Comment on "Quantum coherence between mass eigenstates of a neutrino cannot be destroyed by its mass-momentum entanglement"

TL;DR

This paper refutes a claim that quantum coherence between neutrino mass eigenstates cannot be destroyed by mass-momentum entanglement, clarifying misconceptions about the assumptions on neutrino energy states and wavefunction spatial dependence.

Contribution

The author clarifies that their original proof does not assume nearly exact energy eigenstates and emphasizes the importance of wavepacket size and detector volume in the analysis.

Findings

Quantum coherence can be destroyed by mass-momentum entanglement.

Misinterpretations arise from ignoring wavepacket size and detector volume.

The original proof remains valid despite criticisms.

Abstract

In arXiv:2410.21850, I proved that the quantum coherence between the mass eigenstates of a neutrino will be destroyed if they are correlated with different momenta. In arXiv:2411.01190, James M. Cline claimed that I had made the unrealistic assumption that the neutrino is always in a nearly exact energy eigenstate, and ignored the spatial dependence of the wavefunction in my paper. However, I did not assume that the neutrino is in a nearly exact eigenstate of energy anywhere in my paper, and the wavefunction I wrote in the position representation has a spatial dependence. The argumentation of arXiv:2411.01190 is based on misinterpreting my claim, and on ignoring the critical fact that the neutrino's wavepacket has a finite size and the detector has a large volume.