Yakir Aharonov

Yakir Aharonov
Wolf Prize Laureate
Tel Aviv University | TAU

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344
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35,058
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Publications

Publications (344)
Preprint
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We introduce a visual representation for generating entangled-based quantum effects under pre- and post- selected states that allows us to reveal equivalence between seemingly different quantum effects. We show how to realize entangled quantum systems of an arbitrary number of qubits from a single or pre-specified number of physical particles. We t...
Article
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The Quantum Cheshire Cat experiment showed that when weak measurements are performed on pre- and post-selected system, the counterintuitive result has been obtained that a neutron is measured to be in one place without its spin, and its spin is measured to be in another place without the neutron. A generalization of this effect is presented with a...
Article
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Transfer of conserved quantities between two remote regions is generally assumed to be a rather trivial process: a flux of particles carrying the conserved quantities propagates from one region to another. However, we demonstrate a flow of angular momentum from one region to another across a region of space in which there is a vanishingly small pro...
Article
Superoscillations occur when a globally band-limited function locally oscillates faster than its highest Fourier component. We generalize this effect to arbitrary quantum-mechanical operators as a weak value, where the preselected state is a superposition of eigenstates of the operator with eigenvalues bounded to a range, and the postselection stat...
Article
We show how the quantum hydrodynamical formulation of quantum mechanics converts the nonlocality in the standard wave-like description of quantum systems by an instability of the quantum system, which opens the door to a new way for studying quantum systems based on known methodologies for studying the stability of fluids. As a second result, we sh...
Article
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We propose a complete proof of the Born rule using an additional postulate stating that for a short enough time \(\Delta t\) between two measurements, a property of a particle will keep its values fixed. This dynamical postulate allows us to produce the Born rule in its explicit form by improving the result given in [1]. While the proposed postulat...
Article
Superoscillatory, band-limited functions oscillate faster than their fastest Fourier component. Superoscillations have been intensively explored recently as they give rise to many out-of-the-spectrum phenomena entailing both fundamental and applied significance. We experimentally demonstrate a form of superoscillations which is manifested by light...
Article
Full-text available
How does the quantum-to-classical transition of measurement occur? This question is vital for both foundations and applications of quantum mechanics. Here, we develop a new measurement-based framework for characterizing the classical and quantum free electron–photon interactions and then experimentally test it. We first analyze the transition from...
Article
Full-text available
The Aharonov–Bohm (AB) effect has been highly influential in fundamental and applied physics. Its topological nature commonly implies that an electron encircling a magnetic flux source in a field-free region must close the loop in order to generate an observable effect. In this paper, we study a variant of the AB effect that apparently challenges t...
Article
In a recent paper, [Y. Aharonov, S. Popescu, D. Rohrlich, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118 e1921529118 (2021)], it was argued that while the standard definition of conservation laws in quantum mechanics, which is of a statistical character, is perfectly valid, it misses essential features of nature and it can and must be revisited to address the i...
Preprint
Full-text available
We propose a complete proof of the Born rule using an additional postulate stating that for a short enough time {\Delta}t between two measurements, a property of a particle will keep its values fixed. This dynamical postulate allows us to produce the Born rule in its explicit form by improving the result given in [1]. While the proposed postulate i...
Article
Physical interpretations of the time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics, due to Aharonov, Bergmann, and Lebowitz are discussed in terms of weak values. The most direct, yet somewhat naive, interpretation uses the time-symmetric formulation to assign eigenvalues to unmeasured observables of a system, which results in logical paradoxes, and n...
Article
Full-text available
The interaction between a quantum charge and a dynamic source of a magnetic field is considered in the Aharonov-Bohm scenario. It is shown that, in weak interactions with a post-selection of the source, the effective vector potential is, generally, complex-valued. This leads to new experimental protocols to detect the Aharonov-Bohm phase before the...
Preprint
Full-text available
The Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect has been highly influential in fundamental and applied physics. Its topological nature commonly implies that an electron encircling a magnetic flux source in a field-free region must close the loop in order to generate an observable effect. In this Letter, we study a variant of the AB effect that apparently challenges...
