# Quantum states and generalized observables: a simple proof of Gleason’s theorem

## Abstract

A quantum state can be understood in a loose sense as a map that assigns a value to every observable. Formalizing this characterization of states in terms of generalized probability distributions on the set of *effects*, we obtain a simple proof of the result, analogous to Gleason’s theorem, that any quantum state is given by a density operator. As a corollary we obtain a von Neumann-type argument against non-contextual hidden variables. It follows that on an individual interpretation of quantum mechanics, the values of effects are appropriately understood as propensities.

PACS numbers: 03.65.Ca; 03.65.Ta; 03.67.-a.

In this paper we will characterize a notion of quantum states that takes into account the general representation of observables as ‘positive operator valued measurements’ (POVMs). The idea of a state as an expectation value assignment will be extended to that of a generalized probability measure on the set $`()`$ of all *effects*, that is, the positive operators which can occur in the range of a POVM . All such generalized probability measures are found to be of the standard form, i.e., determined by a density operator. This result constitutes a simplified proof and at the same time more comprehensive variant of Gleason’s theorem . The paper concludes with an application of this result to the question of hidden variables .

In the traditional formulation of quantum mechanics in Hilbert space, states are described as density operators and observables are represented as self-adjoint operators. Alternatively, and equivalently, experimental events and propositions are represented as orthogonal projection operators, and states are defined as generalized probability measures on the non-Boolean lattice $`𝒫()`$ of projections, i.e., as functions $`Ev(E)`$ with the properties   
(P1) $`0v(E)1`$ for all $`E`$;   
(P2) $`v(I)=1`$;   
(P3) $`v(E+F+\mathrm{})=v(E)+v(F)+\mathrm{}`$ for any sequence $`E,F,\mathrm{}`$ with $`E+F+\mathrm{}I`$.   
According to Gleason’s theorem , all states are given by density operators so that $`v(E)=v_\rho (E)=tr[\rho E]`$, provided that the dimension of the complex Hilbert space is at least 3. The duality of states and observables is thus characterized through the trace expression $`tr[\rho E]`$, which in the minimal interpretation gives the probability of an outcome associated with $`E`$, of a measurement performed on a system in state $`\rho `$.

In quantum physics there are many experimental procedures leading to measurements whose outcome probabilities are expectations not of projections but rather of *effects*. It is therefore natural to define a quantum state as a generalized probability measure not just on $`𝒫()`$ but on the full set of effects, $`()`$, in such a way that the conditions $`(P1)(P3)`$ hold for all $`E,F,\mathrm{}()`$. Note that while for sets of projections the condition $`E+F+\mathrm{}𝒫()`$ is equivalent to $`E,F,\mathrm{}`$ being mutually orthogonal and thus commuting, the commutativity is no longer necessary for $`E+F+\mathrm{}I`$ to hold if $`E,F,\mathrm{}`$ are effects. The following analogue of Gleason’s theorem then holds.

Theorem. Any generalized probability measure $`Ev(E)`$ on $`()`$ with the properties $`(P1)(P3)`$ is of the form $`v(E)=tr[\rho E]`$ for all $`E`$, for some density operator $`\rho `$.

Proof. It is trivial to see that $`v(E)=nv(\frac{1}{n}E)`$ for all positive integers. Then it follows immediately that $`v(pE)=pv(E)`$ for any rational $`p[0,1]`$. Observe also the additivity and positivity entail that any effect valuation is order preserving, $`EFv(E)v(F)`$. Let $`\alpha `$ be any real number, $`0\alpha 1`$. Let $`p_\mu `$ and $`q_\nu `$ be sequences of rational numbers in  such that $`p_\mu \alpha `$ and $`q_\nu \alpha `$. It follows that $`v(p_\mu E)=p_\mu v(E)v(\alpha E)v(q_\nu E)=q_\nu v(E)`$. Hence, $`v(\alpha E)=\alpha v(E)`$.

Let $`A`$ be any positive bounded operator not in $`()`$. We can always write $`A=\alpha E`$, with $`E()`$ and suitable $`\alpha 1`$. Let $`E_1,E_2()`$ be such that $`A=\alpha _1E_1=\alpha _2E_2`$. Assume without loss of generality that $`1\alpha _1<\alpha _2`$. Then $`v(E_2)=\frac{\alpha _1}{\alpha _2}v(E_1)`$, and so $`\alpha _1v(E_1)=\alpha _2v(E_2)`$. Thus we can uniquely define $`v(A)=\alpha _1v(E_1)`$.

