Free evolution of an incoherent mixture of states: a quantum mechanical approach to the van Cittert-Zernike theorem

Abstract

We study the time evolution of an incoherent mixture of quantum states and demonstrate, in very simple terms, a quantum mechanical equivalent of van Cittert–Zernike theorem, which can be easily explained to Quantum Physics students with a basic knowledge of the density matrix theory. Finally, we exemplify this result by applying it to the quantitative analysis of the coherence of a beam of particles in atomic collisions.