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The Problem of the Classical Limit of Quantum Mechanics and the Role of Self-Induced Decoherence

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Our account of the problem of the classical limit of quantum mechanics involves two elements. The first one is self-induced decoherence, conceived as a process that depends on the own dynamics of a closed quantum system governed by a Hamiltonian with continuous spectrum; the study of decoherence is addressed by means of a formalism used to give meaning to the van Hove states with diagonal singularities. The second element is macroscopicity represented by the limit \(\hbar \rightarrow 0\): when the macroscopic limit is applied to the Wigner transformation of the diagonal state resulting from decoherence, the description of the quantum system becomes equivalent to the description of an ensemble of classical trajectories on phase space weighted by their corresponding probabilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CONICET-Institutos de Física Rosario y de Astronomía y Física del Espacio, Casilla de Correos 67, Sucursal 28, 1428, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Mario Castagnino

  2. Departamento de Física Teórica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valladolid, c. Real de Burgos, s.n., 47011, Valladolid, Spain

    Manuel Gadella

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  1. Mario Castagnino
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  2. Manuel Gadella
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Correspondence to Manuel Gadella.

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Castagnino, M., Gadella, M. The Problem of the Classical Limit of Quantum Mechanics and the Role of Self-Induced Decoherence. Found Phys 36, 920–952 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-006-9074-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-006-9074-8

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