A perturbative algorithm for rotational decoherence

TL;DR

This paper introduces a perturbative method to calculate rotational decoherence in quantum systems, demonstrating that rotational degrees of freedom can maintain coherence longer than translational ones, with explicit solutions for dipole and quadrupole interactions.

Contribution

A novel perturbative algorithm for computing rotational decoherence, including explicit solutions for specific interactions, advancing understanding of quantum rotational dynamics.

Findings

Rotational decoherence times can exceed translational decoherence times.

Explicit solutions provided for dipole-dipole and quadrupole-quadrupole interactions.

Rotational degrees of freedom may be more robust against environmental noise.

Abstract

Recent advances in levitated optomechanics provide new perspectives for the use of rotational degrees of freedom for the development of quantum technologies as well as for testing fundamental physics. As for the translational case, their use, especially in the quantum regime, is limited by environmental noises, whose characterization is fundamental in order to assess, control and minimize their effect, in particular decoherence. Here, we present a general perturbative approach to compute decoherence for a quantum system in a superposition of its rotational degrees of freedom. The specific cases of the dipole-dipole and quadrupole-quadrupole interactions are solved explicitly, and we show that the rotational degrees of freedom decohere on a time scale that can be longer than the translational one.