Experimental Observation of Anomalous Complementary Weak Values from Correlated Pairwise Two-State Vectors
arXiv:2607.11284
The paper demonstrates how entanglement and controlled post‑selection can be used to generate correlated two‑state vectors, allowing the observation of anomalous complementary weak values in multiple post‑selection outcomes.
Abstract
Weak values (WVs) arise from weak measurements performed within a time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics, where a system is both pre- and post-selected. Anomalous WVs that lie far outside the eigenvalue spectrum of the observable hold both fundamental and practical significance. However, their generation typically relies on near-orthogonal pre- and post-selection, which confines them to a single post-selection outcome with extremely low success probability. This constraint limits experimental accessibility and hinders the full exploitation of time symmetry. To overcome these limitations, we utilize quantum entanglement and post-selection-controlled operations to generate correlated pairwise two-state vectors. By changing the role of post-selection from passive filtering to active engineering, this approach enables the observation of anomalous complementary WVs associated with mutually exclusive post-selection branches. Our results extend the operational accessibility of time-symmetric quantum structures associated with the two-state vector formalism, and open new avenues for exploring the applications of time symmetry in quantum information processing.
12 pages, 7 figures