Wave packet spreading: Temperature and squeezing effects with applications to

quantum measurement and decoherence

G. W. Ford and R. F. O’Connell

Citation: American Journal of Physics 70, 319 (2002); doi: 10.1119/1.1447540

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 Wave packet spreading: Temperature and squeezing effects
with applications to quantum measurement and decoherence
G. W. Forda) and R. F. O’Connellb)
School of Theoretical Physics, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 10 Burlington Road, Dublin 4, Ireland
共Received 23 July 2001; accepted 11 December 2001兲
A localized free particle is represented by a wave packet and its motion is discussed in most
quantum mechanics textbooks. Implicit in these discussions is the assumption of zero temperature.
We discuss how the effects of finite temperature and squeezing can be incorporated in an elementary
manner. The results show how the introduction of simple tools and ideas can bring the reader into
contact with topics at the frontiers of research in quantum mechanics. We discuss the standard
quantum limit, which is of interest in the measurement of small forces, and decoherence of a mixed
共‘‘Schrödinger cat’’兲 state, which has implications for current research in quantum computation,
entanglement, and the quantum-classical interface. © 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers.
关DOI: 10.1119/1.1447540兴

I. INTRODUCTION We begin our discussion in Sec. II, where we describe the

The uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics implies
that the position and momentum of a particle cannot be de-
termined simultaneously with arbitrary precision. More ex-
plicitly
ប the initial data using Eqs. 共2兲 or 共4兲. We do this in Sec. III,
⌬x⌬p⭓ , 共1兲
2 where we begin with a brief derivation of the uncertainty
where (⌬x) 2 ⫽ 具 (x⫺ 具 x 典 ) 2 典 and (⌬p) 2 ⫽ 具 (p⫺ 具 p 典 ) 2 典 are the
variance of the position and momentum of the particle, re-
spectively. For a noninteracting particle the expected value at
time t of an operator O is given by
具 O共 t 兲 典 ⫽ 冕 ⫺⬁
⬁
dx ␺ * 共 x,t 兲 O␺ 共 x,t 兲 ,
where the wave function ␺ (x,t) is the solution of the time-
dependent Schrödinger equation,
⳵␺
iប ⫽H ␺ ,
⳵t
with H the particle Hamiltonian. For the more general case,
such as a particle interacting with a heat bath, the expected
value would be given by1
具 O共 t 兲 典 ⫽Tr兵 ␳ 共 t 兲 O其 ,
where the density matrix ␳ (t) is the solution of the von Neu-
man equation,
⳵␳
iប ⫽ 关 H, ␳ 兴 ,
⳵t
with H now the Hamiltonian for the entire system.
For a free particle, the stationary solutions of the Schrö-
dinger equation are plane waves, for which the particle may
be found with equal probability anywhere in space, that is,
⌬x⫽⬁, ⌬p⫽0. However, one is often interested in describ-
ing a localized particle, which can be achieved by construct-
ing a wave packet corresponding to a superposition of plane
waves. Such a packet is necessarily not stationary and will
spread 共or shrink兲 in time. Wave packet spreading is of fun-
damental interest, appears in many contexts, and is discussed
in introductory2 and advanced3,4 quantum mechanics text-
books.
motion of an arbitrary free-particle wave packet. This de-
scription is more or less standard, the main result being a
general expression for the width at time t in term of the
initial data. This expression does not, however, take into ac-
count the uncertainty principle; to do so one must evaluate
principle. There we introduce annihilation and creation op-
erators that are analogous to those appearing in discussions
of the harmonic oscillator,2– 4 but which now apply to an
arbitrary state. An immediate consequence is a simple con-
struction of the most general minimum uncertainty wave
共2兲
packet. We conclude Sec. III with an expression for the
spreading of an initial minimum uncertainty state.
In Sec. IV we consider the effect of finite temperature on
wave packet spreading. An initial wave packet at finite tem-
perature is in a mixed state: there is no corresponding wave
function, and the state is described by a density matrix. Nev-
共3兲 ertheless, we can calculate the temperature effect by forming
the observed quantities 共the probability distribution or the
expected values兲 with an initial wave function and then av-
eraging over a Maxwell distribution of initial velocities. The
result is an additional spreading that dominates when the
共4兲 thermal de Broglie wavelength is small compared to the ini-
tial width.
In Sec. V we consider spreading for squeezed states.
Squeezing is generally discussed in the context of the har-
monic oscillator, but here we discuss squeezing of a Gauss-
共5兲
ian wave packet. An interesting result is that, while for suf-
ficiently long times the root-mean-square 共rms兲 width of
such a wave packet increases linearly with time, for short
times it can even shrink. Finally, in Sec. VI we consider two
topical applications: the standard quantum limit arising in
connection with the measurement of small forces and deco-
herence. In particular, we give a new and simple demonstra-
tion of how to circumvent the standard quantum limit. This
limit is of interest not only for gravitational wave detection,
but for any application where the question of the accuracy of
successive measurements arises. With regard to the decoher-
ence problem, the temperature effect on wave packet spread-
ing is an essential feature.

