Decoherence and pointer states in small antiferromagnets: A benchmark test
We study the decoherence process of a four spin-1/2 antiferromagnet that is coupled to an environment of spin-1/2 particles. The preferred basis of the antiferromagnet is discussed in two limiting cases and we identify two $\it{exact}$ pointer states. Decoherence near the two limits is examined...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SciPost
2017-03-01
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| Series: | SciPost Physics |
| Online Access: | https://scipost.org/SciPostPhys.2.2.010 |
| Summary: | We study the decoherence process of a four spin-1/2 antiferromagnet that is
coupled to an environment of spin-1/2 particles. The preferred basis of the
antiferromagnet is discussed in two limiting cases and we identify two
$\it{exact}$ pointer states. Decoherence near the two limits is examined
whereby entropy is used to quantify the $\it{robustness}$ of states against
environmental coupling. We find that close to the quantum measurement limit,
the self-Hamiltonian of the system of interest can become dynamically relevant
on macroscopic timescales. We illustrate this point by explicitly constructing
a state that is more robust than (generic) states diagonal in the
system-environment interaction Hamiltonian. |
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| ISSN: | 2542-4653 |