Article
Full-text available
The operational approach to time is a cornerstone of relativistic theories, as evidenced by the notion of proper time. In standard quantum mechanics, however, time is an external parameter. Recently, many attempts have been made to extend the notion of proper time to quantum mechanics within a relational framework. Here, we use similar ideas combin...
Preprint
Full-text available
Superoscillations occur when a globally band-limited function locally oscillates faster than its highest Fourier coefficient. We generalize this effect to arbitrary quantum mechanical operators as a weak value, where the preselected state is a superposition of eigenstates of the operator with eigenvalues bounded to a range, and the postselection st...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this paper is to study a class of superoscillatory functions in several variables, removing some restrictions on the functions that we introduced in a previous paper. Since the tools that we used with our approach are not common knowledge we will give detailed proof for the case of two variables. The results proved for superoscillatory f...
Preprint
Full-text available
How does the quantum-to-classical transition of measurement occur? This question is vital for both foundations and applications of quantum mechanics. Here, we develop a new measurement-based framework for characterizing the classical and quantum free electron-photon interactions and then experimentally test it. We first analyze the transition from...
Article
Full-text available
The two-state-vector formalism presents a time-symmetric approach to the standard quantum mechanics, with particular importance in the description of experiments having pre- and post-selected ensembles. In this paper, using the correspondence limit of the quantum harmonic oscillator in the two-state-vector formalism, we produce harmonic oscillators...
Preprint
Full-text available
Recently, there have been many attempts to extend the notion of proper time to quantum mechanics with the use of quantum clocks. Using a similar idea combined with the relativistic mass-energy equivalence, we consider an accelerating massive quantum particle with an internal clock system. We show that the ensuing evolution from the perspective of t...
Article
Full-text available
Superoscillating functions and supershifts appear naturally in weak measurements in physics. Their evolution as initial conditions in the time-dependent Schrödinger equation is an important and challenging problem in quantum mechanics and mathematical analysis. The concept that encodes the persistence of superoscillations during the evolution is th...
Preprint
Full-text available
Physical interpretations of the time-symmetric formulation of quantum mechanics, due to Aharonov, Bergmann, and Lebowitz are discussed in terms of weak values. The most direct, yet somewhat naive, interpretation uses the time-symmetric formulation to assign eigenvalues to unmeasured observables of a system, which results in logical paradoxes, and n...
Article
Full-text available
Here we report a type of dynamic effect that is at the core of the so called “counterfactual computation” and especially “counterfactual communication” quantum effects that have generated a lot of interest recently. The basic feature of these counterfactual setups is the fact that particles seem to be affected by actions that take place in location...
Article
Full-text available
Superoscillations are band-limited functions that can oscillate faster than their fastest Fourier component. These functions (or sequences) appear in weak values in quantum mechanics and in many fields of science and technology such as optics, signal processing and antenna theory. In this paper, we introduce a new method to generate superoscillator...
Article
Full-text available
A recent criticism by Kunstatter et al. [Phys. Lett. A 384, 126686 (2020)] of a quantum setup violating the pigeon counting principle [Aharonov et al. PNAS 113, 532 (2016)] is refuted. The quantum nature of the violation of the pigeonhole principle with pre-and postselection is clarified.
Preprint
Full-text available
A recent criticism by Kunstatter et al. [Phys. Lett. A 384, 126686 (2020)] of a quantum setup violating the pigeon counting principle [Aharonov et al. PNAS 113, 532 (2016)] is refuted. The quantum nature of the violation of the pigeonhole principle with pre- and postselection is clarified.
Article
Full-text available
In this paper we study the time dependent Schrödinger equation with all possible self-adjoint singular interactions located at the origin, which include the δ and δ′-potentials as well as boundary conditions of Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin type as particular cases. We derive an explicit representation of the time dependent Green's function and giv...
Preprint
Full-text available
Superoscillating functions and supershifts appear naturally in weak measurements in physics. Their evolution as initial conditions in the time dependent Schr\"odinger equation is an important and challenging problem in quantum mechanics and mathematical analysis. The concept that encodes the persistence of superoscillations during the evolution is...
