Polar duality conjecture for position and momentum ellipsoids

Let measurements of position and momentum be modeled by centered ellipsoids ΩXRxn\Omega_X\subset\mathbb{R}_x^n and ΩPRpn\Omega_P\subset\mathbb{R}_p^n in the position and momentum spaces, respectively. For a centered set ΩX\Omega_X, write

ΩXo={pRpn:px1 for every xΩX}\Omega_X^o=\{p\in\mathbb{R}_p^n: p\cdot x\leq 1\text{ for every }x\in\Omega_X\}

for its polar body.

Polar duality conjecture. The ellipsoids ΩX\Omega_X and ΩP\Omega_P form a dual pair:

ΩXoΩP.\Omega_X^o\subset\Omega_P.

This is proposed as a physical formulation of the uncertainty principle that is independent of the particular choice of variances and covariances used to measure uncertainty, and could in principle be justified experimentally. The source does not state whether the conjecture has been proved or disproved.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

Maurice de Gosson, “Polar Duality Between Pairs of Transverse Lagrangian Planes. Applications to Uncertainty Principles”, arXiv:2110.14479 (2021).

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