The Trouble with Weak Values
Fuente:
arXiv
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| Formato: | Preprint |
| Publicado: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866917263297216512 |
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| author | Barandes, Jacob A. |
| author_facet | Barandes, Jacob A. |
| contents | In quantum theory, a weak value is a complex number with a somewhat technical definition: it is a ratio whose numerator is the matrix element of a self-adjoint operator and whose denominator is the inner product of a corresponding pair of state vectors. Weak values first appeared in the research literature in a pair of papers in 1987 and 1988, and were originally defined as the results of a special kind of experimental protocol involving non-disturbing measurements combined with an explicit form of post-selection. In the years since, subsequent papers on weak values have produced a number of important practical spin-offs, including new methods for signal amplification and quantum-state tomography. The present work is not concerned with those practical spin-offs, but with historical and ongoing attempts to assign weak values a transparent, single-system interpretation, as well as efforts that invoke weak values to make a number of exotic claims about the properties and behavior of individual quantum systems. This paper challenges these interpretational claims by arguing that they involve several forms of fallacious reasoning. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_09380 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | The Trouble with Weak Values Barandes, Jacob A. Quantum Physics History and Philosophy of Physics In quantum theory, a weak value is a complex number with a somewhat technical definition: it is a ratio whose numerator is the matrix element of a self-adjoint operator and whose denominator is the inner product of a corresponding pair of state vectors. Weak values first appeared in the research literature in a pair of papers in 1987 and 1988, and were originally defined as the results of a special kind of experimental protocol involving non-disturbing measurements combined with an explicit form of post-selection. In the years since, subsequent papers on weak values have produced a number of important practical spin-offs, including new methods for signal amplification and quantum-state tomography. The present work is not concerned with those practical spin-offs, but with historical and ongoing attempts to assign weak values a transparent, single-system interpretation, as well as efforts that invoke weak values to make a number of exotic claims about the properties and behavior of individual quantum systems. This paper challenges these interpretational claims by arguing that they involve several forms of fallacious reasoning. |
| title | The Trouble with Weak Values |
| topic | Quantum Physics History and Philosophy of Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.09380 |