Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Entropy02:39

Entropy

Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
Entropy01:18

Entropy

The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
Second Law of Thermodynamics02:49

Second Law of Thermodynamics

In the quest to identify a property that may reliably predict the spontaneity of a process, a promising candidate has been identified: entropy. Processes that involve an increase in entropy of the system (ΔS > 0) are very often spontaneous; however, examples to the contrary are plentiful. By expanding consideration of entropy changes to include the surroundings, a significant conclusion regarding the relation between this property and spontaneity may be reached. In thermodynamic models, the...
Second Law of Thermodynamics00:53

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that entropy, or the amount of disorder in a system, increases each time energy is transferred or transformed. Each energy transfer results in a certain amount of energy that is lost—usually in the form of heat—that increases the disorder of the surroundings. This can also be demonstrated in a classic food web. Herbivores harvest chemical energy from plants and release heat and carbon dioxide into the environment. Carnivores harvest the chemical energy...
Stability of Equilibrium Configuration01:23

Stability of Equilibrium Configuration

Understanding the stability of equilibrium configurations is a fundamental part of mechanical engineering. In any system, there are three distinct types of equilibrium: stable, neutral, and unstable.
A stable equilibrium occurs when a system tends to return to its original position when given a small displacement, and the potential energy is at its minimum. An example of a stable equilibrium is when a cantilever beam is fixed at one end and a weight is attached to the other end. If the weight...
Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics01:26

Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Consider an isolated system in which a hot object is placed in contact with a cold one. This is an irreversible process that eventually leads both objects to reach the same equilibrium temperature. It is crucial to note that the constituents of any substance exhibit increased disorder at higher temperatures. As a cold substance absorbs heat, its constituents become more disordered. The energy transfer from a hotter object to a cooler one increases the system's disorder or randomness. This...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

One-Photon Measurement of Two-Photon Entanglement.

Physical review letters·2023
Same author

Resolution limit in quantum imaging with undetected photons using position correlations.

Optics express·2021
Same author

Position correlation enabled quantum imaging with undetected photons.

Optics letters·2021
Same author

Uncertainty Relations for Coarse-Grained Measurements: An Overview.

Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)·2020
Same author

Work statistics for sudden quenches in interacting quantum many-body systems.

Physical review. E·2019
Same author

Quantum work for sudden quenches in Gaussian random Hamiltonians.

Physical review. E·2018

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 29, 2026

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
06:42

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

Decoherence, entanglement decay, and equilibration produced by chaotic environments.

Gabriela Barreto Lemos1, Fabricio Toscano

  • 1Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. gabibl@if.ufrj.br

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|August 27, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Quantum systems interacting with chaotic environments exhibit decoherence. The environment

More Related Videos

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
07:56

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference

Published on: September 5, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 29, 2026

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
06:42

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs

Published on: June 8, 2018

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference
07:56

A Photonic System for Generating Unconditional Polarization-Entangled Photons Based on Multiple Quantum Interference

Published on: September 5, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Quantum mechanics
  • Quantum information theory
  • Statistical physics

Background:

  • Decoherence is a key process in quantum mechanics, leading to the loss of quantum properties.
  • Understanding decoherence in complex environments is crucial for quantum technologies.
  • Chaotic classical dynamics in an environment can significantly impact quantum system evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate decoherence in quantum systems coupled to chaotic environments.
  • To analyze the behavior of quantum Loschmidt echoes under dephasing interactions.
  • To explore the conditions for equilibration and loss of entanglement in such systems.

Main Methods:

  • Theoretical analysis of quantum systems coupled to dephasing-type environments.
  • Definition and analysis of the effective Hilbert-space dimension of the environment.
  • Numerical simulations using the quantum kicked rotor model.

Main Results:

  • Decoherence in the strong coupling regime is characterized by fluctuations in quantum Loschmidt echoes.
  • The mean and width of these fluctuations are inversely proportional to the environment's effective Hilbert-space dimension.
  • In the semiclassical regime, chaotic environments lead to equilibration and loss of entanglement for initially entangled systems.

Conclusions:

  • Chaotic environments, even with few degrees of freedom, can cause decoherence without revivals in the semiclassical limit.
  • The central system equilibrates to a time-averaged reduced density matrix, a diagonal state.
  • Entangled central systems interacting with identical chaotic environments tend towards separable states in the semiclassical limit.