Decoherence of spin superposition state caused by a quantum electromagnetic field

Abstract: In this study, we investigate the decoherence of a spatially superposed electrically neutral spin-$\frac12$ particle in the presence of a relativistic quantum electromagnetic field in Minkowski spacetime. We demonstrate that decoherence due to the spin-magnetic field coupling can be categorized into two distinct factors: local decoherence, originating from the two-point correlation functions along each branch of the superposed trajectories, and nonlocal decoherence, which arises from the correlation functions between the two superposed trajectories. These effects are linked to phase damping and amplitude damping. We also show that if the quantum field is prepared in a thermal state, decoherence monotonically increases with the field temperature.