Quantum decoherence and classical correlations of the harmonic oscillator in the Lindblad theory

In the framework of the Lindblad theory for open quantum systems we determine the degree of quantum decoherence and classical correlations of a harmonic oscillator interacting with a thermal bath. The transition from quantum to classical behaviour of the considered system is analysed and it is shown that the classicality takes place during a finite interval of time. We calculate also the decoherence time and show that it has the same scale as the time after which statistical fluctuations become comparable with quantum fluctuations.     

Quantum decoherence in the theory of open systems

Within the framework of the Lindblad theory for open quantum systems, we determine the degree of quantum decoherence of a harmonic oscillator interacting with a thermal bath. It is found that the system manifests a quantum decoherence which is more and more significant in time. We also calculate the decoherence time scale and analyze the transition from quantum to classical behavior of the considered system. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Thermal Field and Intrinsic Decoherence Effects on the Dynamics of N-level Moving Atomic System

Dynamical behaviour of Quantum Entanglement (QE) and atomic Quantum Fisher Information (AQFI) for a moving N-level atomic system is studied in a thermal environment. Time evolution of state vector of the entire system interacting with thermal field is calculated numerically in the presence of intrinsic decoherence. It is observed that intrinsic decoherence and thermal environment play dominant role during the time evolution of the quantum system. AQFI and entanglement show an opposite behaviour during its time evolution in the presence of thermal environment. AQFI is observed to be more prone to intrinsic decoherence as compared to the entanglement in a thermal environment. AQFI is found to be more prone to intrinsic decoherence as compared to the QE in a thermal environment. QE is found decaying when the parameter of intrinsic decoherence is increased in the absence of atomic motion. The damping behaviour of QE is observed for longer time-scales. The periodic response of entanglement due to atomic motion becomes moderate under the influence of these environments. The intrinsic decoherence and thermal environment are found to suppress the nonclassical effects of the quantum system. QE and AQFI saturate to a lower level for larger time-scales under the influence of these environments. Furthermore, the dynamics of AQFI and von Neumann entropy (VNE) changes remarkably by changing the mean number of photons.

     

Decoherence–fluctuation relation and measurement noise

We discuss fluctuations in the measurement process and how these fluctuations are related to the dissipational parameter characterizing quantum damping or decoherence. On the example of the measuring current of the variable-barrier or QPC problem we discuss the extra noise or fluctuation connected with the different possible outcomes of a measurement. This noise has an enhanced short time component which could be interpreted as due to “telegraph noise” or “wavefunction collapses”. Furthermore, the parameter giving the strength of this component is related to the parameter giving the rate of damping or decoherence.     

Coherence stability in three-level systems

We study the decoherence rate for estimating the time at which the coherence instability of a quantum pure state is onset. We analyze the coherence stability of pure states of a three-level quantum system under the effect of a bosonic reservoir and driven by two Raman classical fields. By assuming the boson systems to be in thermal states we find for a symmetric V-system a set of three states free from decoherence and, for a symmetric cascade-system, a two-dimensional subspace whose states are stable against the considered decoherence mechanism.     

Dynamics of a Moving Two-Level Atom Under the Influence of Intrinsic Decoherence

We present a general and fascinating problem of quantum entanglement (QE) that is calculated with the help of quantum Fisher information (QFI) and von Neumann entropy (VNE) for moving two-level atomic systems. We calculate numerically the temporal evolution of the state vector of the entire system under the influence of intrinsic decoherence for a moving two-level atom. We demonstrate that the phase shifts of an estimator parameter, intrinsic decoherence, and the atomic motion play an important and prominent role during the time evolution of the atomic system. We observe that there is a monotonic relation between the atomic quantum Fisher information (QFI) and quantum entanglement (QE) in the absence of atomic motion. We also show that at the revival time the local maximum values of QFI decreases gradually. A periodic behavior of QFI is observed in the presence of atomic motion, which becomes more important and remarkable for two-level atomic systems. Moreover, the atomic quantum Fisher information and entanglement demonstrate an opposite response during the time evolution in the presence of atomic motion. We show that the evolution of entanglement is more susceptible to the intrinsic decoherence; a considerable change occurs in the degree of entanglement when the intrinsic decoherence parameter increases. Intrinsic decoherence in the atom–field interaction represses the nonclassical effects of the atomic systems. Both the entanglement and the quantum Fisher information saturate to their lower levels for longer time scales in the presence of intrinsic decoherence. For larger values of intrinsic decoherence, the sudden death of entanglement is observed.     

