Asymptotic Spectral Measures: Between Quantum Theory and E-theory Jody Trout Department of Mathematics Dartmouth College Hanover, NH 03755 Email:
[email protected] Abstract— We review the relationship between positive of classical observables to the C∗-algebra of quantum operator-valued measures (POVMs) in quantum measurement observables. See the papers [12]–[14] and theB books [15], C∗ E theory and asymptotic morphisms in the -algebra -theory of [16] for more on the connections between operator algebra Connes and Higson. The theory of asymptotic spectral measures, as introduced by Martinez and Trout [1], is integrally related K-theory, E-theory, and quantization. to positive asymptotic morphisms on locally compact spaces In [1], Martinez and Trout showed that there is a fundamen- via an asymptotic Riesz Representation Theorem. Examples tal quantum-E-theory relationship by introducing the concept and applications to quantum physics, including quantum noise of an asymptotic spectral measure (ASM or asymptotic PVM) models, semiclassical limits, pure spin one-half systems and quantum information processing will also be discussed. A~ ~ :Σ ( ) { } ∈(0,1] →B H I. INTRODUCTION associated to a measurable space (X, Σ). (See Definition 4.1.) In the von Neumann Hilbert space model [2] of quantum Roughly, this is a continuous family of POV-measures which mechanics, quantum observables are modeled as self-adjoint are “asymptotically” projective (or quasiprojective) as ~ 0: → operators on the Hilbert space of states of the quantum system. ′ ′ A~(∆ ∆ ) A~(∆)A~(∆ ) 0 as ~ 0 The Spectral Theorem relates this theoretical view of a quan- ∩ − → → tum observable to the more operational one of a projection- for certain measurable sets ∆, ∆′ Σ.