Decoherence from quantum spacetime noise: An open-systems framework with application to neutrino oscillations

Abstract

We present a general open-quantum-systems framework to model decoherence induced by stochastic Planck-scale fluctuations of spacetime, focusing on the kappa-Minkowski noncommutative geometry as a representative quantum-gravity scenario. Treating the deformation parameter as Gaussian white noise, we derive a Lindblad-type master equation applicable to arbitrary quantum systems and obtain a distinctive inverse-energy scaling of the decoherence rate, Gamma proportional to E^{-4}. As an illustrative example, we analyze a three-level system motivated by neutrino flavor oscillations and derive closed-form expressions for survival and transition probabilities with spacetime-induced damping. The E^{-4} scaling contrasts sharply with the positive power laws often invoked in quantum-gravity phenomenology and predicts negligible decoherence for high-energy neutrinos consistent with IceCube observations, while implying that the strongest effects arise in the extreme low-energy regime. In this context, the sub-eV-scale energies characteristic of the cosmic neutrino background provide a natural infrared benchmark for illustrating the enhanced sensitivity to quantum-spacetime fluctuations. Our results establish a unified formalism connecting quantum-information methods, open-system dynamics, and quantum-spacetime phenomenology, thereby offering a framework for exploring potential signatures of Planck-scale physics in future low-energy neutrino studies.