The power of a control qubit in weak measurements

TL;DR

This paper explores how a second qubit can remotely control weak value amplification in a qubit-meter system, revealing that quantum discord and classical correlations influence amplification, with potential applications in enhancing measurement precision.

Contribution

It introduces a method for remote quantum control of weak value amplification using a second non-interacting qubit, highlighting the roles of quantum discord and classical correlations.

Findings

Control can be remotely achieved via the second qubit's post-selected state.

Quantum entanglement does not affect the control of amplification.

The scheme improves measurement accuracy of quantum phases.

Abstract

In the late 80s, a curious effect suggested by Aharanov, Albert and Vaidman opened up new vistas regarding quantum measurements on weakly coupled systems. There, a combination of a "weak" finite interaction together with a "strong" post-selection measurement leads to an anomalous effect, namely the mean value of a spin-1/2 particle in the $z-$direction lies outside the conventional spectrum of $\pm$1. In this paper, we investigate the quantum control of the weak value amplification of a qubit system coupled to a meter, via a second non-interacting qubit, initially quantum correlated with the first one. Our results show that for weak measurements, the control can be remotely realized via the post-selected state of the second qubit or the degree of squeezing of the meter. Additionally, in a step towards the study of the quantum control of the amplification, we can easily manipulate the degree of quantum correlations between the initial correlated qubits. We find that the degree of Entanglement has no effect on the quantum control of the amplification. However, we have found a clear connection between the amplification and quantum discord like measurements as well as classical correlations between the qubits. Moreover, we generalize the analysis to two control qubits and we can conclude that the single control qubit scheme is more efficient. Lastly, we suggest an original application of the amplification control protocol on the enhancement of the quantum measurement accuracy, e.g. measuring the relative phase of the post-selected control qubit in a more precise way, as opposed to the no-amplification case