Quantum decoherence plays a pivotal role in the dynamical description of the quantum-to-classical transition and is the main impediment to the realization of devices for quantum information processing. This paper gives an overview of the theory and experimental observation of the decoherence mechanism. We introduce the essential concepts and the mathematical formalism of decoherence, focusing on the picture of the decoherence process as a continuous monitoring of a quantum system by its environment. We review several classes of decoherence models and discuss the description of the decoherence dynamics in terms of master equations. We survey methods for avoiding and mitigating decoherence and give an overview of several experiments that have studied decoherence processes. We also comment on the role decoherence may play in interpretations of quantum mechanics and in addressing foundational questions. Journal reference: Phys. Rep. 831, 1–57 (2019), doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2019.10.001

中文翻译：

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量子退相干

量子退相干在量子到经典跃迁的动力学描述中起着关键作用，是实现量子信息处理设备的主要障碍。本文概述了退相干机制的理论和实验观察。我们介绍退相干的基本概念和数学形式，重点关注退相干过程作为环境对量子系统的连续监控。我们回顾了几类退相干模型，并根据主方程讨论了退相干动力学的描述。我们调查了避免和减轻退相干的方法，并概述了研究退相干过程的几个实验。我们还评论退相干在解释量子力学和解决基本问题中可能发挥的作用。期刊参考：Phys. 众议员 831, 1–57 (2019), doi.org/10.1016/j.physrep.2019.10.001