Entropic uncertainty relations

Abstract

The uncertainty principle in quantum physics for non-commuting observables can be quantitatively expressed in various mathematical forms. Well known are common Heisenberg-like uncertainty relations in which the product of dispersions of two non-commuting observables is used. An alternative form of uncertainty relations represents the so-called entropic uncertainty relations in which the sum of entropies of the considered non-commuting observables is employed. The aim of this paper is to show that the entropic uncertainty relations exhibit several interesting mathematical properties and can be taken as an adequate alternative formulation of the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics. To compare the mathematical properties of the common and entropic uncertainty relations we present some simple quantum systems with two non-commuting observables.