arXiv:1111.0243
Quantum energy decays and decoherence in discrete baths
Mircea Daniel Galiceanu, Marcus W. Beims, Walter T. Strunz
Abstract
The quantum average energy decay and the purity decay are studied for a system particle as a function of the number of constituents of a discrete bath model. The system particle is subjected to two distinct physical situations: the harmonic oscillator (HO) and the Morse potential. The environment (bath) is composed by a {\it finite} number N of uncoupled HOs, characterizing the structured bath, which in the limit $N\to\infty$ is assumed to have an ohmic, sub-ohmic or super-ohmic spectral density. For very low values of N the mean energy and purity remain constant in time but starts to decay for intermediate values (10