Preprint
Full-text available
The interaction between a quantum charge and a quantized source of a magnetic field is considered in the Aharonov-Bohm scenario. It is shown that, if the source has a relatively small uncertainty while the particle encircles it, an effective magnetic vector potential arises and the final state of the joint system is approximately a tensor product....
Preprint
Full-text available
Superoscillations are band-limited functions that can oscillate faster than their fastest Fourier component. These functions (or sequences) appear in weak values in quantum mechanics and in many fields of science and technology such as optics, signal processing and antenna theory. In this paper we introduce a new method to generate superoscillatory...
Article
We revisit the “counterfactual quantum communication” of Salih et al. [1], who claim that an observer “Bob” can send one bit of information to a second observer “Alice” without any physical particle traveling between them. We show that a locally conserved, massless current—specifically, a current of modular angular momentum, Lz mod 2ℏ—carries the o...
Preprint
Full-text available
We revisit the "counterfactual quantum communication" of Salih et al. [1], who claim that an observer "Bob" can send one bit of information to a second observer "Alice" without any physical particle traveling between them. We show that a locally conserved, massless current - specifically, a current of modular angular momentum, $L_z$ mod 2$\hbar$ -...
Article
Is it possible for a band-limited signal to possess oscillation that is arbitrarily higher than its highest Fourier component? Common knowledge assumed that the answer is ‘No.’ Counterintuitively, it turns out that there are band-limited functions that are able to oscillate arbitrarily faster than their fastest Fourier components. These are the sup...
Preprint
In this paper we study the time dependent Schr\"odinger equation with all possible self-adjoint singular interactions located at the origin, which include the $\delta$ and $\delta'$-potentials as well as boundary conditions of Dirichlet, Neumann, and Robin type as particular cases. We derive an explicit representation of the time dependent Green's...
Article
It is shown that, in some cases, the effect of discrete distributions of flux lines in quantum mechanics can be associated with the effect of continuous distributions of magnetic fields with special symmetries. In particular, flux lines with an arbitrary value of magnetic flux can be used to create energetic barriers, which can be used to confine q...
Article
Superoscillating functions are band-limited functions that can oscillate faster than their fastest Fourier component. There is nowadays a large literature on the evolution of superoscillations under Schrödinger equation with different type of potentials. In this paper, we study the evolution of superoscillations under the Klein-Gordon equation and...
Article
We consider the Cauchy problem for the Schrödinger equation with step potential with jump V0 at the origin and whose initial datum is a superoscillatory function Fn that is traveling from −∞ in the direction of the barrier V0. We assume that the energies En,k of all the traveling waves eiλn,kx with |λn,k|≤1, are strictly less then the potential V0...
Preprint
Full-text available
It is shown that, in some cases, the effect of discrete distributions of flux lines in quantum mechanics can be associated with the effect of continuous distributions of magnetic fields with special symmetries. In particular, flux lines with an arbitrary value of magnetic flux can be used to create energetic barriers, which can be used to confine q...
Article
Full-text available
In this paper, we study the time persistence of superoscillations as the initial data of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation with δ- and δ′-potentials. It is shown that the sequence of solutions converges uniformly on compact sets, whenever the initial data converge in the topology of the entire function space A1(C). Convolution operators actin...
Preprint
In this paper we study the time persistence of superoscillations as the initial data of the time dependent Schr\"odinger equation with $\delta$- and $\delta'$-potentials. It is shown that the sequence of solutions converges uniformly on compact sets, whenever the initial data converges in the topology of the entire function space $A_1(\mathbb{C})$....
Preprint
How does the quantum-to-classical transition of measurement occur? This question is vital for both foundations and applications of quantum mechanics. We present a full characterization of classical and quantum electron-photon interactions employing a measurement-based framework. To explain the emergence of 'classicality' in the measurement process,...
Article
We discuss how, in appropriately designed configurations, solenoids carrying a semifluxon can be used as topological energy barriers for charged quantum systems. We interpret this phenomenon as a consequence of the fact that such solenoids induce nodal lines in the wave function describing the charge, which on itself is a consequence of the Aharono...