Decoherence of a Quantum Nonlinear Oscillator Under a Non-zero Temperature Thermal Bath

The characteristic time τ_D for decoherence process of a quantum nonlinear oscillator system under a non-zero temperature thermal bath is studied by expanding the linear entropy. By numerical analysis, it is shown that at a non-zero temperature, the quantum coherence decays much faster than at zero temperature. Moreover, the non-zero temperature thermal bath will bring a crucial suppression to the quantum effects of the observables, which causes these quantum effects to become unable to persist up to the Ehrenfest time but is insufficient to destroy the quantum-classical transition.     

Intrinsic spin fluctuations reveal the dynamical response function of holes coupled to nuclear spin baths in (In,Ga)As quantum dots

The problem of how single central spins interact with a nuclear spin bath is essential for understanding decoherence and relaxation in many quantum systems, yet is highly nontrivial owing to the many-body couplings involved. Different models yield widely varying time scales and dynamical responses (exponential, power-law, gaussian, etc.). Here we detect the small random fluctuations of central spins in thermal equilibrium [holes in singly charged (In,Ga)As quantum dots] to reveal the time scales and functional form of bath-induced spin relaxation. This spin noise indicates long (400 ns) spin correlation times at a zero magnetic field that increase to ～5 μs as dominant hole-nuclear relaxation channels are suppressed with small (100 G) applied fields. Concomitantly, the noise line shape evolves from Lorentzian to power law, indicating a crossover from exponential to slow [～1/log(t)] dynamics.     

Decoherence in solid-state qubits

The interaction of solid-state qubits with environmental degrees of freedom strongly affects the qubit dynamics, and leads to decoherence. In quantum information processing with solid-state qubits, decoherence significantly limits the performances of such devices. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand the mechanisms that lead to decoherence. In this review, we discuss how decoherence affects two of the most successful realizations of solid-state qubits, namely, spin qubits and superconducting qubits. In the former, the qubit is encoded in the spin 1/2 of the electron, and it is implemented by confining the electron spin in a semiconductor quantum dot. Superconducting devices show quantum behaviour at low temperatures, and the qubit is encoded in the two lowest energy levels of a superconducting circuit. The electron spin in a quantum dot has two main decoherence channels, a (Markovian) phonon-assisted relaxation channel, due to the presence of a spin–orbit interaction, and a (non-Markovian) spin bath constituted by the spins of the nuclei in the quantum dot that interact with the electron spin via the hyperfine interaction. In a superconducting qubit, decoherence takes place as a result of fluctuations in the control parameters, such as bias currents, applied flux and bias voltages, and via losses in the dissipative circuit elements.     

Decoherence Induced by Discontinuous and Stochastic Unitary Evolution of Qubits in Quanturn Computers

A new kind of decoherence in quantum computer memory, called intrinsic decoherence, is investigated in some details, which is caused by discontinuous and stochastic unitary evolution of qubits in quantum computers on a sufficient short time scale. It is found that the intrinsic decoherence leads to quasi-periodic decaying oscillations of the state fidelity of qubits in the time evolution. Schemes to reduce the intrinsic decoherence are proposed.     

Controlling quantum discord dynamics in cavity QED systems by applying a classical driving field with phase decoherence

We investigate a two-level atom interacting with a quantized cavity field and a classical driving field in the presence of phase decoherence and find that a stationary quantum discord can arise in the interaction of the atom and cavity field as the time turns to infinity. We also find that the stationary quantum discord can be increased by applying a classical driving field. Furthermore, we explore the quantum discord dynamics of two identical non-interacting two-level atoms independently interacting with a quantized cavity field and a classical driving field in the presence of phase decoherence. Results show that the quantum discord between two atoms is more robust than entanglement under phase decoherence and the classical driving field can help to improve the amount of quantum discord of the two atoms.     

