements

Lev Vaidman A

The interaction-free measurements proposed by Elitzur and Vaidman (EV IFM) is a quantum mechanical method to find an object that interacts with other systems solely via its explosion without exploding it. In this method, an object can be found without ``touching it'', i.e. without any particle being at its vicinity.

arXiv:0801.2777•Jan 17, 2008•3 citations

Atomic “bomb testing”: the Elitzur–Vaidman experiment violates the Leggett–Garg inequality

Carsten Robens, W. Alt, Clive Emary +2 more

Elitzur and Vaidman have proposed a measurement scheme that, based on the quantum superposition principle, allows one to detect the presence of an object—in a dramatic scenario, a bomb—without interacting with it. It was pointed out by Ghirardi that this interaction-free measurement scheme can be put in direct relation with falsification tests of the macro-realistic worldview. Here we have implemented the “bomb test” with a single atom trapped in a spin-dependent optical lattice to show explicitly a violation of the Leggett–Garg inequality—a quantitative criterion fulfilled by macro-realistic physical theories. To perform interaction-free measurements, we have implemented a novel measurement method that correlates spin and position of the atom. This method, which quantum mechanically entangles spin and position, finds general application for spin measurements, thereby avoiding the shortcomings inherent in the widely used push-out technique. Allowing decoherence to dominate the evolution of our system causes a transition from quantum to classical behavior in fulfillment of the Leggett–Garg inequality.

•Jan 1, 2017•0 citations

Experimental demonstration of interaction-free measurements

Paul G. Kwiat, Harald Weinfurter, Anton Zeilinger

It is now well-understood that the complementary wave- and particle-like natures of quanta enable one to make measurements that are “interaction-free” -- one can determine the presence or absence of an object, even a completely absorbing object, without any photons being absorbed. The first proposal of such a scheme was limited to an efficiency of 50% -- at most half of the measurements could be interaction free [1]. By using an application of the Quantum Zeno effect, one can in fact have the fraction of interaction-free measurements arbitrarily close to one [2].

•Jul 14, 1996•0 citations

Atomic “bomb testing”: the Elitzur–Vaidman experiment violates the Leggett–Garg inequality

Carsten Robens, Wolfgang Alt, Clive Emary +2 more

Elitzur and Vaidman have proposed a measurement scheme that, based on the quantum superposition principle, allows one to detect the presence of an object-in a dramatic scenario, a bomb-without interacting with it. It was pointed out by Ghirardi that this interaction-free measurement scheme can be put in direct relation with falsification tests of the macro-realistic worldview. Here we have implemented the "bomb test" with a single atom trapped in a spin-dependent optical lattice to show explicitly a violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality-a quantitative criterion fulfilled by macro-realistic physical theories. To perform interaction-free measurements, we have implemented a novel measurement method that correlates spin and position of the atom. This method, which quantum mechanically entangles spin and position, finds general application for spin measurements, thereby avoiding the shortcomings inherent in the widely used push-out technique. Allowing decoherence to dominate the evolution of our system causes a transition from quantum to classical behavior in fulfillment of the Leggett-Garg inequality.

arXiv:1609.06218•Applied Physics B•Dec 19, 2016•59 citations
Elitzur and Vaidman have proposed a measurement scheme that, based on the quantum superposition principle, allows one to detect the presence of an object—in a dramatic scenario, a bomb—without interacting with it. It was pointed out by Ghirardi that this interaction-free measurement scheme can be put in direct relation with falsification tests of the macro-realistic worldview. Here we have implemented the “bomb test” with a single atom trapped in a spin-dependent optical lattice to show explicitly a violation of the Leggett–Garg inequality—a quantitative criterion fulfilled by macro-realistic physical theories. To perform interaction-free measurements, we have implemented a novel measurement method that correlates spin and position of the atom. This method, which quantum mechanically entangles spin and position, finds general application for spin measurements, thereby avoiding the shortcomings inherent in the widely used push-out technique. Allowing decoherence to dominate the evolution of our system causes a transition from quantum to classical behavior in fulfillment of the Leggett–Garg inequality.
It is now well-understood that the complementary wave- and particle-like natures of quanta enable one to make measurements that are “interaction-free” -- one can determine the presence or absence of an object, even a completely absorbing object, without any photons being absorbed. The first proposal of such a scheme was limited to an efficiency of 50% -- at most half of the measurements could be interaction free [1]. By using an application of the Quantum Zeno effect, one can in fact have the fraction of interaction-free measurements arbitrarily close to one [2].
Elitzur and Vaidman have proposed a measurement scheme that, based on the quantum superposition principle, allows one to detect the presence of an object-in a dramatic scenario, a bomb-without interacting with it. It was pointed out by Ghirardi that this interaction-free measurement scheme can be put in direct relation with falsification tests of the macro-realistic worldview. Here we have implemented the "bomb test" with a single atom trapped in a spin-dependent optical lattice to show explicitly a violation of the Leggett-Garg inequality-a quantitative criterion fulfilled by macro-realistic physical theories. To perform interaction-free measurements, we have implemented a novel measurement method that correlates spin and position of the atom. This method, which quantum mechanically entangles spin and position, finds general application for spin measurements, thereby avoiding the shortcomings inherent in the widely used push-out technique. Allowing decoherence to dominate the evolution of our system causes a transition from quantum to classical behavior in fulfillment of the Leggett-Garg inequality.