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Title: Estimating the expectation values of spin-1/2 observables with finite resources

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
;  [1]
  1. SUPA, Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 ONG (United Kingdom)

We examine the problem of estimating the expectation values of two observables when we have a finite number of copies of an unknown qubit state. Specifically we examine whether it is better to measure each of the observables separately on different copies or to perform a separable nonadaptive joint measurement of the observables on each copy. We find that joint measurements can sometimes provide an advantage over separate measurements, but only if we make estimates of an observable based solely on the results of measurements of that observable. If we instead use both sets of results to estimate each observable then we find that individual measurements will be better. Finally we consider estimating the expectation values of three complementary observables for an unknown qubit.

OSTI ID:
21027975
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Vol. 76, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.76.052313; (c) 2007 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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