Ultimate decoherence border for matter-wave interferometry

Stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves are intrinsic fluctuations of spacetime which lead to an unavoidable decoherence mechanism. This mechanism manifests itself as a degradation of the contrast of quantum interferences. It defines an ultimate decoherence border for matter-wave interferometry using larger and larger molecules. We give a quantitative characterization of this border in terms of figures involving the gravitational environment as well as the sensitivity of the interferometer to gravitational waves. The known level of gravitational noise determines the maximal size of the molecular probe for which interferences may remain observable. We discuss the relevance of this result in the context of ongoing progresses towards more and more sensitive matter-wave interferometry.     

Controlling quantum discord dynamics in cavity QED systems by applying a classical driving field with phase decoherence

We investigate a two-level atom interacting with a quantized cavity field and a classical driving field in the presence of phase decoherence and find that a stationary quantum discord can arise in the interaction of the atom and cavity field as the time turns to infinity.We also find that the stationary quantum discord can be increased by applying a classical driving field.Furthermore,we explore the quantum discord dynamics of two identical non-interacting two-level atoms independently interacting with a quantized cavity field and a classical driving field in the presence of phase decoherence.Results show that the quantum discord between two atoms is more robust than entanglement under phase decoherence and the classical driving field can help to improve the amount of quantum discord of the two atoms.     

Nonlinear Theory of Quantum Brownian Motion

A nonlinear theory of quantum Brownian motion in classical environment is developed based on a thermodynamically enhanced nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The latter is transformed via the Madelung transformation into a nonlinear quantum Smoluchowski-like equation, which is proven to reproduce key results from the quantum and classical physics. The application of the theory to a free quantum Brownian particle results in a nonlinear dependence of the position dispersion on time, being quantum generalization of the Einstein law of Brownian motion. It is shown that the time of decoherence from quantum to classical diffusion is proportional to the square of the thermal de Broglie wavelength divided by the classical Einstein diffusion constant.     

Decoherence and dynamical entropy generation in quantum field theory

We formulate a novel approach to decoherence based on neglecting observationally inaccessible correlators. We apply our formalism to a renormalised interacting quantum field theoretical model. Using out-of-equilibrium field theory techniques we show that the Gaussian von Neumann entropy for a pure quantum state increases to the interacting thermal entropy. This quantifies decoherence and thus measures how classical our pure state has become. The decoherence rate is equal to the single particle decay rate in our model. We also compare our approach to existing approaches to decoherence in a simple quantum mechanical model. We show that the entropy following from the perturbative master equation suffers from physically unacceptable secular growth.     

Stability investigation on quantum correlations of coupled qubits in non-Markovian process

Utilizing the concurrence and the quantum discord as the measure method, in this paper we compare and investigate the dynamic evolution features of quantum correlations of coupled qubits in non-Markovian process. We focus attention on decoherence effect influences the stability of quantum correlations. The investigation results show that because of the decoherence influence between the system and environment, the concurrence always evolves with time in oscillation form in the way of deaths and survivals, however, the quantum discord time evolution does not appear the deaths and survivals. The quantum discord survives obviously longer than concurrence, which indicates that quantum discord has a stronger ability to resist decoherence than entanglement. Through regulating and controlling the purity and entanglement of the initial quantum state, we can effectively suppress the decay of the quantum correlations, which is advantaged to complete the quantum information processing.     

Optimal quantum parameter estimation of two-qutrit Heisenberg XY chain under decoherence

Adopting the Milburn decoherence model, we investigate the performance of quantum Fisher information of the twoqutrit isotropic Heisenberg XY chain under decoherence. We find that the quantum Fisher information with respect to the decoherence rate and the magnetic field decreases exponentially in the long-time limit, which significantly reduces the precision of optimal quantum estimation. We also show that with the increase of the decoherence rate or the magnetic field,the QFIs go down considerably. Furthermore, we find that the precision of optimal quantum estimation can be enhanced by the entanglement in the input state.