Related papers: Inconsistency between alternative approaches to Qu…

We reconsider the Decoherent Histories approach to Quantum Mechanics and we analyze some problems related to its interpretation which, according to us, have not been adequately clarified by its proponents. We put forward some assumptions…

The effects of fluctuating boundaries on a superposition state of a quantum particle in a box is studied. We consider a model in one space dimension in which the initial state is a coherent superposition of two energy eigenstates. The…

Chaotic evolutions exhibit exponential sensitivity to initial conditions. This suggests that even very small perturbations resulting from weak coupling of a quantum chaotic environment to the position of a system whose state is a non-local…

The decoherent histories approach is a natural medium in which to address problems in quantum theory which involve time in a non-trivial way. This article reviews the various attempts and difficulties involved in using the decoherent…

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…

A reduction mechanism resulting directly from the basic principles of quantum mechanics is proposed, inseparably from decoherence. A rather consistent theory of this effect is given and the next problems it raises are indicated.

This paper describes the dynamics of a quantum two-level system (qubit) under the influence of an environment modeled by an ensemble of random matrices. In distinction to earlier work, we consider here separable couplings and focus on a…

We analyze the time dependence of entanglement and total correlations between a system and fractions of its environment in the course of decoherence. For the quantum Brownian motion model we show that the entanglement and total correlations…

Using the Gell-Mann and Hartle formalism of generalized quantum mechanics of closed systems, we study the classical limit of coarse-grained spacetime histories and their decoherence. The system under consideration is one-dimensional and…

A common misconception is that decoherence gives the eigenstates that we observe to be fairly definite about a subsystem (e.g., approximate eigenstates of position) as the elements of the Schmidt basis in which the density matrix of the…

In the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory, attention focuses on the conditions under which probabilities may be assigned to sets of quantum histories. A variety of conditions have been proposed, but the most important one is…

The effect of decoherence is analysed for a free particle, interacting with an environment via a dissipative coupling. The interaction between the particle and the environment occurs by a coupling of the position operator of the particle…

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…

It is emphasized that a many-worlds interpretation of quantum theory exists only to the extent that the associated basis problem is solved. The core basis problem is that the robust enduring states specified by environmental decoherence…

The transition from the quantum to the classical realm remains one of the most profound open questions in physics. While quantum theory predicts the existence of macroscopic superpositions, their apparent absence in the everyday world is…

Contextuality is considered as one of the most distinctive features of nonclassical systems. Here, we show that a Spekkens contextual system (which previous work has shown is a necessary condition for nonclassicality) formed of an…

An "almost diagonal" reduced density matrix (in coordinate representation) is usually a result of environment induced decoherence and is considered the sign of classical behavior. We point out that the proton of a ground state hydrogen atom…

We analyse higher order background independence conditions arising from multiple commutators of background deformations in quantum closed string field theory. The conditions are shown to amount to a vanishing theorem for $\Delta_S$…

The conventional interpretation of quantum mechanics, though it permits a correspondence to classical physics, leaves the exact mechanism of transition unclear. Though this was only of philosophical importance throughout the twentieth…

Environmental decoherence occurs when a quantum system interacts with its surroundings, progressively reducing quantum interference and coherence, complicating the preservation of critical quantum properties over time, especially during…