Uncertainty-disturbance relations and applications

Abstract

Uncertainty and intrinsic measurement disturbance, two fundamental concepts in quantum measurement, have conventionally been viewed as distinct and studied separately. In this work, we establish a fundamental connection between them, proving that uncertainty not only serves as a prerequisite for intrinsic disturbance but also bounds it from above. We formalize this connection via uncertainty-disturbance relations (UDRs) with direct applications in quantum information science. We show that for rank-one projective measurements, these UDRs effectively function as uncertainty relations by bounding the uncertainties of incompatible measurements. They also enable the experimental estimation of key quantum resources -- including von Neumann entropy, purity, coherence, and genuine randomness. Our findings thus unify the understanding of uncertainty and disturbance and provide a versatile framework for quantum resource detection.