Search results for "open quantum systems. decoherence"

Decoherence without entanglement and quantum Darwinism

2020

It is often assumed that decoherence arises as a result of the entangling interaction between a quantum system and its environment, as a consequence of which the environment effectively measures the system, thus washing away its quantum properties. Moreover, this interaction results in the emergence of a classical objective reality, as described by quantum Darwinism. In this Rapid Communication, we show that the idea that entanglement is needed for decoherence is imprecise. We propose a dynamical mixing mechanism capable of inducing decoherence dynamics on a system without creating any entanglement with its quantum environment. We illustrate this mechanism by introducing a simple and exactl…