Article
Full-text available
We introduce diffraction-based interaction-free measurements. In contrast with previous work where a set of discrete paths is engaged, good-quality interaction-free measurements can be realized with a continuous set of paths, as is typical of optical propagation. If a bomb is present in a given spatial region—so sensitive that a single photon will...
Article
Conditional probabilities in quantum systems which have both initial and final boundary conditions are commonly evaluated using the Aharonov–Bergmann–Lebowitz rule. In this short note, we present a seemingly disturbing paradox that appears when applying the rule to systems with slightly broken degeneracies. In these cases, we encounter a singular l...
Article
Full-text available
Superoscillations are band-limited functions with the counterintuitive property that they can vary arbitrarily faster than their fastest Fourier component, over arbitrarily long intervals. Modern studies originated in quantum theory, but there were anticipations in radar and optics. The mathematical understanding—still being explored—recognises tha...
Preprint
Full-text available
We discuss how, in appropriately designed configurations, solenoids carrying a semifluxon can be used as topological energy barriers for charged quantum systems. We interpret this phenomenon as a consequence of the fact that such solenoids induce nodal lines in the wave function describing the charge, which on itself is a consequence of the Aharono...
Preprint
Full-text available
We are witnessing in recent years a growing tendency to base the understanding of quantum phenomena on purely abstract mathematics or, alternatively, on pure information theory (both classical and quantum), without taking into full consideration the underlying physical principles. In this short paper we wish to present a perspective according to wh...
Preprint
We are witnessing in recent years a growing tendency to base the understanding of quantum phenomena on purely abstract mathematics or, alternatively, on pure information theory (both classical and quantum), without taking into full consideration the underlying physical principles. In this short paper we wish to present a perspective according to wh...
Article
The possibility to communicate between spatially separated regions, without even a single photon passing between the two parties, is an amazing quantum phenomenon. The possibility of transmitting one value of a bit in such a way, the interaction-free measurement, has been known for quarter of a century. The protocols of full communication, includin...
Article
Full-text available
While quantum reality can be probed through measurements, the Two-State Vector Formalism (TSVF) reveals a subtler reality prevailing between measurements. Under special pre- and post-selections, odd physical values emerge. This unusual picture calls for a deeper study. Instead of the common, wave-based picture of quantum mechanics, we suggest a new...
Article
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We present a paradox involving a particle and a mirror. They exchange a nonlocal quantity, modular angular momentum Lz mod 2ћ, but there seems to be no local interaction between them that allows such an exchange. We demonstrate that the particle and mirror do interact locally via a weak local current 〈Lz mod 2ћ〉w. In this sense, we transform the “i...
Article
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Some predictions regarding pre-and post-selected states are far-reaching, thereby requiring validation with standard quantum measurements in addition to the customary weak measurements used so far, as well as other advanced techniques. We go further pursuing this goal, proposing two thought experiments which incorporate novel yet feasible validatio...
Article
Superoscillations appear in several branches of science and technology and in particular they are the outcome of weak measurements. So it important to study the evolution of superoscillatory functions as initial data for the Schrödinger equation when the Hamiltonian operator contains different potentials. Since the most important functions appearin...
Article
In this paper, we describe how the study of longevity of superoscillating functions has developed over the last several years. Specifically, we show how the evolution of superoscillations for the Schrödinger equation for the free particle naturally lead the authors to the construction of a larger class of superoscillating functions. This basic idea...
Article
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A gedankenexperiment is presented where an excited and a ground-state atom are positioned such that, within the former's half-life time, they exchange a photon with 50% probability. A measurement of their energy state will therefore indicate in 50% of the cases that no photon was exchanged. Yet other measurements would reveal that, by the mere poss...
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Some predictions regarding pre- and post-selected particles are far-reaching, thereby requiring validation with standard quantum measurements in addition to the customary weak measurements used so far, as well as other advanced techniques. Following earlier papers, we continue this research program with two thought experiments. An excited atom trav...
Article
Full-text available
Significance We provide quantitative evidence for the strong emergence of correlations within pre- and postselected quantum systems. These correlations are robust and can be verified by either weak or strong (projective) measurements. They give rise to intriguing effects within many-body quantum systems. Our analysis supports a top–down structure i...
