Decoherence and Quantum Darwinism

Wojciech Hubert Zurek is credited with developing the theory of decoherence. He is also known for Quantum Darwinism, the no-cloning theorem (a cornerstone of quantum information), and quantum discord. Applications of the Kibble–Zurek mechanism that describes the creation of topological defects in phase transitions range from cosmology to condensed matter physics. Member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society, Zurek is a recipient of the Smoluchowski and Los Alamos Medals and a Humboldt Prize. He is a Laboratory Fellow at Los Alamos, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Science and Technology in Cracow (AGH), the Jagiellonian University, and was Einstein Professor at the Ulm University.

'A magnificent, defining work by the foremost authority on the transition from quantum to classical. Over the past forty years, Zurek has put forward one groundbreaking idea after another about how interactions of quantum systems with their environment explain the many puzzling aspects of the emergence of classical behavior. His guiding principle, 'let quantum be quantum,' has turned out to be the key to unlocking the secrets of how quantum systems effectively become classical. The theories he has developed, from einselection to quantum Darwinism, have led to a seminal shift in our understanding of the quantum-to-classical transition and have been confirmed time and again in the laboratory. Written in an impressively engaging and accessible style, the book is the definitive text on all aspects of the quantum-to-classical transition. It will be an indispensable companion for anyone interested in modern quantum mechanics, from students to researchers.' Maximilian Schlosshauer, University of Portland

• Preface; Part I. Foundations: 1. Introduction; 2. Discrete events from repeatability: 'Quantum Jumps' and the wave packet collapse; 3. Born's rule from the symmetries of entanglement; Part II. Decoherence: 4. Environment-induced decoherence; 5. Decoherence, Einselection, and its consequences; 6. Quantum and classical in phase space: decoherence and the second law; Part III. Quantum Darwinism: 7. Quantum Darwinism: environment as a witness; 8. Quantum Darwinism in action; 9. Quantum Darwinism and the existential interpretation.