Geometric approach to extend Landau-Pollak uncertainty relations for positive operator-valued measures

Abstract

We provide a twofold extension of Landau--Pollak uncertainty relations for mixed quantum states and for positive operator-valued measures, by recourse to geometric considerations. The generalization is based on metrics between pure states, having the form of a function of the square of the inner product between the states. The triangle inequality satisfied by such metrics plays a crucial role in our derivation. The usual Landau--Pollak inequality is thus a particular case (derived from Wootters metric) of the family of inequalities obtained, and, moreover, we show that it is the most restrictive relation within the family.

9 pages, 2 figures