PIRSA:08090071

Thinking Inside the Box: Weakly Measuring Postselected Ensembles

Steinberg, A. (2008). Thinking Inside the Box: Weakly Measuring Postselected Ensembles. Perimeter Institute. https://pirsa.org/08090071

Steinberg, Aephraim. Thinking Inside the Box: Weakly Measuring Postselected Ensembles. Perimeter Institute, Sep. 29, 2008, https://pirsa.org/08090071 

          @misc{ pirsa_PIRSA:08090071,
            doi = {10.48660/08090071},
            url = {https://pirsa.org/08090071},
            author = {Steinberg, Aephraim},
            keywords = {Quantum Foundations},
            language = {en},
            title = {Thinking Inside the Box: Weakly Measuring Postselected Ensembles},
            publisher = {Perimeter Institute},
            year = {2008},
            month = {sep},
            note = {PIRSA:08090071 see, \url{https://pirsa.org}}
          }

Aephraim Steinberg University of Toronto

Talk numberPIRSA:08090071
DOI10.48660/08090071
Collection
Talk Type Conference
Subject

Abstract

The presumed irreversibility of quantum measurements (whatever they are) leads, in conventional approaches to quantum theory, to an asymmetry between state preparation and post-selection. Is it possible that a trajectory can be predicted from the former, yet not inferred from the latter? Especially in light of the exciting applications of non-unitary operations (i.e., postselection) in quantum information, it becomes timely to reconsider how much one can say about a post-selected subensemble. I will review the weak-measurement formalism of Aharonov, Vaidman et al., and discuss some applications and extensions. These will include a proposed experiment to study the duration of the tunneling process (a question controversial since the 1930s) and a recently completed experiment aiming to \'resolve\' Hardy\'s retrodiction paradox.