Quark-Gluon Plasma as a Quantum Channel: Entanglement, Decoherence, and Hadronization

Abstract: We propose a quantum information framework to model the quark-gluon plasma (QGP) as a composite quantum channel acting on a multi-qubit or multi-qutrit color-entangled system. The QGP's effects are represented by amplitude damping (jet quenching), $SU(3)$ depolarizing noise (decoherence), and a thermal hadronization channel projecting onto color-singlet states. This construction captures energy loss, decoherence, and confinement dynamics in a unified open quantum system framework. We analyze the evolution of entanglement entropy and purity under this composite channel. Amplitude damping reduces entropy by driving subsystems toward pure states, while decoherence increases mixedness. Hadronization further modifies correlations via thermal projections weighted by hadron masses and freeze-out temperature ($T \sim 156 \,\text{MeV}$). Numerical simulations show monotonic entropy and purity loss, consistent with entanglement degradation and confinement. Our results support interpreting the QGP as a noisy quantum channel that progressively erases color entanglement. This framework bridges quantum information theory and QCD, offering new insights into hadronization and non-perturbative dynamics in heavy-ion collisions.