One Hundred Years Later: Stern-Gerlach Experiment and Dimension Witnesses

TL;DR

This paper reinterprets the historic Stern-Gerlach experiment using modern prepare-and-measure frameworks, linking geometric state spaces with physical space, and explores its implications for quantum information and foundational studies.

Contribution

It introduces a contemporary perspective on the Stern-Gerlach experiment by framing it within prepare-and-measure scenarios, connecting geometric and algebraic aspects with physical space.

Findings

Proposes a modern reinterpretation of the Stern-Gerlach experiment.

Discusses potential simulations and experimental properties at the statistical level.

Bridges foundational quantum mechanics with quantum information theory.

Abstract

Inspired by the one-hundredth anniversary of the seminal works of Stern and Gerlach, our contribution is a proposal of how to use their famous experiment in a more contemporary perspective. Our main idea is to re-cast the experiment in the modern language of prepare-and-measure scenarios. By doing so, it is possible to connect geometric and algebraic aspects of the space of states with the physical space. We also discuss possible simulations of the SG experiment as well as some experimental properties of the experiment revealed at the statistical level. Merging a more modern perspective with a paradigmatic experiment, we hope this paper can serve as an entry door for quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics.