Loss of purity by wave-packet scattering at low energies

Abstract

We study the quantum entanglement produced by a head-on collision between two Gaussian wave packets in three-dimensional space. By deriving the two-particle wave function modified by $s$-wave scattering amplitudes, we obtain an approximate analytic expression of the purity of an individual particle. The loss of purity provides an indicator of the degree of entanglement. In the case the wave packets are narrow in momentum space, we show that the loss of purity is solely controlled by the ratio of the scattering cross section to the transverse area of the wave packets.