Decoherence and entropy generation in an open quantum scalar-fermion system with Yukawa interaction

Abstract

We have studied the decoherence mechanism in a fermion and scalar quantum field theory with the Yukawa interaction in the Minkowski spacetime, using the non-equilibrium effective field theory formalism appropriate for open systems. The scalar field is treated as the system whereas the fermions as the environment. As the simplest realistic scenario, we assume that an observer measures only the Gaussian 2-point correlator for the scalar field. The cause of decoherence and the subsequent entropy generation is the ignorance of information stored in higher-order correlators, Gaussian and non-Gaussian, of the system and the surrounding. Using the 2-loop 2-particle irreducible effective action, we construct the renormalised Kadanoff–Baym equation, i.e., the equation of motion satisfied by the 2-point correlators in the Schwinger–Keldysh formalism. These equations contain the non-local self-energy corrections. We then compute the statistical propagator in terms of the 2-point functions. Using the relationship of the statistical propagator with the phase space area, we next compute the von Neumann entropy, as a measure of the decoherence or effective loss of information for the system. We have obtained the variation of the entropy with respect to various relevant parameters. We also discuss the qualitative similarities and differences of our results with the scenario when both the system and the environment are scalar fields.