IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF PHYSICS A: MATHEMATICAL AND THEORETICAL J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 (2007) 12281–12297 doi:10.1088/1751-8113/40/41/002 Dephasing of a particle in a dissipative environment

The motion of a particle in a ring of length L is influenced by a dirty metal environment whose fluctuations are characterized by a short correlation distance L. We analyze the induced decoherence process, and compare the results with those obtained in the opposing Caldeira–Leggett limit ( L). A proper definition of the dephasing factor that does not depend on a vague semiclassical picture is employed. Some recent Monte Carlo results about the effect of finite temperatures on ‘mass renormalization ’ in this system are illuminated. PACS numbers: 03.65.−w, 03.65.Yz, 73.23.−b 1