Abstract
Time observables time observables in quantum mechanics have a long and debated history [35]. In spite of the fact that random time variables, measured after a system is prepared, are common in laboratories, most often it has been argued that questions about time in quantum mechanics should best be left alone, as illustrated by the frequent reference to Pauli’s theorem. Alternatively, the emphasis has been laid on characteristic times, i.e., single time quantities characterizing a process such as tunneling or decay. This, in many ways, runs counter to the usual procedure in quantum mechanics, where additionally to the average value of a quantity we require prediction of higher order moments of that quantity; in other words, the probability distribution.
LOCATIONS and times—what is it in me that meets them all, whenever and wherever, and makes me at home?
Walt Whitman
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge discussions with M. Büttiker, J. A. Damborenea, and B. Navarro. This work has been supported by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (FIS2006-10268-C03-01), the Basque Country University (UPV-EHU, GIU07/40), EU Integrated Project QAP, and the EPSRC QIP-IRC (GR/S82176/0).
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Muñoz, J., Egusquiza, I.L., del Campo, A., Seidel, D., Muga, J.G. (2009). Dwell-Time Distributions in Quantum Mechanics. In: Muga, G., Ruschhaupt, A., del Campo, A. (eds) Time in Quantum Mechanics - Vol. 2. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 789. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03174-8_5
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