Recent experimental results of neutron interferometry at low transmission probability are analyzed when an absorber is present in one of the two routes of the interferometer. The process is regarded as a partial dephasing characterized by the decoherence parameter, along the same line of thought as in the many-Hilbert-space approach to the quantum measurement problem. It is shown that the density fluctuations of the elementary constituents of the absorber provoke a reduction of the visibility of the interference pattern. The effect is evaluated analytically in the case of Gaussian fluctuations, and found to be in agreement with the experimental data.
MEASUREMENT-THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF NEUTRON INTERFERENCE AT LOW TRANSMISSION PROBABILITY
PASCAZIO, Saverio
1992-01-01
Abstract
Recent experimental results of neutron interferometry at low transmission probability are analyzed when an absorber is present in one of the two routes of the interferometer. The process is regarded as a partial dephasing characterized by the decoherence parameter, along the same line of thought as in the many-Hilbert-space approach to the quantum measurement problem. It is shown that the density fluctuations of the elementary constituents of the absorber provoke a reduction of the visibility of the interference pattern. The effect is evaluated analytically in the case of Gaussian fluctuations, and found to be in agreement with the experimental data.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
