Thermality versus objectivity: can they peacefully coexist?

Abstract

Under the influence of external environments, quantum systems can undergo various different processes, including decoherence and equilibration. We observe that macroscopic objects are both objective and thermal, thus leading to the expectation that both objectivity and thermalisation can peacefully coexist on the quantum regime too. Crucially, however, objectivity relies on distributed classical information that could conflict with thermalisation. Here, we examine the overlap between thermal and objective states. We find that in general, one cannot exist when the other is present. However, there are certain regimes where thermality and objectivity are more likely to coexist: in the high temperature limit, at the non-degenerate low temperature limit, and when the environment is large. This is consistent with our experiences that everyday-sized objects can be both thermal and objective.