Visibility Fringe Reduction Due to Noise-Induced Effects: Microscopic Approach to Interference Experiments

PAULA I. VILLAR & FERNANDO C. LOMBARDO

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MODERN PHYSICS B

World Scientific Publishing Company

Lugar: Singapure; Año: 2007 vol. 21 p. 4659 - 4676

0217-9792

Decoherence is the main process behind the quantum to classical transition. It is a purely quantum mechanical effect by which the system looses its ability to exhibit coherent behavior. The recent experimental observation of diffraction and interference patterns for large molecules raises some interesting questions. In this context, we identify possible agents of decoherence to take into account when modeling these experiments and study theirs visible (or not) effects on the interference pattern. Thereby, we present an analysis of matter wave interferometry in the presence of a dynamic quantum environment and study how much the visibility fringe is reduced and in which timescale the decoherence effects destroy the interference of massive objects. Finally, we apply our results to the experimental data reported on fullerenes and cold neutrons.