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The European Physical Journal Special Topics

Simultaneous measurement of non-commuting observables in entangled systems

Erik F G van Heusden, Theo M. Nieuwenhuizen

Published Mar 1, 2019• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

In an EPR setup, simultaneous measurement of two non-commuting observables is considered at station A and, possibly after a time delay, at station B . At each station one apparatus measures the z -component of a spin, while a second one measures the x -component of the same spin simultaneously. The dynamics of the measurements is solved explicitly. It is shown that no violations of Bell inequalities occur in Bell-like correlation experiments, and that, in fact, experiments of this type are subject to even stronger constraints. This is caused by the mutual influence of the two apparatuses coupled to the same spin, an effect which occurs at both stations.

DOI
10.1140/epjst/e2019-800216-2

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In an EPR setup, simultaneous measurement of two non-commuting observables is considered at station A and, possibly after a time delay, at station B . At each station one apparatus measures the z -component of a spin, while a second one measures the x -component of the same spin simultaneously. The dynamics of the measurements is solved explicitly. It is shown that no violations of Bell inequalities occur in Bell-like correlation experiments, and that, in fact, experiments of this type are subject to even stronger constraints. This is caused by the mutual influence of the two apparatuses coupled to the same spin, an effect which occurs at both stations.
Bell-type experiments that test correlated observables typically involve measurements of spin or polarization on multi-particle systems in singlet states. These observables are all non-commuting and satisfy an uncertainty relation. Theoretically, the non-commuting nature should be independent of whether the singlet state consists of multiple particles or a single particle. In addition, if Bell-type inequalities can be found for experiments involving spin and polarization, the same should be true for experiments involving other non-commuting observables such as position and momentum. In fact the original EPR paper used position and momentum, though in a different experimental situation. As such, an experiment is proposed to measure (quantum mechanically) position and momentum for a single oscillator as a means for deriving a Bell-type inequality for these correlated observables. The experiment, if realizable, would shed light on the basic nature of matter, perhaps pointing to some form of self-entanglement, and would also help to further elucidate a possible mechanism behind the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Violation of these inequalities would, in fact, offer yet another confirmation of the principle.
Bell-type experiments that test correlated observables typically involve measurements of spin or polarization on multi-particle systems in singlet states. These observables are all non-commuting and satisfy an uncertainty relation. Theoretically, the non-commuting nature should be independent of whether the singlet state consists of multiple particles or a single particle. Recent experiments in single neutron interferometry have in fact demonstrated this. In addition, if Bell-type inequalities can be found for experiments involving spin and polarization, the same should be true for experiments involving other non-commuting observables such as position and momentum as in the original EPR paper. As such, an experiment is proposed to measure (quantum mechanically) position and momentum for a single oscillator as a means for deriving a Bell-type inequality for these correlated observables. The experiment, if realizable, would shed light on the basic nature of matter, perhaps pointing to some form of self-entanglement, and would also help to further elucidate a possible mechanism behind the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Violation of these inequalities would, in fact, offer yet another confirmation of the principle.
We discuss coupling of violation of Bell's inequality and non-Kolmogorovness of statistical data in the EPR-Bohm experiment. We emphasize that nonlocalty and "death of realism" are only sufficient, but not necessary conditions of non-Kolmogorovness. There can be found other sufficient conditions of non-Kolmogorovness and, hence, violation of Bell's inequality. We find one important source of non-Kolmogorovness by analyzing axiomatics of quantum mechanics. We pay attention to the postulate (due to von Neumann and Dirac) on simultaneous measurement of quantum observables given by commuting operators. This postulate is criticized as nonphysical. We propose a new interpretation of the Born-von Neumann-Dirac rule for calculation of the joint probability distribution for such observables. It gets a natural physical interpretation by considering conditional measurement scheme. We use this argument (i.e., rejection of the postulate on simultaneous measurement to motivate non-Kolmogorovness of the probabilistic structure of the EPR-Bohm experiment.
In derivating of Bell’s inequalities, the probability distribution is supposed to be a function only of a hidden variable. We point out that the true implication of the probability distribution of Bell’s correlation function is the distribution of joint measurement outcomes on the two sides. It is therefore a function of both the hidden variable and the settings. In this case, Bell’s inequalities fail. Our further analysis shows that Bell’s locality holds neither for dependent events nor for independent events. We think that the measurements of EPR pairs are dependent events, and hence violation of Bell’s inequalities cannot rule out the existence of local hidden variable. To explain the results of EPR-type experiments, we suppose that a polarization-entangled photon pair can be composed of two circularly or linearly polarized photons with correlated hidden variables, and a couple of experiments of quantum measurement are proposed. The first uses delayed measurement on one photon of the EPR pair to demonstrate directly whether measurement on the other could have any nonlocal influence on it. Then several experiments are suggested to reveal the components of the polarization-entangled photon pair. The last one uses successive polarization measurements on a pair of EPR photons to show that two photons with the same quantum state behave the same under the same measuring conditions.
EPR showed that two particles emitted from a source can be entangled by a shared wavefunction where two non-commuting observables (position, momentum) can be simultaneously real, leading to a contradiction with quantum mechanics (two non-commuting variables can not be simultaneously real). John Bell derived an inequality where any local hidden variables prediction is bounded and quantum mechanics can violate the inequality. Bell tests on correlated photon pairs showed a clear violation of the Bell inequality and agreement with quantum mechanics. This study revealed that the Bell inequality holds at any individual instances in a given system but it does not hold over the entire population. The Bell inequality is not an incompatibility criterion for local hidden variables vs quantum mechanics rather it is a criterion for an individual nature vs population dynamics. The nonlocality prediction given by wavefunction is a system approximation and local causality (photon polarization) provides a complete description of the Bell tests. The paper concludes with great satisfaction that the measurement of two correlated photons at a distance was a local cause (photon-filter interaction did not violate the special theory of relativity).
In the derivation of Bell's inequalities, probability distribution is supposed to be a function of only hidden variable. We point out that the true implication of the probability distribution of Bell's correlation function is the distribution of the joint measurement outcomes on the two sides. So it is a function of both hidden variable and settings. In this case, Bell's inequalities fail. Our further analysis shows that Bell's locality holds neither for dependent events nor for independent events. We think that the measurements of EPR pairs are dependent events, thus violation of Bell's inequalities cannot rule out the existence of local hidden variable. In order to explain the results of EPR-type experiments, we suppose that polarization entangled photon pair can be composed of two circularly or linearly polarized photons with correlated hidden variables, and a couple of experiments of quantum measurement are proposed. The first uses delayed measurement on one photon of the EPR pair to demonstrate directly whether measurement on the other could have any non-local influence on it. Then several experiments are suggested to reveal the components of polarization entangled photon pair. The last one uses successive polarization measurements on a pair of EPR photons to show that two photons with a same quantum state will behave in the same way under the same measuring condition.