Decoherence, chaos, the quantum and the classical
Wojciech Hubert Zurek, Juan Pablo Paz
The key ideas of the environment-induced decoherence approach are reviewed. Application of decoherence to the transition from quantum to classical in open quantum systems with chaotic classical analogs is described. The arrow of time is, in this context, a result of the information loss to the correlations with the environment. The asymptotic rate of entropy production (which is reached quickly, on the dynamical timescale) is independent of the details of the coupling of the quantum system to the environment, and is set by the Lyapunov exponents. We also briefly outline the existential interpretation of quantum mechanics, justifying the slogan ``No information without representation.``
•Jan 1, 1994•4 citations