Symbol l
l is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.
Read this term in its guide →Published equation contexts
Why this formula appears here
The same paper also tracks what happens to the coherence length itself, not just the decay rate: solving the full master equation for a free particle gives a coherence width l(t) = (8 t)^{-1/2} , meaning it shrinks as the inverse square root of time for as long as scattering dominates, and does so from whatever width the particle’s wave packet started with [ 7 ] . Joos and Zeh flag the counterintuitive consequence themselves: the everyday expectation that a free wave packet spreads out over time is not what this equation describes at all. “The much-discussed dispersion hardly ever shows up even for small dust particles or large molecules,” they write; instead “the coherence length…
Read the representative guide
Symbol t
t is an argument of the function-like quantity on the left; its role is set by that function’s stated inputs.
Read this term in its guide →Symbol Lambda
what Joos and Zeh call the localization rate: a single number.
Read this term in its guide →How to interpret it
Read it with the definitions, units, and assumptions supplied by the article.
Research cited beside this formula
Published contexts (1)
A symbol can carry a different meaning in another article. Each occurrence keeps its own guide and term definitions.
Equation 15 · Evolutionary Physics
Decoherence: The Quiet Selection That Makes the World Look Solid
This equation states an equality: the expressions on both sides have the same value under the article’s assumptions.
The same paper also tracks what happens to the coherence length itself, not just the decay rate: solving the full master equation for a free particle gives a coherence width l(t) = (8 t)^{-1/2} , meaning it shrinks as the inverse square root of time for as long as scattering dominates, and does so from whatever width the particle’s wave packet started with [ 7 ] . Joos and Zeh flag the counterintuitive consequence themselves: the everyday expectation that a free wave packet spreads out over time is not what this equation describes at all. “The much-discussed dispersion hardly ever shows up even for small dust particles or large molecules,” they write; instead “the coherence length…