Projection hypothesis in the setting for the quantum Jarzynski equality

TL;DR

This paper proposes a quantum thermodynamic scheme to experimentally test the projection hypothesis in quantum measurement by combining previous theoretical results on Hamiltonian realization and work requirements in projective measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel experimental scheme that simultaneously tests two independent theoretical results related to the projection hypothesis in quantum measurement.

Findings

The scheme enables testing of the projection hypothesis experimentally.

It links quantum measurement theory with thermodynamic processes.

Potential for validating fundamental quantum measurement assumptions.

Abstract

Projective quantum measurement is a theoretically accepted process in modern quantum mechanics. However, its projection hypothesis is widely regarded as an experimentally established empirical law. In this paper, we combine a previous result regarding the realization of a Hamiltonian process of the projection hypothesis in projective quantum measurement, where the complete set of the orbital observables of the center of mass of a macroscopic quantum mechanical system is restricted to a set of mutually commuting classical observables, and a previous result regarding the work required for an event reading (i.e., the informatical process in projective quantum measurement). Then, a quantum thermodynamic scheme is proposed for experimentally testing these two mutually independent theoretical results of projective quantum measurement simultaneously.