  By means of two simple examples: phase and amplitude damping, the impact of
decoherence on the dynamical Casimir effect is investigated. Even without
dissipating energy (i.e., pure phase damping), the amount of created particles
can be diminished significantly via the coupling to the environment (reservoir
theory) inducing decoherence. For a simple microscopic model, it is
demonstrated that spontaneous decays within the medium generate those problems
-- Rabi oscillations are far more advantageous in that respect. These findings
are particularly relevant in view of a recently proposed experimental
verification of the dynamical Casimir effect. PACS: 42.50.Lc, 03.65.Yz,
03.70.+k, 42.50.Dv.

Quantum Physics