The past of a quantum particle
arXiv:1304.7474 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.87.052104
Abstract
Although there is no consensus regarding the "reality" of the past of a quantum particle, in situations where there is only one trajectory with nonvanishing quantum wave of the particle between its emission and detection points, it seems "safe" to associate the past of the particle with this trajectory. A method for analyzing the past of a quantum particle according to the weak trace it leaves is proposed. Such a trace can be observed via measurements performed on an ensemble of identically pre- and post-selected particles. Examples, in which this method contradicts the above common sense description of the past of the particle are presented. It is argued that it is possible to describe the past of a quantum particle, but the naive approach has to be replaced by both forward and backward evolving quantum states.
7 pages, 5 figures, to be published in PRA
References in corpus (2)
Cited by in corpus (109)
- Quantum Advantage in Postselected Metrology
- Prediction and retrodiction for a continuously monitored superconducting qubit
- Weak value controversy
- Bell's Theorem and Locally-Mediated Reformulations of Quantum Mechanics
- Particle Path Through a Nested Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
- Quantum Theory and Determinism
- Tracing the past of a quantum particle
- Comment on "Protocol for Direct Counterfactual Quantum Communication" [arXiv:1206.2042]
- Universality of local weak interactions and its application for interferometric alignment
- Past of a quantum particle: Common sense prevails
- Modification of "Counterfactual communication protocols" which eliminates weak particle traces
- The Case of the Disappearing (and Re-Appearing) Particle
- Measurement and Collapse within the Two-State-Vector Formalism
- Interpreting a nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer with classical optics
- What Quantum Measurements Measure
- Can a Dove prism change the past of a single photon?
- Null weak values and the past of a quantum particle
- Experimental observation of anomalous trajectories of single photons
- Comment on "Past of a quantum particle revisited"
- Weak values and quantum properties
- Counterfactual Ghost Imaging
- Quantum Counterfactual Communication Without a Weak Trace
- Correlations of the time dependent signal and the state of a continuously monitored quantum system
- Multifold paths of neutrons in the three-beam interferometer detected by tiny energy-kick
- Analysis of counterfactuality of counterfactual communication protocols
- Comment on "Direct counterfactual transmission of a quantum state"
- Evaluation of Counterfactuality in Counterfactual Communication Protocols
- Comment on "Which-way information in a nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer"
- Quantifying the presence of a neutron in the paths of an interferometer
- How Quantum is Quantum Counterfactual Communication?
- Comment on "One-state vector formalism for the evolution of a quantum state through nested Mach-Zehnder interferometers"
- When photons are lying about where they have been
- Paradox of Photons Disconnected Trajectories Being Located by Means of "Weak Measurements" in the Nested Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
- Weak values and the past of a quantum particle
- Why the Many-Worlds Interpretation?
- Entangled Histories vs. the Two-State-Vector Formalism - Towards a Better Understanding of Quantum Temporal Correlations
- Genuine Counterfactual Communication with a Nanophotonic Processor
- The Weak Reality that Makes Quantum Phenomena more Natural: Novel Insights and Experiments
- Comment on the MS "Null weak values and the past of quantum particle" by Q.Duprey and A.Matzkin
- An Improved Experiment to Determine the `Past of a Particle' in the Nested Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
- Post-Selection and Counterfactual Communication
- Contextuality, Coherences, and Quantum Cheshire Cats
- Post-selection and quantum energetics
- Path probabilities for consecutive measurements, and certain "quantum paradoxes"
- Voices of Silence, Novelties of Noise: Oblivion and Hesitation as Origins of Quantum Mysteries
- Past of a particle in an entangled state
- A Comment on "Paradox of photons disconnected trajectories being located by means of 'weak measurements' in the nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer"
- Reply to Comment on "Null weak values and the past of a quantum particle" by D. Sokolovski
- The Salecker-Wigner-Peres clock, Feynman paths, and a tunnelling time that should not exist
- All is Psi
- Nonlocal Position Changes of a Photon Revealed by Quantum Routers
- Unambiguous path discrimination in a two-path interferometer
- Counterfactual universal quantum computation
- Do weak values capture the complete truth about the past of a quantum particle?