319 Am. J. Phys. 70 共3兲, March 2002 http://ojps.aip.org/ajp/ © 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers 319
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 II. FREE PARTICLE x ␴p x ␴p
a⫽ ⫹i , a †⫽ ⫺i , 共13兲
We begin by reminding ourselves that from either Eq. 共2兲 2␴ ប 2␴ ប
or 共4兲, we can show that the rate of change of the expected where ␴ is a real parameter. These operators are formally
value of an operator O, with no explicit time dependence, is identical with the annihilation and creation operators usually
given by introduced in connection with the harmonic oscillator,2– 4 but
d 具 O典 here they apply to an arbitrary state 共pure or mixed兲 without
iប ⫽ 具 关 O,H 兴 典 . 共6兲 reference to an external potential. Next, we form the neces-
dt sarily positive quantity,
For a free particle with H⫽p 2 /2m, we can use the canonical
⌬x 2 ␴ 2 ⌬p 2 1
commutation relation 具 a †a 典 ⫽ ⫹ ⫺ ⭓0, 共14兲
4␴2 ប2 2
关 x,p 兴 ⫽iប, 共7兲
where we have used the canonical commutation relation in
to show that Eq. 共7兲. We seek the minimum of this quantity with respect
d具x典 具p典 d具p典 to variations of ␴ 2 , which occurs when
⫽ , ⫽0. 共8兲
dt m dt ប⌬x
These are the classical equations of motion 共Ehrenfest theo- ␴ 2⫽ . 共15兲
2⌬p
rem兲. Therefore, we have
With this value of ␴ 2 , we see that
具 p共 0 兲典
具x共 t 兲典⫽具x共 0 兲典⫹ t, 具 p共 t 兲典⫽具 p共 0 兲典. 共9兲 ⌬x⌬p 1
m
具 a †a 典 ⫽ ⫺ ⭓0, 共16兲
In the same way, we can show that ប 2

d 具 x 2 典 具 xp⫹px 典 d 具 x p⫹px 典 2 具 p 2 典 which is just the uncertainty principle. The minimum uncer-
⫽ , ⫽ , tainty state, for which the inequality becomes an equality,
dt m dt m must be a pure state that corresponds to a wave function ␾
d 具 p 2典 共10兲 satisfying 具 a † a 典 ⫽ 储 a ␾ 储 2 ⫽0. That is, ␾ must satisfy

冉 冊
⫽0,
dt x d
a␾⫽ ⫹␴ ␾ ⫽0, 共17兲
and therefore, 2␴ dx
具 x 共 0 兲 p 共 0 兲 ⫹p 共 0 兲 x 共 0 兲 典 具 p 2共 0 兲 典 where we have used the familiar realization of the momen-
具 x 2共 t 兲 典 ⫽ 具 x 2共 0 兲 典 ⫹ t⫹ t 2.
m m2 tum operator: p⫽ (ប/i)(d/dx). The solution of the first-
共11兲 order differential equation in Eq. 共17兲 is
We can write the above results in terms of the variances as 1 2 2
␾共 x 兲⫽ e ⫺x /4␴ , 共18兲
1 共 2 ␲␴ 2 兲 1/4
⌬x 共 t 兲 ⫽⌬x 共 0 兲 ⫹ 2 ⌬ p 2 共 0 兲 t 2
2 2
m where we have chosen the normalization so that
⬁
具 x 共 0 兲 p 共 0 兲 ⫹p 共 0 兲 x 共 0 兲 典 ⫺2 具 x 共 0 兲 典具 p 共 0 兲 典 兰 ⫺⬁ dx ␾ * (x) ␾ (x)⫽1.
⫹ t. To extend this result for nonvanishing 具 x 典 and 具 p 典 , we
m
need only make the replacements x→x⫺ 具 x 典 and p→p
共12兲 ⫺ 具 p 典 in Eq. 共13兲 and repeat the argument. The result is that
Hence, for sufficiently long times, ⌬x(t), the rms width of the most general minimum uncertainty wave packet has the
the wave packet at time t, increases linearly with time. How- form:
ever, it is possible for a wave packet to shrink for a time, as
we shall discuss in Sec. V.
In the formal solution of the equations of mean motion, it
␾共 x 兲⫽
1
2 1/4 exp ⫺
共 2 ␲␴ 兲 再
共 x⫺x 0 兲 2
4␴2
⫹i
m v 0x
ប
, 冎 共19兲

