On the infimum of quantum effects

Abstract

The quantum effects for a physical system can be described by the set E(H) of positive operators on a complex Hilbert space H that are bounded above by the identity operator. While a general effect may be unsharp, the collection of sharp effects is described by the set of orthogonal projections P(H)⊆E(H). Under the natural order, E(H) becomes a partially ordered set that is not a lattice if dimH⩾2. A physically significant and useful characterization of the pairs A,B∊E(H) such that the infimum A∧B exists is called the infimum problem. We show that A∧P exists for all A∊E(H), P∊P(H) and give an explicit expression for A∧P. We also give a characterization of when A∧(I−A) exists in terms of the location of the spectrum of A. We present a counterexample which shows that a recent conjecture concerning the infimum problem is false. Finally, we compare our results with the work of Ando on the infimum problem.