Preprint
Can a large system be fully characterized using its subsystems via inductive reasoning? Is it possible to completely reduce the behavior of a complex system to the behavior of its simplest "atoms"? In the following paper we answer these questions on the negative for a specific class of systems and measurements. We begin with simple two-particle exa...
Chapter
Joseph Agassi has won eminence in many branches of philosophy, among them philosophy of physics. He has authored several insightful works on relativity, quantum mechanics and thermodynamics. To his merit is the open-mindedness he exercises in these works. Unlike his illustrious master, Popper, who has dogmatically asserted his semi-classical “prope...
Article
Significance We put forth a time-symmetric interpretation of quantum mechanics that does not stem from the wave properties of the particle. Rather, it posits corpuscular properties along with nonlocal properties, all of which are deterministic. This change of perspective points to deterministic properties in the Heisenberg picture as primitive inst...
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A superoscillating function is defined by the property that it oscillates faster than its fastest Fourier components. This is mathematically possible because the coefficients of the linear combinations of the band limited components depend on the number of components. This phenomenon was discovered in the context of quantum physics, but it has impo...
Article
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The two-state vector formalism motivates a time-symmetric interpretation of quantum mechanics that entails a resolution of the measurement problem. We revisit a post-selection-assisted collapse model previously suggested by us, claiming that unlike the thermodynamic arrow of time, it can lead to reversible dynamics at the macroscopic level. In addi...
Chapter
Alongside its immense empirical success, the quantum mechanical account of physical systems imposes a myriad of divergences from our thoroughly ingrained classical ways of thinking. These divergences, while striking, would have been acceptable if only a continuous transition to the classical domain was at hand. Strangely, this is not quite the case...
Article
Full-text available
A novel prediction is derived by the Two-State-Vector-Formalism (TSVF) for a particle superposed over three boxes. Under appropriate pre- and postselections, and with tunneling enabled between two of the boxes, it is possible to derive not only one, but three predictions for three different times within the intermediate interval. These predictions...
Preprint
A novel prediction is derived by the Two-State-Vector-Formalism (TSVF) for a particle superposed over three boxes. Under appropriate pre- and postselections, and with tunneling enabled between two of the boxes, it is possible to derive not only one, but three predictions for three different times within the intermediate interval. These predictions...
Article
Full-text available
Significance Conservation laws are one of the most important aspects of nature. As such, they have been intensively studied and extensively applied, and are considered to be perfectly well established. We, however, raise fundamental question about the very meaning of conservation laws in quantum mechanics. We argue that, although the standard way i...
Preprint
We raise fundamental questions about the very meaning of conservation laws in quantum mechanics and we argue that the standard way of defining conservation laws, while perfectly valid as far as it goes, misses essential features of nature and has to be revisited and extended.
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Theoretical achievements, as well as much controversy surround multiverse theory. Various types of multiverses, with an increasing amount of complexity, were suggested and thoroughly discussed by now. While these types are very different, they all share the same basic idea - our physical reality consists of more than just one universe. Each univers...
Chapter
Combining twenty-six original essays written by an impressive line-up of distinguished physicists and philosophers of physics, this anthology reflects some of the latest thoughts by leading experts on the influence of Bell's theorem on quantum physics. Essays progress from John Bell's character and background, through studies of his main work, and...
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In a series of papers (J Phys A 44:365304, 2011; Complex Anal Oper Theory 7:1299–1310, 2013; J Math Pures Appl 99:165–173, 2013; J Math Pures Appl 103:522–534, 2015), we have investigated some mathematical properties of superoscillating sequences in one variable, and their persistence in time. In this paper we study the notion of superoscillation i...
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"In our paper in PNAS (1), we describe a quantum violation of the pigeonhole principle. We describe a situation (involving pre- and postselection) in which we put three particles in two boxes and we never find two particles in the same box. We presented both a 'strong measurement' analysis and a 'weak measurement' one. In his comment, Svensson (2)...
Article
Quantum computation strongly relies on the realisation, manipulation and control of qubits. A central method for realizing qubits is by creating a double-well potential system with a significant gap between the first two eigenvalues and the rest. In this work we first revisit the theoretical grounds underlying the double-well qubit dynamics, then p...
