2,965 research outputs found
Information-disturbance tradeoff in quantum measurements
We present a simple information-disturbance tradeoff relation valid for any
general measurement apparatus: The disturbance between input and output states
is lower bounded by the information the apparatus provides in distinguishing
these two states.Comment: 4 Pages, 1 Figure. Published version (reference added and minor
changes performed
Quantum state targeting
We introduce a new primitive for quantum communication that we term "state
targeting" wherein the goal is to pass a test for a target state even though
the system upon which the test is performed is submitted prior to learning the
target state's identity. Success in state targeting can be described as having
some control over the outcome of the test. We show that increasing one's
control above a minimum amount implies an unavoidable increase in the
probability of failing the test. This is analogous to the unavoidable
disturbance to a quantum state that results from gaining information about its
identity, and can be shown to be a purely quantum effect. We provide some
applications of the results to the security analysis of cryptographic tasks
implemented between remote antagonistic parties. Although we focus on weak coin
flipping, the results are significant for other two-party protocols, such as
strong coin flipping, partially binding and concealing bit commitment, and bit
escrow. Furthermore, the results have significance not only for the traditional
notion of security in cryptography, that of restricting a cheater's ability to
bias the outcome of the protocol, but also on a novel notion of security that
arises only in the quantum context, that of cheat-sensitivity. Finally, our
analysis of state targeting leads to some interesting secondary results, for
instance, a generalization of Uhlmann's theorem and an operational
interpretation of the fidelity between two mixed states
Quantum mechanics explained
The physical motivation for the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics
is made clear and compelling by starting from an obvious fact - essentially,
the stability of matter - and inquiring into its preconditions: what does it
take to make this fact possible?Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures. v2: revised in response to referee comment
Spacetime metric from linear electrodynamics
The Maxwell equations are formulated on an arbitrary (1+3)-dimensional
manifold. Then, imposing a (constrained) linear constitutive relation between
electromagnetic field and excitation , we derive
the metric of spacetime therefrom.Comment: 4 pages' latex-scrip
Convex probability domain of generalized quantum measurements
Generalized quantum measurements with N distinct outcomes are used for
determining the density matrix, of order d, of an ensemble of quantum systems.
The resulting probabilities are represented by a point in an N-dimensional
space. It is shown that this point lies in a convex domain having at most d^2-1
dimensions.Comment: 7 pages LaTeX, one PostScript figure on separate pag
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