English

A quantum Boltzmann equation for intrinsic decoherence in a dilute gas

Quantum Gases 2019-05-08 v1

Abstract

We use a careful treatment of time-dependent wave-mechanical scattering to determine the conditions under which a dilute, non-degenerate quantum gas can obey a Boltzmann equation. If the gas possesses weak long-range coherence, such as may occur when a gas is quantum mechanically throttled by tunnelling through a barrier, collisions within the gas will suppress this long range coherence. We calculate its decay rate and find it to be related to the Boltzmann equation's loss term.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1905.02647,
  title  = {A quantum Boltzmann equation for intrinsic decoherence in a dilute gas},
  author = {L. Rico-Pérez and J. R. Anglin},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1905.02647},
  year   = {2019}
}