TY  - JOUR
AU  - Karlsson, Erik B
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/04/13
TI  - Quantum Decoherence in Dense Media: A Few Examples
JO  - Recent Progress in Materials
SP  - 009
VL  - 02
IS  - 02
AB  - Decoherence is a relatively recent concept in the field of quantum mechanics. Although the pioneers of the field must have understood that loss of phase coherence in quantum superpositions is the reason underlying the appearance of definite outcomes in the quantum measurement problem, the latter was not treated in terms of decoherence until sixty years after the formulation of quantum mechanics as described in a report by Joos and Zeh in 1983 [1]. However, soon after, the theory was developed in further detail, and experiments to measure the actual decoherence rates in various systems commenced. Today, decoherence is the main concern for another reason, i.e., the fact that superposition states must be maintained undisturbed in the quantum communication systems and decoherence presents a strong limitation for their practical application.

Decoherence appears in open quantum systems, where the basic system under consideration interacts relatively strongly with an environment. Decoherence times may be as long as seconds for small atomic systems in extreme vacua, although below what is presently measurable (i.e., less than a fraction of a femtosecond) in most liquids and solids, where coupling to the surrounding molecules or atomic arrangements is strong. The relatively slow decoherence in well-isolated particle systems has been described in several recent articles on quantum optics, while the rapid decoherence in liquids and solids has not received this kind of attention. It is the purpose of the present review to fill this gap.
SN  - 2689-5846
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/rpm.2002009
DO  - 10.21926/rpm.2002009
ID  - Karlsson2020
ER  -