What does the operator algebra of quantum statistics tell us about the objective causes of observable effects?

Quantum physics can only make statistical predictions about possible measurement outcomes, and these predictions originate from an operator algebra that is fundamentally different from the conventional definition of probability as a subjective lack of information regarding the physical reality of the system. In the present paper, I explore how the operator formalism accommodates the vast number of possible states and measurements by characterizing its essential function as a description of causality relations between initial conditions and subsequent observations. It is shown that any complete description of causality must involve non-positive statistical elements that cannot be associated with any directly observable effects. The necessity of non-positive elements is demonstrated by the uniquely defined mathematical description of ideal correlations which explains the physics of maximally entangled states, quantum teleportation and quantum cloning. The operator formalism thus modifies the concept of causality by providing a universally valid description of deterministic relations between initial states and subsequent observations that cannot be expressed in terms of directly observable measurement outcomes. Instead, the identifiable elements of causality are necessarily non-positive and hence unobservable. The validity of the operator algebra therefore indicates that a consistent explanation of the various uncertainty limited phenomena associated with physical objects is only possible if we learn to accept the fact that the elements of causality cannot be reconciled with a continuation of observable reality in the physical object.Comment: 13 pages, feature article for the special issue of Entropy on Quantum Probability, Statistics and Control. Improved explanation of the U_SWAP equivalence in Eq.(11) and added comments and references in the section on quasi-probabilitie

What the complex joint probabilities observed in weak measurements can tell us about quantum physics

Quantum mechanics does not permit joint measurements of non-commuting observables. However, it is possible to measure the weak value of a projection operator, followed by the precise measurement of a different property. The results can be interpreted as complex joint probabilities of the two non-commuting measurement outcomes. Significantly, it is possible to predict the outcome of completely different measurements by combining the joint probabilities of the initial state with complex conditional probabilities relating the new measurement to the possible combinations of measurement outcomes used in the characterization of the quantum state. We can therefore conclude that the complex conditional probabilities observed in weak measurements describe fundamental state-independent relations between non-commuting properties that represent the most fundamental form of universal laws in quantum physics.Comment: This short note (2 pages) is a contribution to the proceedings of QCMC 2012 held in Vienna, Austria, July 30th to August 3rd 2012. It is intended as a short motivational discussion of the significance that recent results on complex probabilities might have for our general understanding of the laws of physic

Generation of a highly phase sensitive polarization squeezed N-photon state by collinear parametric downconversion and coherent photon subtraction

It is shown that a highly phase sensitive polarization squeezed (2n-1)-photon state can be generated by subtracting a diagonally polarized photon from the 2n photon component generated in collinear type II downconversion. This polarization wedge state has the interesting property that its photon number distribution in the horizontal and vertical polarizations remains sharply defined for phase shifts of up to 1/n between the circularly polarized components. Phase shifts at the Heisenberg limit are therefore observed as nearly deterministic transfers of a single photon between the horizontal and vertical polarization components.Comment: 7 pages, including 5 figures, improved explanation of interferometry (one new figure

How weak values emerge in joint measurements on cloned quantum systems

A statistical analysis of optimal universal cloning shows that it is possible to identify an ideal (but non-positive) copying process that faithfully maps all properties of the original Hilbert space onto two separate quantum systems. The joint probabilities for non-commuting measurements on separate clones then correspond to the real parts of the complex joint probabilities observed in weak measurements on a single system, where the measurements on the two clones replace the corresponding sequence of weak measurement and post-selection. The imaginary parts of weak measurement statics can be obtained by replacing the cloning process with a partial swap operation. A controlled-swap operation combines both processes, making the complete weak measurement statistics accessible as a well-defined contribution to the joint probabilities of fully resolved projective measurements on the two output systems.Comment: 4 pages, major changes to title and introduction, improved explanation of weak measurement statistic