Let $`A,B`$ be positive bounded operators. Take $`\gamma >1`$ such that $`\frac{1}{\gamma }(A+B)()`$. Then we can write $`v(A+B)`$ as $`\gamma v(\frac{1}{\gamma }(A+B))=\gamma v(\frac{1}{\gamma }A)+\gamma v(\frac{1}{\gamma }B)=v(A)+v(B)`$.

Finally, let $`C`$ be an arbitrary bounded self-adjoint operator. Assume we have two different decompositions $`C=AB=A^{}B^{}`$ into a difference of positive operators. We have $`v(A)+v(B^{})=v(B)+v(A^{})`$ and so $`v(A)v(B)=v(A^{})v(B^{})`$. Thus we can uniquely define: $`v(C):=v(A)v(B)`$. It is now straightforward to verify the linearity of the map $`v`$ thus extended to all of $`_s\left(\right)`$. We have found that any generalized probability measure on effects extends to a unique positive linear functional which is normal (due to the $`\sigma `$-additivity). It is well known that any such functional is obtained from a density operator (e.g., , Lemma 1.6.1, or see the direct elementary proof due to von Neumann ). $`\mathrm{}`$

The conclusion of our theorem is the same as that of Gleason’s theorem. The extreme simplicity of the proof in comparison to Gleason’s proof is due to the fact that the domain of generalized probability measures is substantially enlarged, from the set of projections to that of all effects.

The statement of the present theorem also extends to the case of 2-dimensional Hilbert spaces where Gleason’s theorem fails. It is worth noting that the dispersion-free valuations constructed on the set of projections of a 2-dimensional Hilbert space (see, e.g., ), simply do not extend to any valuations on the full set of effects. The reason must be seen in the fact that the additivity requirement for $`v`$ on sets of pairwise orthogonal projections is too weak to enforce the linearity of $`v`$, considering that such sets of projections are mutually commutative.

Here is a simple intuitive argument demonstrating that there are no linear extensions of any dispersion-free valuation on the projections of a 2-dimensional Hilbert space. We use the Poincaré sphere representation of positive operators of trace 1, $`A=1/2(I+𝐚\sigma )`$, where $`\sigma =(\sigma _x,\sigma _y,\sigma _z)`$, $`𝐚=(a_x,a_y,a_z)`$, with $`|𝐚|^2=a_x^2+a_y^2+a_z^21`$. All projections are then either $`I`$ or $`O`$ or $`P=1/2(I+𝐧\sigma )`$, with $`|𝐧|=1`$. Let $`v`$ be a dispersion-free valuation on the projections. Any pair of mutually orthogonal projections $`P,P^{}=IP`$ will have values 1 and 0 such that their sum is 1. Hence there are non-orthogonal pairs $`P=1/2(I+𝐧\sigma )`$, $`Q=1/2(I+𝐦\sigma )`$ such that both have value 0. If $`v`$ had a linear extension, then all the effects corresponding to the line segment joining $`𝐧`$ and $`𝐦`$, $`E=\lambda P+(1\lambda )Q`$, with $`0\lambda 1`$, would have values $`v(E)=\lambda v(P)+(1\lambda )v(Q)=0`$. On the other hand, we can write $`E`$ in its spectral decomposition $`E=\mu R+(1\mu )R^{}`$, where $`0<\mu <1`$ if $`0<\lambda <1`$. Assume that $`v(R)=1`$ $`v(R^{})=0`$, then $`v(E)=\mu 0`$, which contradicts the previous conclusion that $`v(E)=0`$. Hence there is no consistent linear extension of $`v`$.

Up to this point we have restricted ourselves to the minimal interpretation of quantum states and observables, according to which these entities are tools for calculating experimental probabilities. We have shown that, given the set of effects as a representation of all experimental yes-no questions, any quantum state, understood as a generalized probability measure on the set of effects, is given in the familiar way by a density operator.

This result entails a formalization of the well-known fact that quantum mechanics is an irreducibly probabilistic theory: in contrast to classical probability theory, quantum probabilities cannot be decomposed into convex combinations of dispersion-free (that is, $`\{0,1\}`$-valued) generalized probability measures.