appears that the initial data, ⌬x 2 (0), ⌬p 2 (0), and where ␴, x 0 , and v 0 are real. Thus the minimum uncertainty
具 x(0)p(0)⫹p(0)x(0) 典 ⫺2 具 x(0) 典具 p(0) 典 , could be given ar- wave packet is a Gaussian, centered at x 0 and moving with
bitrary values. We emphasize that this is not so, and the velocity v 0 .
initial expectations must be obtained from the initial state by
Suppose we choose the initial state to be a minimum un-
an expression of the form 共2兲 or 共4兲. In particular, the initial
certainty state with ␺ (x,0) given by Eq. 共19兲. Then we find,
variances must satisfy the uncertainty principle 共1兲.
具 x 共 0 兲 典 ⫽x 0 , 具 p 共 0 兲 典 ⫽m v 0 ,
ប2
III. MINIMAL „NONSQUEEZED… GAUSSIAN WAVE 具 x 2 共 0 兲 典 ⫽x 20 ⫹ ␴ 2 , 具 p 2 共 0 兲 典 ⫽m 2 v 20 ⫹ , 共20兲
PACKET 4␴2

To make our discussion as simple as possible, we begin by

具 x 共 0 兲 p 共 0 兲 ⫹ p 共 0 兲 x 共 0 兲 典 ⫽2mx 0 v 0 .
restricting our discussion to states for which 具 x 典 ⫽0 and With these expressions, Eq. 共12兲 for the mean square width
具 p 典 ⫽0. We then introduce the operators of the wave packet becomes

320 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 3, March 2002 G. W. Ford and R. F. O’Connell 320
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 ⌬x 2 共 t 兲 ⫽ ␴ 2 ⫹ 冉 冊បt
2m ␴
2
. 共21兲 P T 共 x;t 兲 ⫽ 冑 m
2 ␲ kT
冕 ⫺⬁
⬁
d v 0 exp ⫺ 再 m v 20
2kT 冎 P 共 x;t 兲

再 冎
The wave packet will expand so that the mean square width
1 共 x⫺x 0 兲 2
doubles in a time t⫽2m ␴ 2 /ប. During this time, the wave ⫽ exp ⫺ , 共25兲
packet will have traveled a distance l ⫽ v 0 t⫽4 ␲␴ 2 /␭, 冑2 ␲ ⌬x T2 共 t 兲 2⌬x T2 共 t 兲
where ␭⫽m v 0 /2␲ ប is the de Broglie wavelength. in which

冉 冊
Although our derivation might appear to be similar to that
found in some textbooks, there are important differences in kT 2 ប2 kT 2
that we have allowed from the beginning the possibility of a ⌬x T2 共 t 兲 ⫽⌬x 2 共 t 兲 ⫹ t ⫽ ␴ 2⫹ ⫹ t . 共26兲
m 4m 2 ␴ 2 m
mixed state and we have shown that the minimum uncer-
tainty state is a Gaussian. Furthermore, we have introduced Here we have introduced the subscript T to emphasize that
the concept of creation and annihilation operators for arbi- the probability distribution corresponds to finite temperature.
trary states and, concomitantly 共as we shall see in Sec. V兲, Thus, there is an additional spreading that is due to the Max-
this derivation enables us to consider squeezing of arbitrary well distribution of particle velocities. As we shall see, in
states 共as distinct from just harmonic oscillator states兲. Sec. VI B, it is this extra term in the spreading of the wave
packet that is the origin of decoherence.
We could just as well obtain Eq. 共26兲 by averaging the
expressions in Eq. 共20兲 for the initial moments. The result is
IV. EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE
SPREADING OF A FREE PARTICLE WAVE PACKET 具 x 共 0 兲 典 T ⫽x 0 , 具 p 共 0 兲 典 T ⫽0,
ប2
We proceed by first calculating the wave function for the 具 x 2 共 0 兲 典 T ⫽x 20 ⫹ ␴ 2 , 具 p 2 共 0 兲 典 T ⫽mkT⫹ , 共27兲
particle at time t and then forming the probability distribu- 4␴2
tion. This procedure is instructive, because it provides an-
other method for calculating the result in Eq. 共12兲 for
具 x 共 0 兲 p 共 0 兲 ⫹ p 共 0 兲 x 共 0 兲 典 T ⫽0.
⌬x 2 (t). Next, we take into account the thermal distribution If we substitute these results into Eq. 共12兲 for ⌬x, we find
of initial velocities. the result 共26兲.
Consider the solution of the free-particle Schrödinger The center of the distribution P T (x,t) in Eq. 共25兲 does not
equation with a given initial state. The general solution is4 move because the mean initial velocity is zero. The variance

