Quantum Uncertainty Dynamics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a temporal version of Heisenberg-Robertson uncertainty relations, showing how uncertainties depend on measurement times and system dynamics, with demonstrations on spin-1/2 and harmonic oscillator systems.

Contribution

It presents a novel temporal uncertainty relation framework that incorporates time evolution, expanding the understanding of quantum uncertainties beyond simultaneous measurements.

Findings

Uncertainty depends on measurement times and system dynamics.

Temporal uncertainty relations are demonstrated for spin-1/2 and harmonic oscillator.

The relations are experimentally verifiable with current quantum technology.

Abstract

Quantum uncertainty relations have deep-rooted significance on the formalism of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg's uncertainty relations attracted a renewed interest for its applications in quantum information science. Robertson derived a general form of Heisenberg's uncertainty relations for a pair of arbitrary observables represented by Hermitian operators. In the present work, we discover a temporal version of the Heisenberg-Robertson uncertainty relations for the measurement of two observables at two different times, where the dynamical uncertainties crucially depend on the time evolution of the observables. The uncertainties not only depend on the choice of observables, but they also depend on the times at which the physical observables are measured. The time correlated two-time commutator dictates the trade-off between the dynamical uncertainties. We demonstrate the dynamics of these uncertainty relations for a spin-1/2 system and for a quantum harmonic oscillator. The temporal uncertainty relations discovered in this work can be experimentally verified with the present quantum technology.