Repeatability of measurements: Non-Hermitian observables and quantum Coriolis force
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Date
2016-08-26
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Citation of Original Publication
Bartłomiej Gardas, Sebastian Deffner, and Avadh Saxena, Repeatability of measurements: Non-Hermitian observables and quantum Coriolis force, Phys. Rev. A 94, 022121 (2016), DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.022121
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This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law
UMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET)
Public Domain Mark 1.0
This work was written as part of one of the author's official duties as an Employee of the United States Government and is therefore a work of the United States Government. In accordance with 17 U.S.C. 105, no copyright protection is available for such works under U.S. Law
UMBC Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET)
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Abstract
A noncommuting measurement transfers, via the apparatus, information encoded in a system's state to the external “observer.” Classical measurements determine properties of physical objects. In the quantum realm, the very same notion restricts the recording process to orthogonal states as only those are distinguishable by measurements. Therefore, even a possibility to describe physical reality by means of non-Hermitian operators should volens nolens be excluded as their eigenstates are not orthogonal. Here, we show that non-Hermitian operators with real spectra can be treated within the standard framework of quantum mechanics. Furthermore, we propose a quantum canonical transformation that maps Hermitian systems onto non-Hermitian ones. Similar to classical inertial forces this map is accompanied by an energetic cost, pinning the system on the unitary path.