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 (1)

• Realistic clocks, universal decoherence and the black hole information paradox

Cited by in corpus (5)

• Conditional probabilities with Dirac observables and the problem of time in quantum gravity
• A global picture of quantum de Sitter space
• Decoherence in Quantum Gravity: Issues and Critiques
• Loss of entanglement in quantum mechanics due to the use of realistic measuring rods
• Quantum cosmic censor: gravitation makes reality undecidable