Decoherence as a Detector-Resolution Flow

Abstract

We consider the QED final-state radiation modeled by $γγ^\ast\toπ^+π^-+X$, including its finite-temperature generalization, as an open quantum system, and study the evolution of the pion-pair momentum density matrix as the detector resolution scale is varied. We derive an explicit relation between the Lindblad jump operator and the Wilson line associated with soft photon radiation. We find that real emission and virtual correction serve as two separate contributions to momentum decoherence, and together they give rise to the real--virtual cancellation at the density-matrix level. The external finite-temperature photon bath modifies the decoherence rate by a Bose factor consistent with the Feynman--Vernon influence-functional approach. We emphasize that our conclusions also apply to hard fermion production thanks to the universality of the soft radiation.