Classicality with(out) decoherence: Concepts, relation to Markovianity, and a random matrix theory approach

Abstract

Answers to the question how a classical world emerges from underlying quantum physics are revisited, connected and extended as follows. First, three distinct concepts are compared: decoherence in open quantum systems, consistent/decoherent histories and Kolmogorov consistency. Second, the crucial role of quantum Markovianity (defined rigorously) to connect these concepts is established. Third, using a random matrix theory model, quantum effects are shown to be exponentially suppressed in the measurement statistics of slow and coarse observables despite the presence of large amount of coherences. This is also numerically exemplified, and it highlights the potential and importance of non-integrability and chaos for the emergence of classicality.