 Sequential qubit measurement correlation

Prepare $I/2$, measure a Pauli observable $N=\mathbf{n}\cdot \mathbf{\sigma }$, apply a fixed unitary operator $U$, then measure $N$ again. If the first and second eigenvalue labels are $j,k\in \{+1,-1\}$, their joint probability is $\frac{1}{2}|⟨n_k|U|n_j⟩{|}^2$. ConsequentlyThe first outcome has probability $1/2$ and its conditional state is $|n_j⟩$ by the Lüders rule. Summing $jk$ times the joint probabilities and using $N={\sum }_{j}j|n_j⟩⟨n_j|$ proves the trace formula. This temporal correlation differs from the spatial correlation $⟨\psi |N\otimes N|\psi ⟩$ of two simultaneously measured qubits.