# Decoherence as a sequence of entanglement swaps

## TL;DR

This paper presents a novel quantum decoherence model that explicitly incorporates classical information for system-environment boundaries, describing decoherence as a sequence of entanglement swaps, thus removing the need for ontic boundary assumptions.

## Contribution

It introduces a framework where decoherence is modeled through entanglement swaps, explicitly including classical information for system identification, challenging semi-classical boundary assumptions.

## Key findings

- Decoherence can be modeled as a sequence of entanglement swaps.
- Classical information is essential for defining system boundaries.
- The approach removes the need for ontic boundary assumptions.

## Abstract

Standard semi-classical models of decoherence do not take explicit account of the classical information required to specify the system - environment boundary. I show that this information can be represented as a finite set of reference eigenvalues that must be encoded by any observer, including any apparatus, able to distinguish the system from its environment. When the information required for system identification is accounted for in this way, decoherence can be described as a sequence of entanglement swaps between reference and pointer components of the system and their respective environments. Doing so removes the need for the a priori assumptions of ontic boundaries required by semi-classical models.