Conditions for the classicality of the center of mass of many-particle quantum states

We discuss the conditions for the classicality of quantum states with a very large number of identical particles. By defining the center of mass from a large set of Bohmian particles, we show that it follows a classical trajectory when the distribution of the Bohmian particle positions in a single e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNew journal of physics Vol. 19; no. 6; pp. 63031 - 63049
Main Authors Oriols, Xavier, Benseny, Albert
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bristol IOP Publishing 26.06.2017
Subjects
Bohmian mechanics
Center of mass
decoherence
Experiments
open systems
Physics
quantum mechanics
Quantum theory
quantum-to-classical transition
Schrodinger equation
Wave functions
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Summary:We discuss the conditions for the classicality of quantum states with a very large number of identical particles. By defining the center of mass from a large set of Bohmian particles, we show that it follows a classical trajectory when the distribution of the Bohmian particle positions in a single experiment is always equal to the marginal distribution of the quantum state in physical space. This result can also be interpreted as a single experiment generalization of the well-known Ehrenfest theorem. We also demonstrate that the classical trajectory of the center of mass is fully compatible with a quantum (conditional) wave function solution of a classical non-linear Schrödinger equation. Our work shows clear evidence for a quantum-classical inter-theory unification, and opens new possibilities for practical quantum computations with decoherence.
Bibliography:NJP-106388.R1
ISSN:1367-2630
1367-2630
DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/aa719a