A universal property for sequential measurement
Abraham Westerbaan, Bas Westerbaan · Journal of Mathematical Physics · 2016
We study the sequential product the operation p∗q=pqp on the set of effects, [0, 1]𝒜, of a von Neumann algebra 𝒜 that represents sequential measurement of first p and then q. In their work [J. Math. Phys. 49(5), 052106 (2008)], Gudder and Latrémolière give a list of axioms based on physical grounds that completely determines the sequential product on a von Neumann algebra of type I, that is, a von Neumann algebra ℬ(ℋ) of all bounded operators on some Hilbert space ℋ. In this paper we give a list of axioms that completely determines the sequential product on all von Neumann algebras simultaneously (Theorem 4).