Quantum simulation of decoherence in optical waveguide lattices

We suggest that propagation of nonclassical light in lattices of optical waveguides can provide a laboratory tool to simulate quantum decoherence phenomena with high non-Markovian features. As examples, we study decoherence of optical Schrodinger cats in a lattice that mimics a dissipative quantum harmonic oscillator coupled to a quantum bath, showing fractional decoherence in the strong coupling regime, and Bloch oscillations of optical Schrdinger cats, where damped revivals of the coherence can be observed. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America