Eur. Phys. J. D 29, 173-181 (2004)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2004-00020-8

Decoherence due to internal mesoscopic environment: a possible experimental test

Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, 34 000 Kragujevac, Serbia

Corresponding author: ^a dugic@knez.uis.kg.ac.yu

Received: 23 May 2003
Revised: 29 December 2003
Published online: 17 February 2004

Abstract

Following the fundamentals of the Stern-Gerlach experiment, we propose for an experimental situation eventually revealing the decoherence effect due to the internal mesoscopic environment. The experiment-set-up we propose is a straightforward extension of the set-up recently used in the neutron optics interference experiments. First, we point to and discuss the occurrence of decoherence for the atom's path in the Stern-Gerlach experiment. Then, comparing a Stern-Gerlach apparatus with the apparatus of our set-up-proposal, we point out the occurrence of decoherence and consequently of non-violation of the Bell's inequality for a single atom's degree of freedom due to the environment consisting of the order of 10² particles.