Undergrad Question about simultaneous measurement

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mr J
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Measurement
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the impossibility of simultaneously measuring the spin state of a particle along three axes (σX, σY, σZ) in Quantum Mechanics. It is established that measuring spin in one direction prepares the state accordingly, but attempting to measure multiple axes simultaneously is not feasible due to the nature of magnetic fields and the mathematical framework of quantum states. Specifically, combining measurement fields results in a single measurement along a different direction, and the Hilbert space formalism confirms that no eigenstate exists for simultaneous measurements of σX and σY.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Quantum Mechanics principles
  • Familiarity with spin measurement and observables
  • Knowledge of Hilbert space and state vectors
  • Basic concepts of magnetic fields and their orientation
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the implications of non-commuting operators in Quantum Mechanics
  • Explore the concept of eigenstates and eigenvalues in quantum systems
  • Learn about the role of magnetic fields in quantum measurements
  • Investigate the mathematical formalism of Quantum Mechanics, focusing on Hilbert space
USEFUL FOR

Quantum physicists, students of Quantum Mechanics, and researchers interested in the measurement theory and the behavior of quantum states.

Mr J
Messages
7
Reaction score
3
Greetings - I have a question about observables and Quantum Mechanics.

Let's say I want to measure the spin state of a particle.
If I measure σZ (sigma Z), I will get either +1 or -1. That will then prepare the spin state accordingly.
If I measure σX (sigma X), I will get either +1 or -1. That will then prepare the spin state accordingly.
If I measure σY (sigma Y), I will get either +1 or -1. That will then prepare the spin state accordingly.

What if I measure all three axes simultaneously? Won't that then give me three different resultant spin states, when there can only be one?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Mr J said:
What if I measure all three axes simultaneously?
You can't. Two ways of seeing this:
1) Try to imagine the measuring device that would do this... We measure spin in a given direction by passing the particle through an inhomogeneous magnetic field oriented in that direction. To measure the spin in both the x and y directions we'd need a magnetic field that was oriented in both the x and y directions, but the way magnetic fields add there's no such thing. If we try to combine an x-measuring field and a y-measuring field, we end up with a single field oriented in some third direction and we'll be making a single measurement in that third direction, not a simultaneous x and y measurement.
2) Look at the mathematical formalism. A measurement of spin in the x direction corresponds to projecting the state vector onto the x-axis in the Hilbert space; a measurement of the spin in the y direction corresponds to projecting the state vector onto the y axis, and clearly we can't do both at once. Another way of thinking about it: a simultaneous measurement on the x and y axes would yield a state that is an eigenstate of both the ##S_x## and the ##S_y## operators - and there is no such state.
 
  • Like
Likes bhobba, msumm21, troglodyte and 3 others
Time reversal invariant Hamiltonians must satisfy ##[H,\Theta]=0## where ##\Theta## is time reversal operator. However, in some texts (for example see Many-body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics an introduction, HENRIK BRUUS and KARSTEN FLENSBERG, Corrected version: 14 January 2016, section 7.1.4) the time reversal invariant condition is introduced as ##H=H^*##. How these two conditions are identical?

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 41 ·
2
Replies
41
Views
5K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K