English

Quantum state discrimination

Quantum Physics 2008-10-14 v1

Abstract

It is a fundamental consequence of the superposition principle for quantum states that there must exist non-orthogonal states, that is states that, although different, have a non-zero overlap. This finite overlap means that there is no way of determining with certainty in which of two such states a given physical system has been prepared. We review the various strategies that have been devised to discriminate optimally between non-orthogonal states and some of the optical experiments that have been performed to realise these.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0810.1970,
  title  = {Quantum state discrimination},
  author = {Stephen M. Barnett and Sarah Croke},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0810.1970},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

43 pages, submitted to Advances in Optics and Photonics

R2 v1 2026-06-21T11:29:39.146Z