Photoinduced localization and decoherence in inversion symmetric molecules

Coherence of particles in form of matter waves is one of the basic properties of nature which distinguishes classical from quantum behavior. This is a direct consequence of the particle-wave dualism. It is the wave-like nature, which gives rise to coherence, whereas particle-like behavior results from decoherence. If two quantum objects are coherently coupled with respect to a particular variable, even over long distances, one speaks of entanglement. The study of entanglement is nowadays one of the most exciting research fields in physics with enormous impact on the most innovative development in information technology, the development of a future quantum computer. The loss of coherence by decoherence processes may occur due to momentum kicks or thermal heating. In this paper we report on a further decoherence process which occurs in dissociating inversion symmetric molecules due to the superposition of orthogonal symmetry states in the excitation along with freezing of the electron tunneling process afterwards.