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Decoherence refers to the loss of quantum coherence (i.e. observable quantum properties) in a quantum system that is treated as part of a larger system, due to entanglement with its environment. The concept of decoherence is of crucial importance both for the experimental study of non-classical properties in mesoscopic systems and for the foundational question how our classical perception of the world emerges from quantum theory. In this latter sense, it plays a pivotal role for possible solutions of the "quantum measurement problem".
The lecture introduces the relevant concepts and methods for the treatment of decoherence and discusses its relation to interpretations of quantum mechanics. It will discuss the following topics:
- Entanglement and the superposition principle
- The concept of density matrices
- Environmental monitoring and local damping of interference
- Localiyation due to environmental scattering
- Master-equation formulation
- The Wigner representation for quantum states
- Quantum Brownian motion
- The measurement problem(s) and possible solutions
- Schmidt decomposition and the preferred basis problem
- Many Worlds/relative state interpretation
- Collapse models
- Gravitational decoherence
Main reference:
- M. Schlosshauer, Decoherence and the quantum-to-classical transition, Springer 2007
(the lecture will closely follow the structure of this book)
Alternative references:
- E. Joos et al., Decoherence and the Appearance of a Classical World in Quantum Theory, Springer 2003
- W.H. Zurek, Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical, Rev. Mod. Phys. 75, 715, 2003. arxiv:quant-ph/0105127
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