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arXiv:quant-ph/0703036 · Physical Review A

Uncertainty relations for positive-operator-valued measures

Serge Massar

Published Oct 17, 2007• 31 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

How much unavoidable randomness is generated by a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM)? We address this question using two complementary approaches. First, we study the variance of a real variable associated with the POVM outcomes. In this context we introduce an uncertainty operator which measures how much additional noise is introduced by carrying out a POVM rather than a von Neumann measurement. We illustrate this first approach by studying the variances of joint estimates of ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{x}$ and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{z}$ for spin-$1∕2$ particles. We show that for unbiased measurements the sum of these variances is lower bounded by $1$. In our second approach we study the entropy of the POVM outcomes. In particular, we try to establish lower bounds on the entropy of the POVM outcomes. We illustrate this second approach by examples.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.76.042114

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The principal aim of this Comment is to correct those entropic uncertainty relations that are presented in a paper by Massar [arXiv:quant-ph/0703036v2 (current version)], concerning two approaches to a study of the noise produced by POVM's. It is next emphasized that the first of the entropic bounds for POVM obtained by the above author has been already presented in Ref. [8]. Some exposition obscurity with equation (14) of the commented paper is elucidated. Finally, some more specific remarks on the paper content are given.

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How much unavoidable randomness is generated by a positive-operator-valued measure (POVM)? We address this question using two complementary approaches. First, we study the variance of a real variable associated with the POVM outcomes. In this context we introduce an uncertainty operator which measures how much additional noise is introduced by carrying out a POVM rather than a von Neumann measurement. We illustrate this first approach by studying the variances of joint estimates of \ensuremathσx{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{x}\ensuremathσx​ and \ensuremathσz{\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{z}\ensuremathσz​ for spin-1∕21∕21∕2 particles. We show that for unbiased measurements the sum of these variances is lower bounded by 111. In our second approach we study the entropy of the POVM outcomes. In particular, we try to establish lower bounds on the entropy of the POVM outcomes. We illustrate this second approach by examples.
The emergence of the uncertainty principle has celebrated its 90th anniversary recently. For this occasion, the latest experimental results of uncertainty relations quantified in terms of Shannon entropies are presented, concentrating only on outcomes in neutron optics. The focus is on the type of measurement uncertainties that describe the inability to obtain the respective individual results from joint measurement statistics. For this purpose, the neutron spin of two non-commuting directions is analyzed. Two sub-categories of measurement uncertainty relations are considered: noise–noise and noise–disturbance uncertainty relations. In the first case, it will be shown that the lowest boundary can be obtained and the uncertainty relations be saturated by implementing a simple positive operator-valued measure (POVM). For the second category, an analysis for projective measurements is made and error correction procedures are presented.
In the conventional axiomatic formalism of quantum mechanics, a physical measurement of a quantum observable is mathematically represented by the spectral decomposition of the Hermitian operator associated with the observable. This constitutes the scenario of a L\"uders (projective) measurement, which includes a von Neumann (rank-one projective) measurement as a special and prominent instance. In this context, the measurement is called sharp in the sense that each measurement operator is an orthogonal projection (eigenprojection of the observable). In the modern operational formalism, a measurement is represented by a positive-operator valued measure (POVM), which consists of a family of non-negative definite operators (measurement operators, effects) summing to the identity. In this scenario, a measurement is called unsharp (fuzzy) if some measurement operators are not orthogonal projections. A natural question arises as to how to quantify unsharpness of a measurement. In this work, we address this issue in terms of uncertainty. For this purpose, we study a family of observables associated with a measurement and their uncertainty. By exploiting the difference between the (total) measurement uncertainty and the observable uncertainty, we are led to some information-theoretic quantifiers of unsharpness. We reveal their basic properties and illustrate them through some important measurements. In particular, we characterize L\"uders measurements and equiangular POVMs as extreme measurements in terms of unsharpness.
The fundamental principles of complementarity and uncertainty are shown to be related to the possibility of joint unsharp measurements of pairs of noncommuting quantum observables. A joint measurement scheme for complementary observables is proposed. The measured observables are represented as positive operator valued measures (POVMs), whose intrinsic fuzziness parameters are found to satisfy an intriguing pay-off relation reflecting the complementarity. At the same time, this relation represents an instance of a Heisenberg uncertainty relation for measurement imprecisions. A model-independent consideration shows that this uncertainty relation is logically connected with the joint measurability of the POVMs in question.
Quantum coherence is a fundamental feature of quantum physics and plays a significant role in quantum information processing. By generalizing the resource theory of coherence from von Neumann measurements to positive operator-valued measures (POVMs), POVM-based coherence measures have been proposed with respect to the relative entropy of coherence, the l 1 norm of coherence, the robustness of coherence and the Tsallis relative entropy of coherence. We derive analytically the lower and upper bounds on these POVM-based coherence of an arbitrary given superposed pure state in terms of the POVM-based coherence of the states in superposition. Our results can be used to estimate range of quantum coherence of superposed states. Detailed examples are presented to verify our analytical bounds.
The principal aim of this Comment is to correct those entropic uncertainty relations that are presented in a paper by Massar [arXiv:quant-ph/0703036v2 (current version)], concerning two approaches to a study of the noise produced by POVM's. It is next emphasized that the first of the entropic bounds for POVM obtained by the above author has been already presented in Ref. [8]. Some exposition obscurity with equation (14) of the commented paper is elucidated. Finally, some more specific remarks on the paper content are given.
A novel uncertainty relation for errors of general quantum measurement is presented. The new relation, which is presented in geometric terms for maps representing measurement, is completely operational and can be related directly to tangible measurement outcomes. The relation violates the naïve bound ℏ/2 for the position-momentum measurement, whilst nevertheless respecting Heisenberg's philosophy of the uncertainty principle. The standard Kennard-Robertson uncertainty relation for state preparations expressed by standard deviations arises as a corollary to its special non-informative case. For the measurement on two-state quantum systems, the relation is found to offer virtually the tightest bound possible; the equality of the relation holds for the measurement performed over every pure state. The Ozawa relation for errors of quantum measurements will also be examined in this regard. In this paper, the Kolmogorovian measure-theoretic formalism of probability-which allows for the representation of quantum measurements by positive-operator valued measures (POVMs)-is given special attention, in regard to which some of the measure-theory specific facts are remarked along the exposition as appropriate.