冑 冕 再 冎
m ⬁ m 共 x⫺x ⬘ 兲 2 in Eq. 共26兲 is the sum of three terms: the initial variance ␴ 2 ,
␺ 共 x,t 兲 ⫽ dx ⬘ exp ⫺ ␺ 共 x ⬘ ,0兲 . the uncertainty principle spreading (បt/2m ␴ ) 2 , and the ther-
2 ␲ iបt ⫺⬁ 2iបt mal spreading kTt 2 /m. The ratio of the last two is
共22兲
We now apply this result to the case of an initial minimum mkT ␴ 2 ␴2
⫽ , 共28兲
uncertainty wave packet with ␺ (x,0) of the general form 4ប 2 ¯2
4␭
given by Eq. 共19兲. We find,

␺ 共 x,t 兲 ⫽
冋 冉
2␲ ␴⫹
iបt
1

冊册
2 再
1/4 exp ⫺
共 x⫺x 0 ⫺ v 0 t 兲 2
4 ␴ 2 ⫹ 共 2iបt/m 兲
where ¯␭ ⫽ប/ 冑mkT is the mean de Broglie wavelength.
Therefore, the thermal spreading will dominate when the
mean de Broglie wavelength is small compared to the initial
2m ␴ width of the packet.

冎
Note that the initial thermal state we have described is
mv0 m v 20 t what is called a mixed state. For such a state there is no
⫹i x⫺i . 共23兲
ប 2ប single wave function with which one can form observables
such as the probability distribution in Eq. 共24兲; rather the
The probability distribution is state is described by a density matrix.1 We have avoided
P 共 x;t 兲 ⫽ 兩 ␺ 共 x,t 兲 兩 2 ⫽ 关 2 ␲ ⌬x 2 共 t 兲兴 ⫺1/2 introducing the density matrix to keep the discussion simple,

再 冎
but for those who would like to see it, the density matrix is
共 x⫺x 0 ⫺ v 0 t 兲 2 given by
⫻exp ⫺ , 共24兲
2⌬x 2 共 t 兲
具 x 兩 ␳ 共 0 兲兩 x ⬘典 ⫽ ␾ 共 x 兲 ␾ *共 x ⬘ 兲

冑 再 冎
which is a Gaussian centered at the mean position of the
particle at time t with variance given by Eq. 共21兲.
These results are standard quantum mechanics. Next we
⫽
m
2 ␲ kT
冕 ⫺⬁
⬁
d v 0 exp ⫺
m v 20
2kT
␾ 共 x 兲 ␾ *共 x ⬘ 兲
consider an ensemble of particles in thermal equilibrium, but
so weakly coupled to a heat bath that we can neglect dissi-
pation in the equation of motion. Each particle has a wave
function of the form 共19兲, with a Maxwell distribution of
⫽
冑2 ␲␴
1
2
exp ⫺ 再 共 x⫺x 0 兲 2 ⫹ 共 x ⬘ ⫺x 0 兲 2
4␴2
initial velocities. 共Note that the wave functions differ only by
the phase factor exp关imv0x/ប兴 and that the distribution in
initial velocities implies a corresponding distribution of the
⫺
mkT 共 x⫺x ⬘ 兲 2
2ប 2
, 冎 共29兲

phase.兲 We obtain the corresponding probability distribution where ␾ is given by Eq. 共19兲. We also note that we have
by averaging the distribution 共24兲 over a thermal distribution neglected dissipation during the time development. Of
of initial velocities. The result is course, in order to come to thermal equilibrium, a particle

