Editing Quantum decoherence (section)

{{Short description|Loss of quantum coherence}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}

[[File:DecoherenceQuantumClassical en.svg|thumb|200px|In classical scattering of a target body by environmental [[photon]]s, the motion of the target body will not be changed by the scattered photons on the average. In quantum scattering, the interaction between the scattered photons and the superposed target body will cause them to be [[Entangled quantum states|entangled]], thereby delocalizing the phase coherence from the target body to the whole system, rendering the interference pattern unobservable.]]

{{Quantum mechanics |cTopic=Fundamentals}}

'''Quantum decoherence''' is the loss of [[Coherence (physics)#Quantum coherence|quantum coherence]].  It involves generally a loss of information of a system to its environment. Quantum decoherence has been studied to understand how quantum systems convert to systems that can be explained by classical mechanics.  Beginning out of attempts to extend the understanding of quantum mechanics, the theory has developed in several  directions and experimental studies have confirmed some of the key issues. Quantum computing relies on quantum coherence and is one of the primary practical applications of the concept.