Decoherence induced by Smith-Purcell radiation

EZEQUIEL ALVAREZ AND FRANCISCO D. MAZZITELLI

PHYSICAL REVIEW A - ATOMIC, MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS

American Physical Society

Lugar: College Park, MD 20740-3844, EEUU; Año: 2008 vol. 77 p. 321131 - 321135

1050-2947

The interaction between charged particles and the vacuum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field induces decoherence, and therefore affects the contrast of fringes in an interference experiment. In this article we show that if a double slit experiment is performed near a conducting grating, the fringe visibility is reduced. We find that the reduction of contrast is proportional to the number of grooves in the conducting surface, and that for realistic values of the parameters it could be large enough to be observed. The effect can be computed and understood in terms of the Smith-Purcell radiation produced by the surface currents induced in the conductor.