Operational Quantum Physics

Abstract

This tome is a formal presentation of the unsharp observable approach to quantum mechanics using the positive operator valued (POV) concept of an observable. It is intended for philosophers and mathematicians as well as physicists. This is a very formalistic book. There are, however, portions that should be read by all experimentalists performing quantum mechanical studies as well as graduate students completing their first graduate year quantum mechanics course. If we interpret quantum mechanics as making statistical predictions on the results of states prepared in identical fashions, we will often find that the observed probabilities are nearly, but not exactly, the expected 1 or 0 for measurements that are expected to always give the same result. Hence, rather than demanding sharp measures with probabilities of exactly 1 or 0, quantum mechanics allows a reasonable interpretation of unsharp results of nearly 1 or nearly 0. As the authors point out in chapter II, POV measures and the associated unsharp measures are not essential for an interpretation of quantum mechanical results. However, more sharp variables, and hence a larger Hilbert space, will be needed than are required by the unsharp approach. Also, the theoretical interpretation will often not be as straightforward with only sharp observables. As I have previously stated, all graduate students, both those of a theoretical and those of an experimental bent, should read parts of this book (after they have completed a normal introduction using sharp variables). They should at least read the first chapter which explains the unsharp variable measure concept as well as giving some examples, one of which is the Stern - Gerlach experiment. In chapter VII, the last chapter, the Stern - Gerlach experiment photon polarization and other quantum optical experiments and wave-particle duality experiments for photons are examined in detail using the POV formalism. This would also be an excellent chapter for all graduate students to read. Some sections may send them back to some of the intermediate chapters, hopefully to peruse in greater detail. The intermediate chapters contain the formal development of the POV formalism and compare it to the normal method. There is also a brief introduction to measurement theory using unsharp observables. As the authors state, this is not intended to be a complete solution to the problem of measurement theory. The next two chapters deal with uncertainty and phase space formalism as considered by the unsharp observables. Philosophers of physics and mathematicians will find this an excellent introduction to the POV formalism and the distinction between sharp and unsharp measurements. Many texts will gloss over both the philosophical and mathematical consequences inherent in the full statistical formalism of quantum mechanics. This monograph is not, by the authors' admission, a full treatment of quantum measurement theory. Also, although in the introduction the authors discuss the importance of applying quantum mechanics to individual objects, this book mainly considers the interpretations as statistical measures. There is little attempt to deal with the quantum mechanical interpretations of the behaviour of a single particle. That is, questions about measurements on a single particle or the interpretation of the wavefunction for a single particle are not fully covered. The authors claim that the POV approach is also the best for individual systems, but do little in applications. The major example given is in the last chapter where they consider interference measurements for single photons. They might have referenced more of the current alternative approaches to measurement theory of single particle wavefunctions. The readers of this journal will be disappointed, but not surprised, that the covariant nature of observables is restricted almost entirely to the Galilei group. The only Poincaré group material is the example of photon localization in the last chapter. This is a reflection of the great difficulty of applying the special or the general theories of relativity to the Hilbert space formalism.