On the Spin Dependence of Detection Times and the Nonmeasurability of Arrival Times

Abstract

According to a well-known principle of quantum physics, the statistics of the outcomes of any quantum experiment are governed by a Positive Operator-Valued Measure (POVM). In particular, for experiments designed to measure a specific physical quantity, like the time of a particle's first arrival at a surface, this principle establishes that if the probability distribution of that quantity does not arise from a POVM, no such experiment exists. Such is the case with the arrival time distributions proposed by Das and Dürr [arXiv:1802.07141], due to the nature of their spin dependence.

2 pages RevTeX, no figures

Cited by in corpus (3)

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• A solution of the quantum time of arrival problem via mathematical probability theory