Uncertainty of Quantum States

The uncertainty of a quantum state is given by the composition of two components. The first is called the quantum component and is given by the probability distribution of an observable relative to the state. The second is the classical component which is an uncertainty function that is applied to the first component. We characterize uncertainty functions in terms of four axioms. We then study four examples called variance, entropy, geometric and sine uncertainty functions. The final section presents the general theory of state uncertainty. Quanta 2025; 14: 28–37.

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Publication Details

Journal
Quanta
Published
2025-04-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.12743/quanta.v14i1.295
Primary Topic
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Uncertainty of Quantum States

Stanley Gudder
Quanta
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
article

Uncertainty of Quantum States

Stanley Gudder
article en

Abstract

The uncertainty of a quantum state is given by the composition of two components. The first is called the quantum component and is given by the probability distribution of an observable relative to the state. The second is the classical component which is an uncertainty function that is applied to the first component. We characterize uncertainty functions in terms of four axioms. We then study four examples called variance, entropy, geometric and sine uncertainty functions. The final section presents the general theory of state uncertainty. Quanta 2025; 14: 28–37.

QuantaVol. 14
Openalex Percentile: Top 95%
Quantum Mechanics and Applications
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Uncertainty of Quantum States — Stanley Gudder · Quanta (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS