Perturbation of the evolution of a quantum system induced by its environment

✍ Scribed by Luis de la Peña; Emilio Santos

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 81 KB
• Volume: 259
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0375-9601
• DOI: 10.1016/s0375-9601(99)00432-6

✦ Synopsis

We consider the effects of a massive homogeneous body on the state vector of a molecule passing nearby. The interchange of virtual photons between body and molecule cause the latter to fail a proposed criterion of isolation even for molecules consisting of as little as 10 4 particles. The calculation contains no free parameters but furnishes only a lower bound to the effects. The fact that matter consists of electrically charged particles is essential for a smooth transition from the quantum to the classical behavior as the system grows larger.