title: Weak measurements with orbital-angular-momentum pointer states.
abstract: Weak measurements are a unique tool for accessing information about weakly interacting quantum systems with minimal back action. Joint weak measurements of single-particle operators with pointer states characterized by a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution can provide, in turn, key information about quantum correlations that can be relevant for quantum information applications. Here we demonstrate that by employing two-dimensional pointer states endowed with orbital angular momentum (OAM), it is possible to extract weak values of the higher order moments of single-particle operators, an inaccessible quantity with Gaussian pointer states only. We provide a specific example that illustrates the advantages of our method both in terms of signal enhancement and information retrieval.
authors.affiliation: ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, Mediterranean Technology Park, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain. graciana.puentes@icfo.es
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Puentes
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hermosa
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Torres