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We point out that even at the absolute zero of temperature environmental decoherence limits the destructive interference between time-reversed paths for an electron in a disordered metal, and thus causes the leading (`weak localization')…
A theory recently proposed by the author aims to explain decoherence and the thermodynamical behaviour of closed systems within a conservative, unitary, framework for quantum gravity by assuming that the operators tied to the gravitational…
Thermal fluctuations tend to destroy long-range phase correlations. Consequently, bosons in a lattice will undergo a transition from a phase-coherent superfluid as the temperature rises. Contrary to common intuition, however, we show that…
We propose a set of devices of simple geometrical design which may exhibit a permanent rotation due to quantum (vacuum) fluctuations. These objects - which have no moving parts - impose certain boundary conditions on quantum fluctuations…
I investigate a new idea of perturbation theory in covariant canonical quantization. I present preliminary results for a toy model of a harmonic oscillator with a quartic perturbation, and show that this method reproduces the quantized…
As it is well known, the Minkowski vacuum appears thermally populated to a quantum mechanical detector on a uniformly accelerating course. We investigate how this thermal radiation may contribute to the classical nature of the detector's…
Fluctuation-dissipation relation ensures thermodynamic equilibrium of a particle immersed in a heat bath. We will show that, under certain circumstances, the fluctuation-dissipation relation fails to ensure equilibrium between the immersed…
In this Thesis we study the quantum to classical transition process in the context of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. We shall analyze the effects that general environments, namely ohmic and non-ohmic, at zero and high…
We study a driven harmonic oscillator operating an Otto cycle between two thermal baths of finite size. By making extensive use of the tools of Gaussian quantum mechanics, we directly simulate the dynamics of the engine as a whole, without…
Quantum coherence inherently affects the dynamics and the performances of a quantum machine. Coherent control can, at least in principle, enhance the work extraction and boost the velocity of evolution in an open quantum system. Using…
We discuss how a background bath of gravitons can induce decoherence of quantum systems. The mechanism is dephasing, the loss of phase coherence due to quantum geometry fluctuations caused by the gravitons. This effect is illustrated in a…
Schemes of gravitationally induced decoherence are being actively investigated as possible mechanisms for the quantum-to-classical transition. Here, we introduce a decoherence process due to quantum gravity effects. We assume a foamy…
Recently, a static gravitational field, such as that of the Earth, was proposed as a new source of decoherence [1]. We study the conditions under which it becomes the dominant decoherence effect in typical interferometric experiments. The…
The interaction of two--level atoms with a common heat bath leads to an effective interaction between the atoms, such that with time the internal degrees of the atoms become correlated or even entangled. If part of the atoms remain…
Control of decoherence in open quantum systems has become a topic of great interest due to the emergence of quantum technologies that depend on quantum coherent effects. In this work, we investigate the decoherence dynamics of systems…
Within the lowest-order Born approximation, we present an exact calculation of the time dynamics of the spin-boson model in the Ohmic regime. We observe non-Markovian effects at zero temperature that scale with the system-bath coupling…
Or: ``How to generate an ensemble in a single event?'' Following recent work on entropy in strong interactions, I explain the concept of environment-induced quantum decoherence in elementary quantum mechanics. The classically chaotic…
This note has no new results and is therefore not intended to be submitted to a "research" journal in the foreseeable future, but to be available to the numerous individuals who are interested in this issue. Several of those have approached…
Fluctuations of local fields cause decoherence of quantum objects. It is generally believed that at high temperatures, thermal noises are much stronger than quantum fluctuations unless the thermal effects are suppressed by certain…
The conventional conception of decoherence relies on the interaction with an external set of degrees of freedom - the 'bath' - to which the system loses quantum information. But the role of the bath can be played too by any internal degrees…