Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:quant-ph/0312145 · Journal of Modern Optics

Quantum and classical features in the explanation of collisional decoherence

Bassano Vacchini

Published Apr 1, 2004• 14 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

A simple theoretical argument is given in order to explain the quantitative estimate of the effect of collisional decoherence in matter-wave interferometry. The argument highlights the relevance of quantum and classical features in the description of the phenomenon, showing in particular the connection between the formula used for the experimental fit and the loss term in the classical linear Boltzmann equation.

DOI
10.1080/09500340408233619

Related papers

Theory of decoherence in a matter wave Talbot-Lau interferometer

Klaus Hornberger, John E. Sipe, Markus Arndt

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.

arXiv:quant-ph/0407245•Physical Review A•Nov 11, 2004•115 citations

Quantum decoherence: Mathematical foundations, physical mechanisms, and experimental tests

Sachin .

Quantum decoherence is widely regarded as the principal dynamical mechanism through which classical behaviour emerges from quantum dynamics. This review presents a technical account of decoherence as an open-system phenomenon, emphasizing its mathematical framework, microscopic models, experimental evidence, and foundational implications. Starting from system-environment interactions and reduced density operators, we introduce completely positive trace-preserving maps and Lindblad master equations. We then discuss pure dephasing, pointer-state selection, quantum Brownian motion, spin-boson dynamics, and collisional decoherence. Experimental evidence from atom and molecular interferometry, superconducting qubits, and mesoscopic platforms is examined. Finally, the review assesses the role of decoherence in the quantum measurement problem. Decoherence explains preferred-basis selection and practical suppression of interference, but it does not independently account for the occurrence of a unique measurement outcome.

International Journal of Physics and Applications•Jul 1, 2025•0 citations

Collisional Decoherence Observed in Matter Wave Interferometry

Klaus Hornberger, S. Uttenthaler, Björn Brezger +3 more

We study the loss of spatial coherence in the extended wave function of fullerenes due to collisions with background gases. From the gradual suppression of quantum interference with increasing gas pressure we are able to support quantitatively both the predictions of decoherence theory and our picture of the interaction process. We thus explore the practical limits of matter wave interferometry at finite gas pressures and estimate the required experimental vacuum conditions for interferometry with even larger objects.

arXiv:quant-ph/0303093•Physical Review Letters•Apr 22, 2003•290 citations

On how classical uncertainties might affect the coherence properties of collisions processes, and how to control them

R O Barrachina, Francisco Navarrete, Marcelo F. Ciappina

Synopsis In principle, the quantum coherence properties of any collision experiment should be affected by unavoidable classical uncertainties. However, they seem to produce no observable effect. This mystery can be solved by introducing the concept of “coherence length” which, in addition, provides a way to control and modify the aforementioned quantum properties. Finally, we discuss different methods to achieve a transition between coherent and incoherent collisions, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.

Journal of Physics Conference Series•Jan 1, 2020•0 citations

From quantum to classical: Schrödinger cats, entanglement, and decoherence

L. Davidovich

Abstract Since the beginning of quantum physics, the relation between the properties of the microscopic quantum and the macroscopic classical world has been an important source for the development of the theory, and has led to new insights on the role of the environment in the transition from quantum to classical physics. Decoherence affects both coherence and entanglement of open systems. Quantum optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics have allowed detailed investigations of this phenomenon, within the framework of microwaves and light waves. In this paper, I present a personal account of theoretical and experimental developments that have led to the probing of the subtle frontier between quantum and classical phenomena.