We conclude with a brief outline of an application of the above result to interpretations of quantum mechanics that go beyond the scope of the minimal interpretation. Such interpretation will consider observables as representations of *properties* of a system and effects as yes-no propositions about the possible values of the observables. The role of states will be to assign values to observables and effects. In a deterministic world, one would expect a complete state description to assign one of the values 1 or 0 to each effect of a complete collection $`E_i`$ (with $`E_i=I`$), in such a way that 1 occurs exactly once. Thus the sum of the values for all $`E_i`$ is 1.

This consideration leads to the idea of defining states as *effect valuations*, that is, as functions $`v:Ev(E)`$ of effects with the properties: $`v(E)0`$, and $`v(E)+v(F)+\mathrm{}=1`$ if $`E+F+\mathrm{}=I`$.

It is easy to see that every effect valuation has the properties (P1-3) of generalized probability measures, and conversely. Hence the above theorem entails that any effect valuation is of the form $`v(E)=tr[\rho E]`$ for all $`E()`$ and some density operator $`\rho `$.

An interpretation of valuations as truth value assignments would require the numbers $`v(E)`$ to be either 1 or 0, indicating the occurrence or nonoccurrence of an outcome associated with $`E`$. Valuations with this property are referred to as *dispersion-free*. The above theorem entails immediately that dispersion-free effect valuations which are defined everywhere on $`()`$ do not exist. It follows that non-contextual hidden variables, understood as dispersion-free, globally defined, valuations, are excluded in quantum mechanics.

The argument against non-contextual hidden variables thus obtained resembles formally that of von Neumann . However, von Neumann’s problematical assumption, that of additivity of a valuation over arbitrary (countable) sets of (commuting or noncommuting) self-adjoint operators , is here replaced by the requirement of additivity over (countable) sets of effects that add up to $`I`$. Such collections of effects constitute a POVM and are thus jointly measurable in a single experiment. It makes thus sense to consider hypothetical simultaneous (hidden, dispersion-free) values of such sets of effects, and hence also the values of sums of effects provided these sums are bounded by $`I`$.

In the case of a pure state $`\rho =|\phi \phi |`$, the occurrence of values $`v_\rho (E)`$ strictly between 0 and 1 indicates a situation where the property associated with $`E`$ is objectively indeterminate, that is its presence or absence is not just subjectively unknown. This interpretation is in accord with the *propensity* interpretation of probabilities, according to which the number $`v_\rho (E)`$ gives a measure of the system’s objective tendency to trigger an outcome represented by effect $`E`$ if the state is given by $`\rho `$ and a measurement is made of a POVM containing $`E`$ .

As an example, $`E_1`$ and $`E_2=IE_1`$ could represent the propositions that a quantum particle is in the upper and lower path of an interferometer, respectively. If a pure state $`\rho `$ is a superposition of states $`\rho _1`$, $`\rho _2`$ in which $`E_1`$ and $`E_2`$ are real, respectively (i.e., $`v_{\rho _1}(E_1)=v_{\rho _2}(E_2)=1`$), then there is no convex decomposition of that state in terms of valuations which are dispersion-free, even only with respect to $`E_1,E_2`$. The fact that $`0<v_\rho (E_i)<1`$ is then an expression of the *indeterminateness* of the properties $`E_1,E_2`$ in the state $`\rho `$. The most appropriate way of accounting for this situation seems to be to say that the localization of the quantum particle is extended over the space occupied by the two paths of the interferometer. The quantum particle is present, *to a degree quantified by the number* $`v_\rho (E_i)`$, in each of the two paths represented by $`E_i`$. If forced by a measurement to decide whether to show up in the upper or lower path, it will do so with a propensity quantified by those numbers.

A related interpretation of valuations for unsharp measurements as approximate truth values has recently been advocated by T. Breuer in this journal , who applied Gleason’s theorem to obtain a Kochen-Specker theorem  for unsharp spin observables.

The nonexistence of dispersion free effect valuations raises the interesting question whether there are subsets in the set of effects, with meaningful structures, on which such dispersion-free valuations can be defined. Interesting constructions demonstrating a positive answer to this question are presented for subsets of projections in , or also for effects in . Intuitively, it appears that the valuations of Bub  are defined on relatively sparse sets of projections, but these sets do possess some structures that can be argued to be necessary for a consistent set of definite properties; by contrast, the valuations of Kent  are defined on ‘dense’ sets of POVMs where it is not obvious that these are equipped with such ‘logical’ structures. The important task remains to explore how far one can go in defining non-contextual dispersion-free valuations on subsets of effects with appropriate structures, without running into conflict with the modified Gleason theorem proven here.