Classical correlation alone supplies the anomaly to weak values

Abstract

The question of what is genuinely quantum about weak values is only ever going to elicit strongly subjective opinions---it is not a scientific question. Good questions, when comparing theories, are operational---they deal with the unquestionable outcomes of experiment. We give the anomalous shift of weak values an objective meaning through a generalization to an operational definition of anomalous post-selected averages. We show the presence of these averages necessitate correlations in every model giving rise to them---quantum or classical. Characterizing such correlations shows that they are ubiquitous. We present the simplest classical example without the need of disturbance realizing these generalized anomalous weak values.