Measurement of time-of-arrival in quantum mechanics

Y. Aharonov; J. Oppenheim; Sandu Popescu; Benni Reznik; W. G. Unruh

Measurement of time-of-arrival in quantum mechanics

Y. Aharonov^*, J. Oppenheim, Sandu Popescu, Benni Reznik, W. G. Unruh

^*Corresponding author for this work

Hewlett-Packard

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

It is argued that the time-of-arrival cannot be precisely defined and measured in quantum mechanics. By constructing explicit toy models of a measurement, we show that for a free particle it cannot be measured more accurately than Δt_A to approximately hℏ/E_k, where E_k is the initial kinetic energy of the particle. With a better accuracy, particles reflect off the measuring device, and the resulting probability distribution becomes distorted. It is shown that the measurements considered here do not correspond to a measurement of the time-of-arrival operator.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	HP Laboratories Technical Report
Publisher	Hwelett Packard Lab Technical Publ Dept
Edition	97-22
State	Published - Oct 1997
Externally published	Yes

Cite this

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Measurement of time-of-arrival in quantum mechanics

Abstract

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