321 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 3, March 2002 G. W. Ford and R. F. O’Connell 321
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 must be coupled to a heat bath and there must be a corre-
sponding dissipation. The strength of this coupling would be
measured by a typical decay rate ␥. If the coupling is weak,
we must wait a long time of order ␥ ⫺1 for the system to
come to equilibrium, but the equilibrium state will be inde-
pendent of dissipation. The situation is like that for an ideal
gas: collisions are necessary to bring about an approach to
equilibrium, but do not appear in the equation of state nor in
the velocity distribution. On the other hand, the effect of
dissipation on the time development of the initial state can be
neglected only for times short compared to ␥ ⫺1 . Our simple
expression 共26兲 for wave packet spreading is therefore valid
only for short times ( ␥ tⰆ1) such that the motion is that of a
free particle; this short-time behavior is exactly what is rel-
evant for the calculation of decoherence times, as we shall
discuss in detail in Sec. VI B.
V. EFFECTS DUE TO SQUEEZING
In general, a squeezed state is defined as one in which the
uncertainty of one variable is reduced at the expense of an
increase in its conjugate variable.5 If the original state is a
minimum uncertainty state, then the squeezed state may also
be a minimum uncertainty state 共the so-called ideal squeezed
state, such as a coherent state兲, but, more generally it is not.
We start with the simple case of a minimum uncertainty state
which is squeezed so that the uncertainty in x remains un-
changed but the uncertainty in p increases. The correspond-
ing squeezed state is also Gaussian,
1 បt
2 /4␴ 2
␾ C共 x 兲 ⫽ e ⫺ 关共 1⫺iC 兲 x
共 2 ␲␴ 兲 2 1/4
This squeezed state can be represented as the result of a
unitary operation on the minimum uncertainty state 共18兲,
1/4 iC 共 a⫹a † 兲 2
␾ C 共 x 兲 ⫽e ␾共 x 兲.
If we use the general formula 共2兲 with ␺ (x,0)⫽ ␾ C (x), we
find
具 x 共 0 兲 典 ⫽0, 具 p 共 0 兲 典 ⫽0,
ប 2 共 1⫹C 2 兲
具 x 2共 0 兲 典 ⫽ ␴ 2, 具 p 2共 0 兲 典 ⫽
4␴2
具 x 共 0 兲 p 共 0 兲 ⫹p 共 0 兲 x 共 0 兲 典 ⫽បC.
The squeezed state is therefore not a minimum uncertainty
state, because ⌬x⌬ p⫽ (ប/2) 冑1⫹C 2 ⬎(ប/2).
With these expressions, Eq. 共12兲 for the variance of the
wave packet becomes
冉
⌬x 2 共 t 兲 ⫽ ␴ 2 1⫹
Cបt
冊 冉 冊
2
⫹
បt
2 ␴ 2m 2m ␴
If C⬍0, the wave packet first contracts, then expands; for
very long times the wave packet always expands.
Finally, it is clear from the analysis given in Sec. IV that
the thermal contribution to the spreading is the same for both
the squeezed and unsqueezed states.
VI. APPLICATIONS
A. Standard quantum limit
Accurate measurements of the position of a free mass is a
subject of much current interest, in particular in the context
322 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 3, March 2002
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of gravitational-wave detection where questions have arisen
as to whether there are fundamental quantum mechanical
limits on detection sensitivity. The point is that the act of
measurement introduces spreading that affects subsequent
measurements. In this context, Braginsky and Vorontsov6
have argued that in two successive measurements of the po-
sition x of a free mass m made at a fixed time interval t,
there is an uncertainty ⌬x(t) in the result of the second
measurement satisfying
冑
បt
⌬x 共 t 兲 ⭓ . 共34兲
m
The inequality 共34兲 is called the standard quantum limit. On
the other hand, Yuen,7 while agreeing that this is the correct
result for free masses prepared in coherent states 共that is,
minimum uncertainty Gaussian states兲, has argued that the
inequality can be violated for squeezed states. We now give a
simple derivation of the standard quantum limit and Yuen’s
result.
Consider the squeezed state 共30兲 for which ⌬x(0)⫽ ␴ and
⌬x 2 (t) is given by Eq. 共33兲. What is the value of ␴ 2 for
which ⌬x 2 (t) is a minimum for a given t? By calculating the
derivative with respect to ␴ 2 , we find that the minimum
occurs when
បt
␴ 2 ⫽ 冑1⫹C 2 . 共35兲
2m
At the minimum, ⌬x 2 (t) has the value
⌬x 2 共 t 兲 min⫽ 共 冑1⫹C 2 ⫹C 兲
兴
. 共30兲 . 共36兲
m
We therefore have in place of 共34兲 the general inequality
冑冑
បt
⌬x 共 t 兲 ⭓ 共 1⫹C 2 ⫹C 兲 . 共37兲
共31兲 m
For a minimum uncertainty state, where C⫽0, Eq. 共37兲 cor-
responds to the standard quantum limit 共34兲. On the other
hand, for C large and negative, the right-hand side of 共37兲
can be as small as one likes, as noted by Yuen.7
While our explicit result 共37兲 supports Yuen’s general con-
, 共32兲 clusion that more sensitive detection is possible when the
initial measurement results in a squeezed state, a more care-
ful examination of the result makes it clear that it may be
difficult to achieve in practice, because the condition 共35兲
places a restriction on ␴ 共the width of the initial wave
packet兲. In fact, a large negative C implies that ␴ be large, so
the initial measurement must have large uncertainty. More-
over, we see from Eqs. 共32兲 and 共35兲 that, when the mini-
2
共33兲
mum value of ⌬x(t) is achieved,
冓 冔
.
p2 m␴2 ប
具E典⫽ ⫽ 2 ⫽ 冑1⫹C 2 . 共38兲
2m 2t 4t
Thus the energy needed to produce the state increases with
increasing C.
B. Decoherence
Decoherence refers to the destruction of a quantum inter-
ference pattern and is relevant to the many experiments that
depend on achieving and maintaining entangled states. Ex-
amples of such efforts are in the areas of quantum
teleportation,8 quantum information and computation,9,10 en-
G. W. Ford and R. F. O’Connell 322
 tangled states,11 Schrödinger cats,12 and the quantum-

