%0 Journal Article
%T Radiation Pressure as a Source of Decoherence
%A Paulo A. Maia Neto
%A Diego A. R. Dalvit
%J Physics
%D 2000
%I arXiv
%R 10.1103/PhysRevA.62.042103
%X We consider the interaction of an harmonic oscillator with the quantum field via radiation pressure. We show that a `Schrodinger cat' state decoheres in a time scale that depends on the degree of `classicality' of the state components, and which may be much shorter than the relaxation time scale associated to the dynamical Casimir effect. We also show that decoherence is a consequence of the entanglement between the quantum states of the oscillator and field two-photon states. With the help of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we derive a relation between decoherence and damping rates valid for arbitrary values of the temperature of the field. Coherent states are selected by the interaction as pointer states.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0004057v1