Dissipation and decoherence effects on a moving particle in front of a dielectric plate

M. Belén Farías and Fernando C. Lombardo
Phys. Rev. D 93, 065035 – Published 18 March 2016

Abstract

In this work, we consider a particle moving in front of a dielectric plate and study two of the most relevant effects of the vacuum field fluctuations: the dissipation and the decoherence of the particle’s internal degrees of freedom. We consider the particle to follow a classical, macroscopically fixed trajectory. To study the dissipative effects, we calculate the in-out effective action by functionally integrating over the vacuum field and the microscopic degrees of freedom of both the plate and the particle. This in-out effective action develops an imaginary part and, hence, a nonvanishing probability for the decay (because of friction) of the initial vacuum state. We analyze how the dissipation is affected by the relative velocity between the particle and the plate and the properties of the microscopic degrees of freedom. In order to study the effects of decoherence over the internal degrees of freedom of the particle, we calculate the closed time path or Schwinger-Keldysh influence action, by functionally integrating over the vacuum field and the microscopic degrees of freedom of the plate. We estimate the decoherence time as the time needed by two different quantum configurations (of the internal degree of freedom of the particle) to be possible to differentiate from one another. We analyze the way in which the presence of the mirror affects the decoherence and the possible ways to maximize or reduce its effects.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 23 December 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.93.065035

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Particles & FieldsStatistical Physics & ThermodynamicsQuantum Information, Science & Technology

Authors & Affiliations

M. Belén Farías* and Fernando C. Lombardo

  • Departamento de Física Juan José Giambiagi, FCEyN UBA and IFIBA CONICET-UBA, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Ciudad Universitaria, Pabellón I, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina

  • *mbelfarias@df.uba.ar

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 93, Iss. 6 — 15 March 2016

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
CHORUS

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review D

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×