Does Quantum Energy Measurement Involve Position Measurement?

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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the relationship between quantum energy measurement and position measurement, specifically questioning whether energy measurement necessitates position measurement due to the nature of quantum observations. The angle-resolved photoemission technique is highlighted as a method for measuring energy and momentum of particles, utilizing electrostatic lenses and dipole magnets to determine energy based on particle trajectory deflection. The conversation also touches on the implications of uncertainty relations and the challenges of measuring the energy of single particles, particularly in the context of second quantization.

PREREQUISITES
  • Quantum mechanics fundamentals
  • Understanding of uncertainty principles
  • Familiarity with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES)
  • Knowledge of particle accelerator physics
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the principles of quantum measurement theory
  • Research the implications of uncertainty relations in quantum mechanics
  • Study angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) techniques
  • Investigate the role of second quantization in particle physics
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, quantum mechanics researchers, and anyone involved in experimental particle physics or energy measurement techniques will benefit from this discussion.

causalset
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I would like to know, does anyone know of specific examples of quantum measurement of energy? The reason I am asking is that anything that is observed is ultimately in a position space as opposed to momentum space (for example, it might be specific position of the errow of a measurement device). So, does energy measurement ultimately involve position measurement? If so, how can we get around the uncertainty relations?

I also have a related question: how is it possible to measure an energy of a single particleanyway? For one thing, its energy is very small, so how can it be suffi cient to cause something classically observed. Also, in light of second quantization, a particle can decay any time.
 
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My avatar is a CCD image of photoelectrons emitted from a material. The vertical axis is energy, the horizontal axis is momentum. It measures the band dispersion of the material in a particular crystal symmetry direction using angle-resolved photoemission technique.

The energy is measured, using this instrument, using a series of electrostatic "lenses". But this is similar to putting those photoelectrons (or any charge particle) into a dipole magnet and bending the trajectory. By knowing the strength of the field, and the amount that the particle got bent in the field (i.e you look at a screen and the position where the particle hits), you can measure its energy. This is a technique that we often used in electron particle accelerator.

Zz.
 

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