Weak values obtained from mass-energy equivalence

Abstract

Quantum weak measurement, measuring some observable quantities within the selected subensemble of the entire quantum ensemble, can produce many interesting results such as the superluminal phenomena. An outcome of such a measurement is the weak value which has been applied to amplify some weak signals of quantum interactions in lots of previous references. Here, we apply the weak measurement to the system of relativistic cold atoms. According to mass-energy equivalence, the internal energy of an atom will contribute its rest mass and consequently the external momentum of center of mass. This implies a weak coupling between the internal and external degrees of freedom of atoms moving in the free space. After a duration of this coupling, a weak value can be obtained by post-selecting an internal state of atoms. We show that, the weak value can change the momentum uncertainty of atoms and consequently help us to experimentally measure the weak effects arising from mass-energy equivalence.