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Decoherence
In quantum mechanics, environmental decoherence describes that quantum states of a closed system change in only one measurable state by interaction with the environment.
Explanation
Decoherence can thus be viewed as the loss of information from a system into the environment, since every system is loosely coupled with the energetic state of its surroundings.
Additional information
The decoherence concept was introduced around 1970 by the German physicist Dieter Zeh.