Fundamental decoherence from quantum gravity: a pedagogical review

Abstract

We present a discussion of the fundamental loss of unitarity that appears in quantum mechanics due to the use of a physical apparatus to measure time. This induces a decoherence effect that is independent of any interaction with the environment and appears in addition to any usual environmental decoherence. The discussion is framed self consistently and aimed to general physicists. We derive the modified Schroedinger equation that arises in quantum mechanics with real clocks and discuss the theoretical and potential experimental implications of this process of decoherence.

9 pages, dedicated to Octavio Obregon on his 60th birthday

References in corpus (17)

• Decoherence, the measurement problem, and interpretations of quantum mechanics
• Ultimate physical limits to computation
• The maximum speed of dynamical evolution
• Stability of atomic clocks based on entangled atoms
• Comment on "The black hole final state"
• A relational solution to the problem of time in quantum mechanics and quantum gravity induces a fundamental mechanism for quantum decoherence
• A model independent approach to non dissipative decoherence
• Realistic clocks, universal decoherence and the black hole information paradox
• Canonical quantization of general relativity in discrete space-times
• Physics with nonperturbative quantum gravity: radiation from a quantum black hole
• Limitation to Quantum Measurements of Spacetime Distances
• Loss of coherence from discrete quantum gravity
• Quantum evolution according to real clocks
• Uncertainty in Measurements of Distance
• Could Energy Decoherence due to Quantum Gravity be observed?
• Comment on "Uncertainty in measurements of distance"
• Fundamental gravitational limitations to quantum computing

Cited by in corpus (46)

• Problem of Time in Quantum Gravity
• Observables in effective gravity
• Effective Field Theory Approach to Gravitationally Induced Decoherence
• The Trinity of Relational Quantum Dynamics
• Conditional probabilities with Dirac observables and the problem of time in quantum gravity
• An effective approach to the problem of time
• Effective approach to the problem of time: general features and examples
• Spacetime foam: from entropy and holography to infinite statistics and nonlocality
• Equivalence of approaches to relational quantum dynamics in relativistic settings
• Extreme Decoherence and Quantum Chaos
• Effective relational dynamics of a nonintegrable cosmological model
• How to switch between relational quantum clocks
• A global picture of quantum de Sitter space
• Thermodynamics and Shadows of GUP-corrected Black Holes with Topological Defects in Bumblebee Gravity
• Decoherence in Conformal Field Theory
• The Montevideo Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: a short review
• Decoherence in Quantum Gravity: Issues and Critiques
• Approaching the Problem of Time with a Combined Semiclassical-Records-Histories Scheme
• Quantum Null Geometry and Gravity
• Classicality with(out) decoherence: Concepts, relation to Markovianity, and a random matrix theory approach
• Solving the Problem of Time in Mini-superspace: Measurement of Dirac Observables
• An axiomatic formulation of the Montevideo interpretation of quantum mechanics
• Self-gravitating Interferometry and Intrinsic Decoherence
• Flow of time during energy measurements and the resulting time-energy uncertainty relations
• Non-Hermitian Hamiltonians in decoherence and equilibrium theory
• Loss of entanglement in quantum mechanics due to the use of realistic measuring rods
• Assessing the Montevideo Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics
• Unification of the conditional probability and semiclassical interpretations for the problem of time in quantum theory
• The Montevideo interpretation of quantum mechanics: frequently asked questions
• Formal features of a General Theoretical Framework for Decoherence in open and closed systems
• The Montevideo Interpretation: How the inclusion of a Quantum Gravitational Notion of Time Solves the Measurement Problem
• Undecidability and the problem of outcomes in quantum measurements
• Quantum scalar field in quantum gravity: the propagator and Lorentz invariance in the spherically symmetric case
• Bounding the Minimum Time of a Quantum Measurement
• A single-world consistent interpretation of quantum mechanics from fundamental time and length uncertainties
• Quantum mechanics, strong emergence and ontological non-reducibility
• The solution to the problem of time in quantum gravity also solves the time of arrival problem in quantum mechanics
• Gravitational dephasing in spontaneous emission of atomic ensembles in timed Dicke states
• A Statistical Fields Theory underlying the Thermodynamics of Ricci Flow and Gravity
• Time and Evolution in Quantum and Classical Cosmology
• Undecidability as solution to the problem of measurement: fundamental criterion for the production of events
• A realist interpretation of quantum mechanics based on undecidability due to gravity
• Relational Dynamics with Periodic Clocks
• Fundamental bound for time measurements and minimum uncertainty clocks
• Relational Time as a Stochastic Variable in ADM Gravity
• Quantum cosmic censor: gravitation makes reality undecidable