Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements

Gire, Elizabeth; Manogue, Corinne A.

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Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements

written by Elizabeth Gire and Corinne A. Manogue

Operators play a central role in the formalism of quantum mechanics. In particular, operators corresponding to observables encode important information about the results of quantum measurements. We interviewed upper-level undergraduate physics majors about their understanding of the role of operators in quantum measurements. Previous studies have shown that many students think of measurements on quantum systems as being deterministic and that measurements mathematically correspond to operators acting on the initial quantum state. This study is consistent with and expands on those results. We report on how two students make sense of a quantum measurement problem involving sequential measurements and the role that the eigenvalue equation plays in this sense-making.

Physics Education Research Conference 2011
Part of the PER Conference series
Omaha, Nebraska: August 3-4, 2011
Volume 1413, Pages 195-198

download 127kb .pdf
Published: February 6, 2012

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education - Basic Research - Problem Solving = Frameworks Mathematical Tools - Vector Calculus Quantum Physics - Foundations and Measurements - Quantum Experiments	- Upper Undergraduate - Graduate/Professional	- Reference Material = Research study

PER-Central Type	Intended Users	Ratings
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Formats:: application/pdf
non-digital
Mirror:: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3680028
Access Rights:: Free access and
Available for purchase; A preprint of the work is available. A hard copy of the PERC 2011 proceedings is available for purchase from the AIP.
Restriction:: © 2011 American Institute of Physics
DOI:: 10.1063/1.3680028
NSF Numbers:: 0837829; 1023120
PACSs:: 01.40.Fk; 03.65.Xp
Keywords:: Measurements, PERC 2011, Quantum Mechanics, Sense-making, Upper Division
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created April 24, 2012 by Lyle Barbato
Record Updated:: May 15, 2012 by Vince Kuo
Last Update when Cataloged:: February 6, 2012

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.per-central.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=11845">Gire, Elizabeth, and Corinne Manogue. "Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, August 3-4, 2011.</a>

AIP Format

E. Gire and C. Manogue, , presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696).

AJP/PRST-PER

E. Gire and C. Manogue, Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements, presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, 2011, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696>.

APA Format

Gire, E., & Manogue, C. (2011, August 3-4). Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements. Paper presented at Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska. Retrieved October 13, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696

Chicago Format

Gire, Elizabeth, and Corinne Manogue. "Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements." Paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference 2011, Omaha, Nebraska, August 3-4, 2011. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696 (accessed 13 October 2024).

MLA Format

Gire, Elizabeth, and Corinne Manogue. "Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements." Physics Education Research Conference 2011. Omaha, Nebraska: 2011. 195-198 Vol. 1413 of PER Conference. 13 Oct. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696>.

BibTeX Export Format

@inproceedings{ Author = "Elizabeth Gire and Corinne Manogue", Title = {Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements}, BookTitle = {Physics Education Research Conference 2011}, Pages = {195-198}, Address = {Omaha, Nebraska}, Series = {PER Conference}, Volume = {1413}, Month = {August 3-4}, Year = {2011} }

Refer Export Format

%A Elizabeth Gire %A Corinne Manogue %T Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements %S PER Conference %V 1413 %D August 3-4 2011 %P 195-198 %C Omaha, Nebraska %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696 %O Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %O August 3-4 %O application/pdf

EndNote Export Format

%0 Conference Proceedings %A Gire, Elizabeth %A Manogue, Corinne %D August 3-4 2011 %T Making sense of quantum operators, eigenstates and quantum measurements %B Physics Education Research Conference 2011 %C Omaha, Nebraska %V 1413 %P 195-198 %S PER Conference %8 August 3-4 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=11845&DocID=2696

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