Time-of-arrival correlations

Abstract

We propose that measurements of time-of-arrival correlations in multi-partite systems can sharply distinguish between different approaches to the time-of-arrival problem. To show this, we construct a Positive-Operator-Valued measure for two distinct time-of-arrival measurements in a bipartite system, and we prove that the resulting probabilities differ strongly from ones defined in terms of probability currents. We also prove that time-of-arrival correlations are entanglement witnesses, a result suggesting the use of temporal observables for quantum information processing tasks. Finally, we construct the probabilities for sequential time-of-arrival measurements on a single particle. We derive the state-reduction rule for time-of-arrival measurements; it differs significantly from the standard one, because time-of-arrival measurements are not defined at a single predetermined moment of time.

33 pages, 4 figures; minor revisions, adding some explanations, version to appear in PRA

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