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Measurements of Observables Replaced by "Detections" in Quantum Theory

Quantum Physics 2014-06-10 v1

Abstract

In Quantum Physics it is not always possible to directly perform the measurement of an obsevable; in some of these cases, however, its value can be {\sl detected}, i.e. it can be inferred by measuring {\sl another} observable characterized by perfect correlation with the observable of interest. Though a {\sl detection} is often interpreted as a {\sl measurement} of the detected observable, we prove that the two concepts cannot be identified in Quantum Physics. Furthermore, we establish what meaning and role can be ascribed to detections coherently with Quantum Theory.

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Cite

@article{arxiv.1406.2217,
  title  = {Measurements of Observables Replaced by "Detections" in Quantum Theory},
  author = {Giuseppe Nisticò and Angela Sestito},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1406.2217},
  year   = {2014}
}

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17 pages