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PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
6976
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-2-19
pubmed:abstractText
Emergent quantum technologies have led to increasing interest in decoherence--the processes that limit the appearance of quantum effects and turn them into classical phenomena. One important cause of decoherence is the interaction of a quantum system with its environment, which 'entangles' the two and distributes the quantum coherence over so many degrees of freedom as to render it unobservable. Decoherence theory has been complemented by experiments using matter waves coupled to external photons or molecules, and by investigations using coherent photon states, trapped ions and electron interferometers. Large molecules are particularly suitable for the investigation of the quantum-classical transition because they can store much energy in numerous internal degrees of freedom; the internal energy can be converted into thermal radiation and thus induce decoherence. Here we report matter wave interferometer experiments in which C70 molecules lose their quantum behaviour by thermal emission of radiation. We find good quantitative agreement between our experimental observations and microscopic decoherence theory. Decoherence by emission of thermal radiation is a general mechanism that should be relevant to all macroscopic bodies.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:status
PubMed-not-MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Feb
pubmed:issn
1476-4687
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
19
pubmed:volume
427
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
711-4
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
Decoherence of matter waves by thermal emission of radiation.
pubmed:affiliation
Institut für Experimentalphysik, Universität Wien, Boltzmanngasse 5, A-1090 Wien, Austria.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article