Cohering and decohering power of massive scalar fields under instantaneous interactions

Abstract

Employing a non-perturbative approach based on an instantaneous interaction between a two-level Unruh-DeWitt detector and a massive scalar field, we investigate the ability of the field to generate or destroy coherence in the detector by deriving the cohering and decohering power of the induced quantum evolution channel. For a field in a coherent state a previously unnoticed effect is reported whereby the amount of coherence that the field generates displays a revival pattern with respect to the size of the detector. It is demonstrated that by including mass in a thermal field the set of maximally coherent states of the detector decoheres less compared to a zero mass. In both of the examples mentioned, by making a suitable choice of detector radius, field energy and coupling strength it is possible to infer the mass of the field by either measuring the coherence present in the detector in the case of an interaction with a coherent field or the corresponding decoherence of a maximally coherent state in the case of a thermal field. In view of recent advances in the study of Proca metamaterials, these results suggest the possibility of utilising the theory of massive electromagnetism for the construction of novel applications for use in quantum technologies.