Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 11, 2013
Measurement of decoherence of electron waves and visualization of the quantum-classical transition
Peter Sonnentag1, Franz Hasselbach
1Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
Controlled decoherence of free electrons due to Coulomb interaction with a truly macroscopic environment, the electron (and phonon) gas inside a semiconducting plate, is studied experimentally. The quantitative results are compared with different theoretical models. The experiment confirms the main features of the theory of decoherence and can be interpreted in terms of which-path information. In contrast to previous model experiments on decoherence, the obtained interferograms directly visualize the transition from quantum to classical.
Related Concept Videos
The de Broglie Wavelength
The Uncertainty Principle
The Quantum-Mechanical Model of an Atom
Electromagnetic Waves in Matter
Consider the electromagnetic wave passing through a dielectric medium. In such a case, Maxwell's equations get modified. In Ampere's law, ε0 , the dielectric permittivity of free space is replaced with ε, the permittivity of dielectric. Also, the vacuum permeability μ0 is replaced by the permeability of the medium, μ.
Furthermore, the...
Emission Spectra
The Bohr Model