冉 再 冉 冊冎
2
d
classical interface.13 For an overview of many of the inter- x⫺
N2 2
esting experiments involving decoherence, we refer to Refs. P T 共 x;t 兲 ⫽ exp ⫺
11 and 14. 冑2 ␲ ⌬x T2 共 t 兲 2⌬x T2 共 t 兲

再 冉 冊冎 再
Much of the discussion of decoherence15–18 has been in 2
terms of a particle moving in one dimension that is placed in d
x⫹
an initial superposition state 共a Schrödinger ‘‘cat’’ state兲 cor- 2 x2
responding to two widely separated wave packets, each of ⫹exp ⫺ ⫹2a 共 t 兲 exp ⫺
2⌬x T2 共 t 兲 2⌬x T2 共 t 兲

冊
the form 共19兲 but having x 0 ⫽⫾d/2 so that the packets are
separated by a distance d. Thus, in an obvious notation we
write the wave function of the two-Gaussian state as
␺ 共 x,t 兲 ⫽N 关 ␺ 1 共 x,t 兲 ⫹ ␺ 2 共 x,t 兲兴 , 共39兲
⫺ 冎d2
8⌬x T2 共 t 兲
cos
បt dx
4m ␴ 2 ⌬x T2 共 t 兲
, 共43兲

where ␺ 1 and ␺ 2 are each given by the right-hand side of Eq. where the attenuation coefficient a(t) is given by

再 冎
共23兲, but with x 0 replaced by d/2 and ⫺d/2, respectively, kT 2 2
and the normalization constant N is t d
m
a 共 t 兲 ⫽exp ⫺
1 8 ␴ 2 ⌬x T2 共 t 兲

再 冎
N⫽ . 共40兲
冑2 共 1⫹e ⫺d /8␴ 兲 2 2
kT 2 2
t d
Hence m
⫽exp ⫺ . 共44兲
kT 2 2ប 2 t 2
P 共 x,t 兲 ⫽N 共 兩 ␺ 1 兩 ⫹ 兩 ␺ 2 兩 ⫹2 Re兵 ␺ 1* ␺ 2 其 兲 .
2 2 2
共41兲 8 ␴ 4 ⫹8 ␴ 2 t ⫹
m m2
Thus, the probability distribution consists of three contribu-
tions, two of which correspond to the separate packets, Once again, we see that a(t)⫽1 for T⫽0. However, for
whereas the third is an interference term. For a free particle nonzero T and short times 共characteristic of decoherence
at rest at zero temperature 关that is, in Eq. 共23兲 we take v 0 time scales兲, whereas the t dependent terms in the denomi-
⫽0兴, an elementary calculation leads to the result nator are negligible, the t dependent terms in the numerator

