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arXiv:quant-ph/0102049 · Zeitschrift für Naturforschung A

The Paradoxes of the Interaction-free Measurements

L. Vaidman

Published Feb 1, 2001• 7 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract Interaction-free measurements introduced by Elitzur and Vaidman [Found. Phys. 23,987 (1993)] allow finding infinitely fragile objects without destroying them. Paradoxical features of these and related measurements are discussed. The resolution of the paradoxes in the framework of the Many-Worlds Interpretation is proposed.
DOI
10.1515/zna-2001-0115

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I shall discuss two recently suggested quantum experiments. These experiments lead to paradoxical situations. I will argue that in the framework of a particular Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum theory the paradoxes do not arise. The first experiment is the “interaction-free measurement” (Elitzur and Vaidman 1993). The experimental group at Innsbruck headed by Prof. Zeilinger is working now on its realization. Before describing the experiment let me discuss a general question: “How do we know that there is an object in a region of space?” The simplest case is when the object itself causes some physical changes outside the region: i) The object is charged, so there is a field outside. We can measure this field. ii) The object yields a potential outside. Aharonov and Bohm have taught us that potential even without field leads to a measurable effect. iii) The objects radiates photons or other particles.
In the early 1990's A. Elitzur and L. Vaidman proposed an interaction free measurement (IFM) that allows researchers to find infinitely fragile objects without destroying them. But Elitzur-Vaidman IFM has been used only to determine the position of opaque objects. In this paper, we propose an extension of such a technique that allows measurement of classical electric and magnetic fields. Our main goal is to offer a framework for future investigations about the role of the measurement processes, expanding the physical properties that are measurable by means of IFM.
In 1993, Elitzur and Vaidman introduced the concept of interaction-free measurements, which allowed finding objects without “touching” them. In the proposed method, since the objects were not touched, even by photons, thus, the interaction-free measurements can be called “seeing in the dark.” Since then, several experiments have been successfully performed and various modifications were suggested. Recently, however, the validity of the term “interaction-free” has been questioned. The criticism of the name is briefly reviewed and the meaning of the interaction-free measurements is clarified.
In 1993 Elitzur and Vaidmannl (EV) demonstrated that quantum mechanics permits the use of light quanta to examine an object without a single photon having actually interacted with the object, requiring only the possibility of such an interaction. The EV scenario has recently been carried out in the laboratory and its predictions verified. EV discussed their scenario in terms of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, in which the interaction-free result is rather mysterious, using a “knowledge” not available classically. They also used the Everett-Wheeler interpretation and suggested that the information indicating the presence of the opaque object comes from an interaction in a separate Everett-Wheeler universe, with the information communicated to our universe through the absence of interference. In the present work, we will examine the EV interaction-free scenario in terms of the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics2 and will provide a more plausible account of the physical processes that make possible quantum interaction-free measurements.