Control of non-Markovian decay and decoherence by measurements and interference

Non-Markovian dynamics of a two-level system in the presence of hierarchical environments

Dynamics of an open system is vividly influenced by the structure of environments. This paper studies in detail the dynamics of a two-level atom in the presence of an overall environment composed of two hierarchies. The first hierarchy is just a single lossy cavity while the second hierarchy consists of a number of other lossy cavities. The atom is coupled directly to the first hierarchy but indirectly to the second one via the couplings between the two hierarchies. We show that even when the coupling between the atom and the first hierarchy is weak the atom's dynamics can become non-Markovian if the number of cavities in the second hierarchy or/and the coupling between the two hierarchies are large enough. We also analyze the case when the coupling between the atom and the first hierarchy is strong and show that the non-Markovian dynamics exhibits different patterns depending on both the number of cavities in the second hierarchy and the coupling between the two hierarchies.

Quantum anti-Zeno effect without wave function reduction

We study the measurement-induced enhancement of the spontaneous decay for a two-level subsystem, where measurements are treated as couplings between the excited state and an auxiliary state rather than the von Neumann's wave function reduction. The photon radiated in a fast decay of the atom, from the auxiliary state to the excited state, triggers a quasi-measurement, as opposed to a projection measurement. Our use of the term “quasi-measurement” refers to a “coupling-based measurement”. Such frequent quasi-measurements result in an exponential decay of the survival probability of atomic initial state with a photon emission following each quasi-measurement. Our calculations show that the effective decay rate is of the same form as the one based on projection measurements. The survival probability of the atomic initial state obtained by tracing over all the photon states is equivalent to that of the atomic initial state with a photon emission following each quasi-measurement.

Acceleration of quantum decay processes by frequent observations

In theory, the decay of any unstable quantum state can be inhibited by sufficiently frequent measurements--the quantum Zeno effect. Although this prediction has been tested only for transitions between two coupled, essentially stable states, the quantum Zeno effect is thought to be a general feature of quantum mechanics, applicable to radioactive or radiative decay processes. This generality arises from the assumption that, in principle, successive observations can be made at time intervals too short for the system to change appreciably. Here we show not only that the quantum Zeno effect is fundamentally unattainable in radiative or radioactive decay (because the required measurement rates would cause the system to disintegrate), but also that these processes may be accelerated by frequent measurements. We find that the modification of the decay process is determined by the energy spread incurred by the measurements (as a result of the time-energy uncertainty relation), and the distribution of states to which the decaying state is coupled. Whereas the inhibitory quantum Zeno effect may be feasible in a limited class of systems, the opposite effect--accelerated decay--appears to be much more ubiquitous.