Related papers: Foundations of Quantum Decoherence
In this paper we review Castagnino's contributions to the foundations of quantum mechanics. First, we recall his work on quantum decoherence in closed systems, and the proposal of a general framework for decoherence from which the…
To date, there has been no experimental evidence that invalidates quantum theory. Yet it may only be an effective description of the world, in the same way that classical physics is an effective description of the quantum world. We ask…
We give a first principles derivation of a master equation for the evolution of a quantum matter field in a linearly perturbed Minkowski spacetime, based solely on quantum field theory and general relativity. We make no additional…
For a wide set of quantum systems it is demonstrated that the quantum regime can be considered as the transient phase while the final classical statistical regime is a permanent state. A basis where exact matrix decoherence appears for…
Decoherence is widely felt to have something to do with the quantum measurement problem, but getting clear on just what is made difficult by the fact that the "measurement problem", as traditionally presented in foundational and…
It is now widely accepted that environmental entanglement and the resulting decoherence processes play a crucial role in the quantum-to-classical transition and the emergence of "classicality" from quantum mechanics. To this extent,…
Coherent quantum phenomena can only emerge when decoherence is minimized, and mastery over decoherence is technologically crucial for designing and operating functional quantum devices. However, its microscopic mechanisms in…
We give a short, critical review of the issue of decoherence. We establish the most general framework in which decoherence can be discussed, how it can be quantified and how it can be measured. We focus on environment induced decoherence…
An examination of the concept of using classical degrees of freedom to drive the evolution of quantum computers is given. Specifically, when externally generated, coherent states of the electromagnetic field are used to drive transitions…
It has been claimed that decoherence of open quantum systems explains the tendency of macroscopic systems to exhibit quasiclassical behavior. We show that quasiclassicality is in fact an unremarkable property, characterizing generic…
We study dynamics of quantum open systems, paying special attention to those aspects of their evolution which are relevant to the transition from quantum to classical. We begin with a discussion of the conditional dynamics of simple…
Investigations of quantum and mesoscopic thermodynamics force one to answer two fundamental questions associated with the foundations of statistical mechanics: (i) how does macroscopic irreversibility emerge from microscopic reversibility?…
We study a quantum mechanical toy model that mimics some features of a quenched phase transition. Both by virtue of a time-dependent Hamiltonian or by changing the temperature of the bath we are able to show that even after classicalization…
The decoherence mechanism signals the limits beyond which the system dynamics approaches the classical behavior. We show that in some cases decoherence may also signal the limits beyond which the system dynamics has to be described by…
In this paper we will present the \QTR{it}{self-induced approach} to decoherence, which does not require the interaction between the system and the environment: decoherence in closed quantum systems is possible. This fact has relevant…
Our account of the problem of the classical limit of quantum mechanics involves two elements. The first one is self-induced decoherence, conceived as a process that depends on the own dynamics of a closed quantum system governed by a…
The quantum theory of decoherence plays an important role in a pragmatist interpretation of quantum theory. It governs the descriptive content of claims about values of physical magnitudes and offers advice on when to use quantum…
We present a discussion of the fundamental loss of unitarity that appears in quantum mechanics due to the use of a physical apparatus to measure time. This induces a decoherence effect that is independent of any interaction with the…
The quantum measurement problem, the unresolved conflict between the unitary evolution of the wave function and the postulate of wave function collapse, remains the most profound conceptual challenge in quantum foundations. While…
Central to many discussion of decoherence is a master equation for the reduced density matrix of a massive particle experiencing scattering from its surrounding environment, such as that of Joos and Zeh. Such master equations enjoy a close…