冉 再 冉 冊冎
remain, and thus we obtain
d 2 2/␶2
N2
x⫺
2 a 共 t 兲 ⬵e ⫺t d , 共45兲
P 共 x,t 兲 ⫽ exp ⫺
冑2 ␲ ⌬x 2 共 t 兲 2⌬x 2 共 t 兲 where the decoherence time is

再 冉 冊冎
d 2
冑8 ␴ 2
␶ d⫽ 共46兲

再
x⫹ ,
2 x2 v̄ d
⫹exp ⫺ ⫹2 ⫺
and v̄ ⫽ 冑kT/m is the mean thermal velocity. This is consis-
exp
2⌬x 2 共 t 兲 2⌬x 2 共 t 兲

冊
⫺
d2
8⌬x 2 共 t 兲 冎
cos
បtdx
4m ␴ 2 ⌬x 2 共 t 兲
. 共42兲
The first two terms are of the single-Gaussian form given by
共24兲 while the interference term is characterized by the co-
sine factor. The key point to be made here is that this inter-
ference term persists for all time. More generally, when ei-
ther temperature or dissipative effects are present, one
measures the disappearance of the interference term, that is,
the loss of coherence 共decoherence兲, by defining an attenua-
tion coefficient a(t), which is the ratio of the factor multi-
plying the cosine to twice the geometric mean of the first two
terms. From an examination of Eq. 共42兲, we see that a(t)
⫽1, corresponding to the absence of decoherence.
To take into account the effect of finite temperature, we
first form the probability distribution 共41兲 with ␺ 1 and ␺ 2
given by the form 共23兲 with x 0 ⫽⫾d/2, but keeping the
terms with v 0 . It is a simple matter to see that the resulting
probability distribution can be obtained from 共42兲 with the
replacement x→x⫺ v 0 t. We then average this probability
distribution over a thermal distribution of initial velocities, as
in 共25兲, to obtain the probability distribution corresponding
to a finite temperature T. After a bit of algebra, the result can
be written in the form
tent with the results obtained in Refs. 16 –18, where we
found that the dominant contribution to decoherence at high
temperatures 共kTⰆប ␥ , where ␥ is typical dissipative decay
rate兲, is independent of dissipation. However, for very low
temperatures T, dissipation plays an important role, in which
case one must use sophisticated techniques from nonequilib-
rium quantum statistical mechanics.16,18
To see why decoherence is a short-time phenomenon, con-
sider as an example an electron at room temperature 共300 K兲,
v̄ ⫽6.8⫻106 cm/s. Hence, if we take d⫽1 cm and ␴
⫽0.4 Å, then using Eq. 共46兲, we obtain ␶ d ⫽6.9⫻10⫺24 s,
which is orders of magnitude smaller than typical ␥ ⫺1 val-
ues. For this reason it is permissible to take ␥ tⰆ1 for calcu-
lations involving the calculation of decoherence times and
this is why the simple derivation outlined above 共which is
solely within the framework of elementary quantum mechan-
ics and equilibrium statistical mechanics兲 works.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
Wave packet spreading is of fundamental interest in quan-
tum mechanics. By extending some of the usual methods, we
have been led to many interesting phenomena: temperature
and squeezing effects on wave packet spreading with appli-
cations to topical phenomena such as how the standard quan-
tum limit may be circumvented by squeezing and how the

323 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 70, No. 3, March 2002 G. W. Ford and R. F. O’Connell 323
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 temperature dependence of the rate of decoherence may be
calculated in a simple manner. Concomitantly, we have in-
troduced simple tools and ideas that are at the frontiers of
cutting-edge research in quantum mechanics, such as Schrö-
dinger cat states, decoherence, entanglement, and the
classical-quantum interface.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We wish to thank the School of Theoretical Physics, Dub-
lin Institute for Advanced Studies, for their hospitality.
a兲
Permanent address: Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, Michigan 48109-1120.
b兲
Permanent address: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana
State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803-4001.
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