Related papers: Decoherence in the Dirac equation
In a semiclassical context we investigate the Zitterbewegung of relativistic particles with spin 1/2 moving in external fields. It is shown that the analogue of Zitterbewegung for general observables can be removed to arbitrary order in…
We study a simplified Heisenberg spin model in order to clarify the idea of decoherence in closed quantum systems. For this purpose, we define a new concept: the decoherence function \Xi(t), which describes the dynamics of decoherence in…
We discuss a mechanism of spin decoherence in gravitation within the framework of general relativity. The spin state of a particle moving in a gravitational field is shown to decohere due to the curvature of spacetime. As an example, we…
We analyze the decoherence of a particle's spatial superposition moving along a stationary worldline through the Minkowski vacuum. The particle is modeled via an internal degree of freedom that couples to a scalar field, and an external…
Much of the discussion of decoherence has been in terms of a particle moving in one dimension that is placed in an initial superposition state (a Schr\"{o}dinger "cat" state) corresponding to two widely separated wave packets. Decoherence…
In the present contribution, by studying a fractional version of Dirac's equation for the electron, we show that the phenomenon of Zitterbewegung in a coarse-grained medium exhibits a transient oscillatory behavior, rather than a purely…
A decoherence mechanism caused by spacetime curvature is discussed. The spin state of a particle is shown to decohere if only the particle moves in a curved spacetime. In particular, when a particle is near the event horizon of a black…
Zitterbewegung is a striking consequence of relativistic quantum mechanics which predicts that free Dirac electrons exhibit a rapid trembling motion even in the absence of external forces. The trembling motion of an electron results from…
The Dirac equation is reinterpreted as a constitutive equation for singularities in the electromagnetic vacuum, with the electron as a point singularity on a lightlike toroidal vortex. The diameter of the vortex is a Compton wavelength and…
A simplified Heisenberg spin model is studied in order to examine the idea of decoherence in closed quantum systems. For this purpose, we present a quantifiable definition to quantum coherence $\Xi$, and discuss in some detail a general…
This paper presents a relativistic symmetrical interpretation of the Dirac equation in 1+1 dimensions which predicts no zitterbewegung for a free spin-1/2 particle. This could resolve the longstanding puzzle of zitterbewegung in…
Spacetime Algebra (STA) provides unified, matrix-free spinor methods for rotational dynamics in classical theory as well as quantum mechanics. That makes it an ideal tool for studying particle models of zitterbewegung and using them to…
A thought experiment is discussed to clarify the concept of decoherence. Superposition of states consisting of ground state of a single hydrogen atom and its excited state after a huge amount of time is discussed to show that the…
We study the behavior of a quantum gyroscope, that is, a quantum system which singles out a direction in space in order to measure certain properties of incoming particles such as the orientation of their spins. We show that repeated…
We study quantum decoherence numerically in a system consisting of a relativistic quantum field theory coupled to a measuring device that is itself coupled to an environment. The measuring device and environment are treated as quantum,…
Although originally predicted in relativistic quantum mechanics, Zitterbewegung can also appear in some classical systems, which leads to the important question of whether Zitterbewegung of Dirac particles is underlain by a more fundamental…
The Dirac equation has been studied in which the Dirac matrices $\hat{\boldmath$\alpha$}, \hat\beta$ have space factors, respectively $f$ and $f_1$, dependent on the particle's space coordinates. The $f$ function deforms Heisenberg algebra…
We solved the one-dimensional position-dependent mass Dirac equation in the presence of the cusp potential and reported the solutions in terms of the Whittaker functions. We have derived the reflection and transmission coefficients by…
The dynamics of particles with intrinsic angular momentum (spin) described by the Dirac equation is considered in a homogeneous space with rotation in the presence of a homogeneous vortex gravitational field. The effects of the interaction…
We analyze the Stern-Gerlach experiment in phase space with the help of the matrix Wigner function, which includes the spin degree of freedom. Such analysis allows for an intuitive visualization of the quantum dynamics of the apparatus. We…