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Science

Heisenberg's Heirs Exploit Loopholes in His Law

Gary Taubes

Published Mar 11, 1994• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This article describes research into Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Loopholes in the principle have led to a series of experiments using sophisticated optical techniques to extract information from a quantum system without disturbing the variable being measured. The experiments are based on a technique called back-action evasion, which exploits the possibility of channeling all the uncertainty generated by measuring one quantum variable (e.g. laser beam intensity) onto a related variable known as the conjugate observable (beam phase). These experiments and others are described.

DOI
10.1126/science.263.5152.1376

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This article describes research into Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Loopholes in the principle have led to a series of experiments using sophisticated optical techniques to extract information from a quantum system without disturbing the variable being measured. The experiments are based on a technique called back-action evasion, which exploits the possibility of channeling all the uncertainty generated by measuring one quantum variable (e.g. laser beam intensity) onto a related variable known as the conjugate observable (beam phase). These experiments and others are described.
Several high-precision physics experiments are approaching a level of sensitivity at which the intrinsic quantum nature of the experimental apparatus is the dominant source of fluctuations limiting the sensitivity of the measurements. This quantum limit is embodied by the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, which prohibits arbitrarily precise simultaneous measurements of two conjugate observables of a system but allows one-time measurements of a single observable with any precision. The dynamical evolution of a system immediately following a measurement limits the class of observables that may be measured repeatedly with arbitrary precision, with the influence of the measurement apparatus on the system being confined strictly to the conjugate observables. Observables having this feature, and the corresponding measurements performed on them have been named quantum nondemolition or back-action evasion observables. In a previous review (Caves et al., 1980, Rev. Mod. Phys. 52, 341) a quantum-mechanical analysis of quantum nondemolition measurements of a harmonic oscillator was presented. The present review summarizes the experimental progress on quantum nondemolition measurements and the classical models developed to describe and guide the development of practical implementations of quantum nondemolition measurements. The relationship between the classical and quantum theoretical models is also reviewed. The concept of quantum nondemolition and back-action evasion measurements originated in the context of measurements on a macroscopic mechanical harmonic oscillator, though these techniques may be useful in other experimental contexts as well, as is discussed in the last part of this review. [S0034-6861(96)00103-1]
100±Δt100\pmΔt100±Δt Years of Quantum Uncertainty: From Origins to Modern Insights
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, marking a decisive departure from classical physics. Conceived almost a century ago through a thought experiment showing that measuring an electron's position inevitably disturbs its momentum, it began as a deceptively simple idea that sparked countless studies and grew into the rich research field it is today. This review traces its development into a spectrum of mathematical formulations -- known as uncertainty relations -- and explores their interconnections and wide-ranging applications. We highlight its central role in quantum metrology, where it underpins strategies for extracting information from quantum systems with ever-increasing precision, and its links to multiparameter estimation and squeezed states. This review, dedicated to the centenary of the uncertainty principle, reflects on how it has deepened our understanding of quantum theory and driven practical advances, and looks ahead to a century poised for further surprising and transformative discoveries.
One of the most striking deviations of quantum mechanics from classical mechanics is that any measurement of a microscopic system involves the interaction with the measuring instruments. The interaction cannot be neglected and in fact leads to uncontrollable disturbance on the system. In 1927, Werner Karl Heisenberg in his celebrated paper established the quantitative expression for unavoidable momentum disturbance caused by any position measurement. The crucial word here is simultaneously. The uncertainty relation gives the lower bound on the product of the uncertainties of two pairs of variables. But it says nothing about the accuracy with which individual observables can be measured. The physical meaning of energy-time uncertainty is different from that of x-px uncertainty. Position and momentum are observables to which Hermitian operators are assigned and which are measured at a particular time. An important implication of the uncertainty principle is that quantum systems do follow classical trajectories which conflict with our everyday experience.
According to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, if we measure one variable describing a physical system, we inevitably introduce noise into some other variable describing the same system. In practice, the situation is worse than that: measuring one variable usually introduces random noise into the very quantity we are measuring. It is possible in principle to make measurements, known as quantum non-demolition (or QND) measurements, which do not have this latter effect. A QND measurement may approach the ideal quantum measurement commonly encountered in quantum mechanics textbooks. Philippe Grangier and his co-workers at the Université Paris-Sud, at Orsay in France, have recently attempted to measure the intensity of a beam of light in this way (Phys. Rev. Len. (1991) 66 1418). Their experiment has shown that it is indeed possible to make a measurement which at least partially preserves the quantum mechanical state of the detected beam.