Weak measurement of the Dirac distribution
Quantum Physics
2011-12-26 v3
Abstract
Recent work [J.S. Lundeen et al. Nature, 474, 188 (2011)] directly measured the wavefunction by weakly measuring a variable followed by a normal (i.e. `strong') measurement of the complementary variable. We generalize this method to mixed states by considering the weak measurement of the product of the two observables, which, as a non-Hermitian operator, is normally unobservable. This generalized method provides mixed states an operational definition related to the operator representation proposed by Dirac. Uniquely, it can be performed `in situ', determing the quantum state without destroying it.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1110.0727,
title = {Weak measurement of the Dirac distribution},
author = {Jeff S. Lundeen and Charles Bamber},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1110.0727},
year = {2011}
}
Comments
Reverted to older longer version, added references to recent work