Toy Model Challenging Prevailing Definitions of Classicality

Abstract

We analyze a toy model that obeys environmentally induced decoherence and quantum Darwinism and satisfies the decoherent histories criterion and Leggett-Garg inequalities with respect to the pointer basis. Yet, the resulting "classical" dynamics are extremely fragile and recohere after a seemingly innocent control operation. This challenges the idea that classical behaviour or the Multiverse branches can be identified by looking at the universal wave function alone. It also demonstrates that quantum Darwinism is compatible with strong non-Markovianity. Possible solutions related to Markovianity, non-integrability and an operational definition of pointer states are briefly discussed.

Small updates and clarifications added thanks to the helpful referee reports. As accepted in EPL. 3.5 pages with 2 figures plus references

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