Description of decoherence by means of translation-covariant master equations and Levy processes
Abstract
Description
Translation-covariant Markovian master equations used in the description of decoherence and dissipation are considered in the general framework of Holevo's results on the characterization of generators of covariant quantum dynamical semigroups. A general connection between the characteristic function of classical Lévy processes and loss of coherence of the statistical operator describing the center of mass degrees of freedom of a quantum system interacting through momentum transfer events with an environment is established. The relationship with both microphysical models and experimental realizations is considered, focusing in particular on recent interferometric experiments exploring the boundaries between classical and quantum world.
12 pages, proceedings of the 28-th Conference on Quantum Probability and Related Topics, CIMAT-Guanajuato, MEXICO
12 pages, proceedings of the 28-th Conference on Quantum Probability and Related Topics, CIMAT-Guanajuato, MEXICO