Absence of decoherence in the complex potential approach to nuclear scattering

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that the complex potential approach does not account for quantum decoherence in nuclear scattering, highlighting the importance of explicitly including decoherence for accurate open quantum system modeling.

Contribution

It shows that the complex potential approach fails to incorporate decoherence, unlike Lindblad dynamics, emphasizing the need to include decoherence explicitly in nuclear collision models.

Findings

Complex potential preserves coherence, unlike Lindblad dynamics.

Decoherence is crucial for accurate open quantum system modeling.

Complex potential approach is inadequate for describing decoherence.

Abstract

Time-dependent density-matrix propagation is used to demonstrate, in a schematic model of an open quantum system, that the complex potential approach and the Lindblad dissipative dynamics are \emph{not} equivalent. While the former preserves coherence, it is destroyed in the Lindblad dissipative dynamics. Quantum decoherence is the key aspect that makes the difference between the two approaches, indicating that the complex potential model is inadequate for a consistent description of open quantum-system dynamics. It is suggested that quantum decoherence should always be explicitly included when modelling low-energy nuclear collision dynamics within a truncated model space of reaction channels.