Decoherence of highly mixed macroscopic quantum superpositions
JOSA B, Vol. 25, Issue 6, pp. 1025-1030 (2008)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.25.001025
Enhanced HTML 
Acrobat PDF (145 KB)
Abstract
It is known that a macroscopic quantum superposition (MQS), when it is exposed to an environment, decoheres at a rate scaling with the separation of its component states in phase space. This is more or less consistent with the well-known proposition that a more macroscopic quantum state is reduced more quickly to a classical state in general. Effects of initial mixedness, however, on the subsequent decoherence of MQSs have been less known. We study the evolution of a highly mixed MQS interacting with an environment and compare it with that of a pure MQS having the same size as the central distance between its component states. Although the decoherence develops more rapidly for the mixed MQS in short times, its rate can be significantly suppressed after a certain time and becomes smaller than the decoherence rate of its corresponding pure MQS. In an optics experiment to generate a MQS, our result has the practical implication that nonclassicality of a MQS can still be observable in moderate times, even though a large amount of noise is added to the initial state.
© 2008 Optical Society of America
OCIS Codes
(270.0270) Quantum optics : Quantum optics
(270.2500) Quantum optics : Fluctuations, relaxations, and noise
ToC Category:
Quantum Optics
History
Original Manuscript: February 5, 2008
Revised Manuscript: March 30, 2008
Manuscript Accepted: April 16, 2008
Published: May 23, 2008
Citation
Hyunseok Jeong, Jinhyoung Lee, and Hyunchul Nha, "Decoherence of highly mixed macroscopic quantum superpositions," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 25, 1025-1030 (2008)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josab/abstract.cfm?URI=josab-25-6-1025
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.
Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription
Related Journal Articles 
- Quantum noise reduction in singly resonant optical devices (JOSAB)
- Antibunching and photoemission waiting times (JOSAB)
- Low-intensity-noise operation of Nd:YVO4 microchip lasers by pump-noise suppression (JOSAB)
- Spontaneous-emission spectrum of the nonlasing supermodes in semiconductor laser arrays (OL)
- Noiseless electro-optic processing of optical signals generated with squeezed light (OE)
Related Conference Papers
- Topological decomposition of composite quantum state spaces
- Topological decomposition of composite quantum state spaces
- Quantum information with atomic ensembles
- Quantum information with atomic ensembles
- Atom chips for quantum information research
- Atom chips for quantum information research
- Free space Quantum Cryptography at 1.9km range
- Free space Quantum Cryptography at 1.9km range
- Experimental six-state quantum cryptography
- Experimental six-state quantum cryptography
« Previous Article | Next Article »
OSA is a member of 