Complex weak values in quantum measurement
Quantum Physics
2009-11-13 v1
Abstract
In the weak measurement formalism of Y. Aharonov et al. the so-called weak value A_w of any observable A is generally a complex number. We derive a physical interpretation of its value in terms of the shift in the measurement pointer's mean position and mean momentum. In particular we show that the mean position shift contains a term jointly proportional to the imaginary part of the weak value and the rate at which the pointer is spreading in space as it enters the measurement interaction.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0706.4207,
title = {Complex weak values in quantum measurement},
author = {Richard Jozsa},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0706.4207},
year = {2009}
}