Weak value amplification and the lifetime of decaying particle

TL;DR

This paper explores how weak value amplification can be used to significantly alter the measured lifetime of a decaying particle, potentially extending or shortening it through postselection techniques.

Contribution

It demonstrates that weak value amplification can be applied to control the lifetime of a decaying particle, revealing new possibilities beyond traditional precision measurement.

Findings

Lifetime can be prolonged more than three times the original value.

Lifetime can be arbitrarily shortened with proper postselection.

Results align with previous analyses on B meson lifetime prolongation.

Abstract

We study the possibility of varying the measured lifetime of a decaying particle based on the technique of weak value amplification in which an additional filtering process called postselection is performed. Our analysis made in a direct measurement scheme presented here shows that, for simple two-level systems, the lifetime may be prolonged more than three times compared to the original one, while it can also be shortened arbitrarily by a proper choice of postselection. This result is consistent with our previous analysis on the possible prolongation of the lifetime of B mesons that may be observed in laboratories, and suggests room for novel applications of weak value amplification beyond precision measurement conventionally considered.