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Certain superposition states of the 1-D infinite square well have transient zeros at locations other than the nodes of the eigenstates that comprise them. It is shown that if an infinite potential barrier is suddenly raised at some or all of these zeros, the well can be split into multiple adjacent infinite square wells without affecting the wavefu...
Preprint
Certain superposition states of the 1-D infinite square well have transient zeros at locations other than the nodes of the eigenstates that comprise them. It is shown that if an infinite potential barrier is suddenly raised at some or all of these zeros, the well can be split into multiple adjacent infinite square wells without affecting the wavefu...
Preprint
Are the electromagnetic scalar and vector potentials dispensable? Lev Vaidman has suggested that local interactions of gauge-invariant quantities, e.g. magnetic torques, suffice for the description of all quantum electromagnetic phenomena. We analyze six thought experiments that challenge this suggestion. All of them have explanations in terms of $...
Article
Although the Aharonov-Bohm and related effects are familiar in solid-state and high-energy physics, the nonlocality of these effects has been questioned. Here we show that the Aharonov-Bohm effect has two very different aspects. One aspect is instantaneous and nonlocal; the other aspect, which depends on entanglement, unfolds continuously over time...
Article
This work will incorporate a few related tools for addressing the conceptual difficulties arising from sewing together classical and quantum mechanics: deterministic operators, weak measurements and post-selection. Weak Measurement, based on a very weak von Neumann coupling, is a unique kind of quantum measurement with numerous theoretical and prac...
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Retrocausal models of QM add further weight to the conflict between causality and the possible existence of free will. We analyze a simple closed causal loop ensuing from the interaction between two systems with opposing thermodynamic time arrows, such that each system can forecast future events for the other. The loop is avoided by the fact that t...
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In the past 50 years, quantum physicists have discovered, and experimentally demonstrated, a phenomenon which they termed superoscillations. Aharonov and his collaborators showed that superoscillations naturally arise when dealing with weak values, a notion that provides a fundamentally different way to regard measurements in quantum physics. From...
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We maintain that the wavefunction is best understood as describing ensembles rather than individual particles. For a single particle, we propose an ontology underwritten by the Heisenberg representation. It consists of deterministic operators which may have nonlocal dynamics. Indeed, nonlocal equations of motion, arising from the transition from Po...
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Recently it was demonstrated, both theoretically and experimentally, how to separate a particle from its spin, or any other property, a phenomenon known as the "Quantum Cheshire Cat". We present two novel gedanken experiments, based on the quantum Zeno effect, suggesting a dynamical process thorough which this curious phenomenon occurs. We analyze,...
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Are the electromagnetic scalar and vector potentials dispensable? Vaidman [Phys. Rev. A 86, 040101(R) (2012)]PLRAAN1050-294710.1103/PhysRevA.86.040101 has suggested that local interactions of gauge-invariant quantities, e.g., magnetic torques, suffice for the description of all quantum electromagnetic phenomena. We analyze six thought experiments t...
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The outcome of a weak quantum measurement conditioned to a subsequent postselection (a weak value protocol) can assume peculiar values. These results cannot be explained in terms of conditional probabilistic outcomes of projective measurements. However, a classical model has been recently put forward that can reproduce peculiar expectation values,...
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Current methods for measuring magnetic flux are based on performing many measurements over a large ensemble of electrons. We propose a novel method for measuring the flux modulo hc/e using only a single electron. Furthermore, we show, for the first time, how to understand this result on geometric grounds when utilizing only the quantization of angu...
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Entanglement and nonlocality are studied in the framework of pre-/post-selected ensembles with the aid of weak measurements and the Two-State-Vector Formalism. In addition to the EPR-Bohm experiment, we revisit the Hardy and Cheshire Cat experiments, whose pre- or post-selected states give rise to curious phenomena. We then turn to even more peculi...
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We the editors of Quantum Studies would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody for the overwhelming response we have received to our request: “Think, reconsider, explore, create deep questions, use paradoxes as a tool for understanding, and finally: publish in this journal!”This issue of Quantum Studies continues to deal with some of the...