Experimental Demonstration of Direct Path State Characterization by Strongly Measuring Weak Values in a Matter-Wave Interferometer

Authors

Tobias Denkmayr, AtomInstitut
Hermann Geppert, AtomInstitut
Hartmut Lemmel, AtomInstitut
Mordecai Waegell, AtomInstitut
Justin Dressel, Chapman UniversityFollow
Yuji Hasegawa, AtomInstitut
Stephan Sponar, AtomInstitut

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-6-2017

Abstract

A method was recently proposed and experimentally realized for characterizing a quantum state by directly measuring its complex probability amplitudes in a particular basis using so-called weak values. Recently, Vallone and Dequal [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 040502 (2016)] showed theoretically that weak measurements are not a necessary condition to determine the weak value. Here, we report a measurement scheme used in a matter-wave interferometric experiment in which the neutron path system’s quantum state was characterized via direct measurements, using both strong and weak interactions. Experimental evidence is given that strong interactions outperform weak ones for tomographic accuracy. Our results are not limited to neutron interferometry, but can be used in a wide range of quantum systems.

Comments

This article was originally published in Physical Review Letters, volume 118, in 2017. DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.010402

Recommended Citation

T. Denkmayr, H. Geppert, H. Lemmel, M. Waegell, J. Dressel, Y. Hasegawa, and S. Sponar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 010402 (2017).

Peer Reviewed

1

Copyright

American Physical Society