Decoherence effects on superpositions of chiral states in a chiral molecule

Abstract

The superposition of chiral states of chiral molecules, as delocalized quantum states of a many-particle system, can be used for the experimental investigations of decoherence theory. In this regard, a great challenge is the precise quantification of the robustness of these superpositions against environmental effects. The methods so far proposed need the detailed specification of the internal states of the molecule, usually requiring heavy numerical calculations. Here, by using the linearized quantum Boltzmann equation and by borrowing ideas employed for analyzing other quantum systems, we present a general and simple approach, of wide applicability, which can be used to compute the dominant contribution to the decoherence rate for the superpositions of chiral states of chiral molecules, due to environmental scattering.