Decoherent Histories with(out) Objectivity in a (Broken) Apparatus

We characterize monitored quantum dynamics in a solvable model exhibiting a phase transition between a measurement apparatus and a scrambler. We show that approximate decoherent histories emerge in both phases with respect to a coarse-grained extensive observable. However, the apparatus phase, where quantum Darwinism emerges, is distinguished by the nonergodicity of the histories and their correlation with the measured qubit, which selects an ensemble of preferred pointer states. Our results demonstrate a clear distinction between two notions of classicality, decoherent histories, and environment-induced decoherence.

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Publication Details

Journal
Physical Review Letters
Published
2026-02-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1103/8qzx-xpfz
Primary Topic
Quantum Information and Cryptography
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Decoherent Histories with(out) Objectivity in a (Broken) Apparatus

Xiangyu Cao, Benoît Ferté, Davide Farci
Physical Review Letters
Quantum Information and Cryptography
article

Decoherent Histories with(out) Objectivity in a (Broken) Apparatus

Xiangyu Cao, Benoît Ferté, Davide Farci
article en

Abstract

We characterize monitored quantum dynamics in a solvable model exhibiting a phase transition between a measurement apparatus and a scrambler. We show that approximate decoherent histories emerge in both phases with respect to a coarse-grained extensive observable. However, the apparatus phase, where quantum Darwinism emerges, is distinguished by the nonergodicity of the histories and their correlation with the measured qubit, which selects an ensemble of preferred pointer states. Our results demonstrate a clear distinction between two notions of classicality, decoherent histories, and environment-induced decoherence.

Physical Review LettersVol. 136(9)
Université Paris-Sud (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), École Normale Supérieure - PSL (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modèles Statistiques (FR), École Normale Supérieure (BI), Laboratoire de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (FR), Laboratoire Médiations (FR), University of Florence (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 99%
Quantum Information and Cryptography
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Decoherent Histories with(out) Objectivity in a (Broken) Apparatus — Xiangyu Cao, Benoît Ferté, et al. · Physical Review Letters (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS