When preparing the first edition, the concept of decoherence was known to only a few physicists. Since then, significant contributions have emerged, clarifying the phenomenon, which is now experimentally established and theoretically understood. The revised edition discusses new applications in chaos theory, information theory, quantum computing, neuroscience, primordial cosmology, and aspects of black holes and string theory. The first edition resulted from collaborative discussions among the authors, leading to a cohesive "entanglement" of their diverse chapters. However, the subsequent evolution of these chapters has created some independence, broadening the book's scope but potentially causing confusion due to differing basic assumptions and intentions. To address this, the authors' order has been rearranged to match the chapter sequence, placing those closest to the foundational concept of decoherence first. The initial three authors (Joos, Zeh, Kiefer) share a consensus that decoherence, unlike the Copenhagen interpretation, enables the removal of primary classical concepts, avoiding reliance on an axiomatic framework for observables or a classical probability interpretation of the wave function.