Physica Scripta•May 25, 2016•9 citations

Stochastic simulation algorithm for the quantum linear Boltzmann equation

Marc Busse, Piotr Pietrulewicz, Heinz‐Peter Breuer +1 more

We develop a Monte Carlo wave function algorithm for the quantum linear Boltzmann equation, a Markovian master equation describing the quantum motion of a test particle interacting with the particles of an environmental background gas. The algorithm leads to a numerically efficient stochastic simulation procedure for the most general form of this integrodifferential equation, which involves a five-dimensional integral over microscopically defined scattering amplitudes that account for the gas interactions in a nonperturbative fashion. The simulation technique is used to assess various limiting forms of the quantum linear Boltzmann equation, such as the limits of pure collisional decoherence and quantum Brownian motion, the Born approximation, and the classical limit. Moreover, we extend the method to allow for the simulation of the dissipative and decohering dynamics of superpositions of spatially localized wave packets, which enables the study of many physically relevant quantum phenomena, occurring e.g., in the interferometry of massive particles.

arXiv:1005.0365•Physical Review E•Aug 30, 2010•5 citations
A simple theoretical argument is given in order to explain the quantitative estimate of the effect of collisional decoherence in matter-wave interferometry. The argument highlights the relevance of quantum and classical features in the description of the phenomenon, showing in particular the connection between the formula used for the experimental fit and the loss term in the classical linear Boltzmann equation.
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.
Quantum decoherence is widely regarded as the principal dynamical mechanism through which classical behaviour emerges from quantum dynamics. This review presents a technical account of decoherence as an open-system phenomenon, emphasizing its mathematical framework, microscopic models, experimental evidence, and foundational implications. Starting from system-environment interactions and reduced density operators, we introduce completely positive trace-preserving maps and Lindblad master equations. We then discuss pure dephasing, pointer-state selection, quantum Brownian motion, spin-boson dynamics, and collisional decoherence. Experimental evidence from atom and molecular interferometry, superconducting qubits, and mesoscopic platforms is examined. Finally, the review assesses the role of decoherence in the quantum measurement problem. Decoherence explains preferred-basis selection and practical suppression of interference, but it does not independently account for the occurrence of a unique measurement outcome.
We study the loss of spatial coherence in the extended wave function of fullerenes due to collisions with background gases. From the gradual suppression of quantum interference with increasing gas pressure we are able to support quantitatively both the predictions of decoherence theory and our picture of the interaction process. We thus explore the practical limits of matter wave interferometry at finite gas pressures and estimate the required experimental vacuum conditions for interferometry with even larger objects.
Synopsis In principle, the quantum coherence properties of any collision experiment should be affected by unavoidable classical uncertainties. However, they seem to produce no observable effect. This mystery can be solved by introducing the concept of “coherence length” which, in addition, provides a way to control and modify the aforementioned quantum properties. Finally, we discuss different methods to achieve a transition between coherent and incoherent collisions, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
Abstract Since the beginning of quantum physics, the relation between the properties of the microscopic quantum and the macroscopic classical world has been an important source for the development of the theory, and has led to new insights on the role of the environment in the transition from quantum to classical physics. Decoherence affects both coherence and entanglement of open systems. Quantum optics and cavity quantum electrodynamics have allowed detailed investigations of this phenomenon, within the framework of microwaves and light waves. In this paper, I present a personal account of theoretical and experimental developments that have led to the probing of the subtle frontier between quantum and classical phenomena.
We develop a Monte Carlo wave function algorithm for the quantum linear Boltzmann equation, a Markovian master equation describing the quantum motion of a test particle interacting with the particles of an environmental background gas. The algorithm leads to a numerically efficient stochastic simulation procedure for the most general form of this integrodifferential equation, which involves a five-dimensional integral over microscopically defined scattering amplitudes that account for the gas interactions in a nonperturbative fashion. The simulation technique is used to assess various limiting forms of the quantum linear Boltzmann equation, such as the limits of pure collisional decoherence and quantum Brownian motion, the Born approximation, and the classical limit. Moreover, we extend the method to allow for the simulation of the dissipative and decohering dynamics of superpositions of spatially localized wave packets, which enables the study of many physically relevant quantum phenomena, occurring e.g., in the interferometry of massive particles.