dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaDecoherence demystified : The hydrodynamic viewpoint
| Authors | Kyungsun Na, Robert E. Wyatt |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0201108 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0201108 |
Abstract
The hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics is used to elucidate the mechanism for decoherence, the suppression of interference effects in a system evolving from an initial coherent superposition. Analysis of time-dependent trajectory ensembles, flux maps, and elements of the stress tensor for two composite systems, in one of which the system is uncoupled to the environment, leads to the decoherence mechanism. For the uncoupled case, the quantum force acting on the fluid elements directs flux toward an attractor where the interference feature arises. For the coupled case, the classical force acting on each fluid element counters the quantum force and leads to gradual separation of the components of the initial superposition. Concomitantly, fluid stress is relieved when flux vectors diverge from a repellor in the mid-region between the separating wavepackets, thus suppressing formation of the interference feature.
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"abstract": "The hydrodynamic formulation of quantum mechanics is used to elucidate the\nmechanism for decoherence, the suppression of interference effects in a system\nevolving from an initial coherent superposition. Analysis of time-dependent\ntrajectory ensembles, flux maps, and elements of the stress tensor for two\ncomposite systems, in one of which the system is uncoupled to the environment,\nleads to the decoherence mechanism. For the uncoupled case, the quantum force\nacting on the fluid elements directs flux toward an attractor where the\ninterference feature arises. For the coupled case, the classical force acting\non each fluid element counters the quantum force and leads to gradual\nseparation of the components of the initial superposition. Concomitantly, fluid\nstress is relieved when flux vectors diverge from a repellor in the mid-region\nbetween the separating wavepackets, thus suppressing formation of the\ninterference feature.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0201108",
"authors": [
"Kyungsun Na",
"Robert E. Wyatt"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "Decoherence demystified : The hydrodynamic viewpoint",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0201108"
},
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