- From Counterportation to Local Wormholes
- Non-representative quantum mechanical weak values
- Direct counterfactual quantum communication protocol beyond single photon source
- Three approaches for analyzing the counterfactuality of counterfactual protocols
- Direct experimental test of commutation relation via weak value
- Measuring evolution of a photon in an interferometer with spectrally-resolved modes
- How a single particle modifies the physical reality of two distant others simultaneously: a quantum nonlocality and weak value study
- Photons are lying about where they have been, again
- A possible solution to the which-way problem of quantum interference
- Quantum weak values and logic, an uneasy couple
- Spectra in nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer experiments
- A Scheme for Performing Strong and Weak Sequential Measurements of Non-commuting Observables
- Disembodiment of arbitrary number of properties in quantum Cheshire cat experiment
- Footprints of quantum pigeons
- Joint weak value for all order coupling using continuous variable and qubit probe
- A symmetrical theory of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics
- Apparent quantum paradoxes as simple interference: Quantum violation of the pigeonhole principle and exchange of properties between quantum particles
- Association between quantum paradoxes based on weak values and a realistic interpretation of quantum measurements
- Response to the Comment on "Paradox of Photons Disconnected Trajectories Being Located by Means of "Weak Measurements" in the Nested Mach-Zehnder Interferometer" (JETP Letters 105, 152 (2017))
- How to Measure the Quantum Measure
- Sequential propagation of a single photon through five measurement contexts in a three-path interferometer
- Exploring postselection-induced quantum phenomena with time-bidirectional state formalism
- Comment on "Multifold paths of neutrons in the three-beam interferometer detected by a tiny energy kick"
- Angular Momentum Flows without anything carrying it
- Causal reappraisal of the quantum three box paradox
- Is the dynamical quantum Cheshire cat detectable?
- On the Power of Weak Measurements in Separating Quantum States
- Quantum weak values and the 'which way?' question
- Erasing the which-path information of photons
- No contextual advantage in non-paradoxical scenarios of two state vector formalism
- Separating a particle's mass from its momentum
- Reply to "Counterfactual communication not achieved yet -- A Comment on Salih et al. (2022)"
- Weak Particle Presence
- Failed attempt to escape from the quantum pigeon conundrum
- A Bayesian quasi-probability approach to inferring the past of quantum observables
- Reply to Comment [axXiv:1610.07734] by L. Vaidman on "Particle path through a nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer" [R. B. Griffiths, Phys. Rev. A 94 (2016) 032115]
- Understanding weak values without new probability theory
- Even quantum pigeons may thrive together. A note on 'the quantum pigeonhole principle'
- Hardy's paradox according to non-classical semantics
- Particle path(s) through a nested Mach-Zehnder interferometer: Reply to Griffiths
- Time-symmetry and topology of the Aharonov-Bohm effect
- Protective Measurement, Postseletion and the Heisenberg Representation
- The real and imaginary parts of a weak value appearing as back-actions via a post-selection
- Reply to a Commentary "Asking photons where they have been without telling them what to say"
- The Informational Observer in Relational Quantum Mechanics
- Comments to Asking Photons Where They Have Been (A Danan et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 240402 (2013))
- Logical inconsistencies in quantum mechanics
- Quantum coherence and negative quasi probabilities in a contextual three-path interferometer
- Vaidmans nested MZI, again
- "Counterfactual" quantum protocols
- An ideal experiment to determine the 'past of a particle' in the nested Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
- Distinguishing quantum states using time travelling qubits in a presence of thermal environments
- Do neutrons disagree with photons about where they have been inside an interferometer?
- Experimental evidence for the physical delocalization of individual photons in an interferometer
- Reply to Comment on "Multitime Quantum Communication: Interesting But Not Counterfactual" by L. Vaidman