dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaTheory of decoherence in a matter wave Talbot-Lau interferometer
| Authors | Klaus Hornberger, John E. Sipe, Markus Arndt |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0407245 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0407245 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevA.70.053608 |
| Journal | Phys. Rev. A 70, 053608 (2004) |
Abstract
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. The formulation includes both the decohering coupling to the environment and the coherent interaction with the grating walls. It facilitates the quantitative distinction of genuine quantum interference from the expectations of classical mechanics. We provide realistic microscopic descriptions of the experimentally relevant interactions in terms of the bulk properties of the particles and show that the treatment is equivalent to solving the corresponding master equation in paraxial approximation.
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"abstract": "We present a theoretical framework to describe the effects of decoherence on\nmatter waves in Talbot-Lau interferometry. Using a Wigner description of the\nstationary beam the loss of interference contrast can be calculated in closed\nform. The formulation includes both the decohering coupling to the environment\nand the coherent interaction with the grating walls. It facilitates the\nquantitative distinction of genuine quantum interference from the expectations\nof classical mechanics. We provide realistic microscopic descriptions of the\nexperimentally relevant interactions in terms of the bulk properties of the\nparticles and show that the treatment is equivalent to solving the\ncorresponding master equation in paraxial approximation.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0407245",
"authors": [
"Klaus Hornberger",
"John E. Sipe",
"Markus Arndt"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevA.70.053608",
"journal_ref": "Phys. Rev. A 70, 053608 (2004)",
"title": "Theory of decoherence in a matter wave Talbot-Lau interferometer",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0407245"
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