Decay of Quantum Coherences Under the Influence of a Thermal Heatbath

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Abstract
Recently several methods have been proposed for generation of superposition (Schrödinger cat) states in microwave cavities. At microwave frequencies thermal photons can significantly affect statistical properties of superposition states. In the present letter we study the influence of a thermal heatbath on non-classical properties of quantum superposition states. We show that at non-zero temperatures the loss of quantum coherences is much faster than at zero temperature and that the sensitivity of the quantum coherence to the presence of thermal photons can lead to some difficulties in the preparation of Schrödinger cat states in microwave cavities unless the temperature of the microwave cavity is sufficiently low.