Related papers: Decoherence in Phase Space
When a quantum system couples to a scale-invariant environment, what form must its decoherence take? We prove that the answer is unique: under locality, Lorentz invariance, unitarity, and continuous scale invariance, the effect of any such…
Using the remarkable mathematical construct of Eugene Wigner to visualize quantum trajectories in phase space, quantum processes can be described in terms of a quasi-probability distribution analogous to the phase space probability…
We show that the number of harmonics of the Wigner function, recently proposed as a measure of quantum complexity, can be also used to characterize quantum phase transitions. The non-analytic behavior of this quantity in the neighborhood of…
Here we propose a pair of experiments to distinguish the recently proposed "slicing theory" of quantum measurement, which gives a transient many worlds picture, and decoherence. Since these two theories are essentially "opposites" in their…
In a quantum measurement setting, it is known that environment-induced decoherence theory describes the emergence of effectively classical features of the quantum system-measuring apparatus composite system when the apparatus is allowed to…
The quantum state of Schroedinger's cat is usually incorrectly described as a superposition of "dead" and "alive," despite an argument by Rinner and Werner that, locally, the cat should be considered to be in a mixture of non-superposed…
We consider a quantum superposition of Bose-Einstein condensates in two immiscible internal states. A decoherence rate for the resulting Schroedinger cat is calculated and shown to be a significant threat to this macroscopic quantum…
A small quantum system is studied which is a superposition of states localized in different positions in a static gravitational field. The time evolution of the correlation between different positions is investigated, and it is seen that…
We analyze the evolution of a quantum Brownian particle starting from an initial state that contains correlations between this system and its environment. Using a path integral approach, we obtain a master equation for the reduced density…
Wigner-positive quantum states have the peculiarity to admit a Wigner function that is a genuine probability distribution over phase space. The Shannon differential entropy of the Wigner function of such states -- called Wigner entropy for…
We study a model of dephasing (decoherence) in a two-state quantum system (qubit) coupled to a bath of harmonic oscillators. An exact analytic solution for the reduced dynamics of a two-state system in this model has been obtained…
We study the loss of spatial coherence in the extended wave function of fullerenes due to collisions with background gases. From the gradual suppression of quantum interference with increasing gas pressure we are able to support…
We describe a new mechanism of decoherence in excited atoms as a result of thermal particles scattering by the atomic nucleus. It is based on the idea that a single scattering will produce a sudden displacement of the nucleus, which will be…
Quantum decoherence, which appears when a system interacts with its environment in an irreversible way, plays a fundamental role in the description of quantum-to-classical transitions and has been successfully applied in some important…
The dynamics of a decohering two-level system driven by a suitable control Hamiltonian is studied. The control procedure is implemented as a sequence of radiofrequency pulses that repetitively flip the state of the system, a technique that…
Quantum decoherence is the major obstacle in using the potential of engineered quantum dynamics to revolutionize high-precision measurements, sensitive detection, or information processing. Here we experimentally demonstrate that quantum…
We first review the usefulness of the Wigner distribution functions (WDF), associated with Lindblad and pre-master equations, for analyzing a host of problems in Quantum Optics where dissipation plays a major role, an arena where weak…
The dynamics of a dimer coupled to two different environments each in a spin star configuration under the influence of decoherence is studied. The exact analytical expression for the transition probability in the dimer system is obtained…
The performance of modern quantum devices in communication, metrology or microscopy relies on the quantum-classical interaction which is generally described by the theory of decoherence. Despite the high relevance for long coherence times…
We present a theoretical framework to describe the effects of decoherence on matter waves in Talbot-Lau interferometry. Using a Wigner description of the stationary beam the loss of interference contrast can be calculated in closed form.…