Experimental Test of Decoherence Theory using Electron Matter Waves
arXiv:1711.10977 · doi:10.1088/1367-2630/aaed4e
Abstract
A controlled decoherence environment is studied experimentally by free electron interaction with semiconducting and metallic plates. The results are compared with physical models based on decoherence theory to investigate the quantum-classical transition. The experiment is consistent with decoherence theory and rules out established Coulomb interaction models in favor of plasmonic excitation models. In contrast to previous decoherence experiments, the present experiment is sensitive to the onset of decoherence.
Submitted to Physical Review Letters. Main Text: 6 pages, 3 figures. Supplemental Material: 3 pages, 5 figures
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Cited by in corpus (8)
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- A Scanning 2-Grating Free Electron Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
- Analysis of the gradual transition from the near to the far field in single-slit diffraction
- Radiative loss of coherence in free electrons: a long-range quantum phenomenon
- Decoherence in quantum cavities: Environmental erasure of carpet-type structures
- Information transfer by quantum matterwave modulation
- Surface-induced decoherence and heating of charged particles