Obtaining imaginary weak values with a classical apparatus: applications for the time and frequency domains

Abstract

Weak measurements with imaginary weak values are reexamined in light of recent experimental results. The shift of the meter, due to the imaginary part of the weak value, is derived via the probability of postselection, which allows considering the meter as a distribution of a classical variable. The derivation results in a simple relation between the change in the distribution and its variance. By applying this relation to several experimental results, in which the meter involved the time and frequency domains, it is shown to be especially suitable for scenarios of that kind. The practical and conceptual implications of a measurement method, which is based on this relation, are discussed.