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arXiv:2602.15430 · Optics Express

Non-Markovian environment induced Schrödinger cat state transfer in an optical Newton's cradle

Xinyu Zhao, Yan Xia

quant-phSubmitted Feb 17, 2026• Announced Feb 18, 2026• 10 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this manuscript, we study the Schrödinger cat state transfer in a quantum optical version of Newton's cradle in non-Markovian environment. Based on a non-Markovian master equation, we show that the cat state can be transferred purely through the memory effect of the non-Markovian common environment, even without any direct couplings between neighbor cavities. The mechanism of the environment induced cat state transfer is analyzed both analytically and numerically to demonstrate that the transfer is a unique phenomenon in non-Markovian regime. From this example, the non-Markovian environment is shown to be qualitatively different from the Markovian environment reflected by the finite versus zero residue coherence. Besides, we also show the influence of environmental parameters are crucial for the transfer. We hope the cat state transfer studied in this work may shed more light on the fundamental difference between non-Markovian and Markovian environments.

Journal reference
Opt. Express 33, 619-638 (2025)
DOI
10.1364/OE.537476
Comments
21 pages, 7 figures

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Abstract By virtue of the superoperator technique, we solve analytically the non-Markovian master equation that describes single-mode continuous variable system interacting with a structure reservoir. Our analytical solution allows us to investigate the non-Markovian effects on the dynamics of quantum coherence and non-classicality of Schrödinger cat states embedded in various types of structured reservoirs. We show that the dynamical behaviors of the fidelity, entanglement potentials, and higher-order antibunching of such states can be divided into two phases: they decay rapidly within a short time, but would either vanish completely or tend to a nonzero steady-state value in the long-time limit depending on the initial Schrödinger cat states and system parameters. We also show that by examining the Wigner function and higher-order sub-Poissonian statistics, the super-Ohmic environment can better help to protect the non-classicality, whereas the sub-Ohmic environment causes the disappearance of the non-classicality. Our approach is concise and can generalize to other open quantum system coupled to non-Markovian environment at finite-temperature or to linear non-Markovian Gaussian system.
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We discuss the generation of a Schrödinger cat in a nanocavity created by the coupling of an electromagnetic mode with an exciton in a quantum dot considering the dispersive limit of the Jaynes–Cummings model. More than the generation itself, we focus on the effects of the environment over the bosonic state in the nanocavity, which has losses simulated by coupling with two different kinds of reservoirs. In the first case, the interaction of the system with a finite reservoir shows that fragments of different sizes of the reservoir deliver the same amount of information about the physical system in the dynamics of the birth and death of the Schrödinger cat. The second case considers a structured reservoir, whose spectral density varies significantly with frequency. This situation becomes relevant in solid-state devices where quantum channels are embedded, as memory effects generally cannot be neglected. Under these circumstances, it is observed that the dynamics can differ substantially from the Markovian, presenting oscillations related to the average number of photons. These oscillations influence the information flow between the system and the environment, evidenced here by the measurement of non-Markovianity.
We study optomechanical entanglement between an optical cavity field and a movable mirror coupled to a non-Markovian environment. The non-Markovian quantum-state diffusion approach and the non-Markovian master equation are shown to be useful in investigating entanglement generation between the cavity field and the movable mirror. The simple model presented in this paper demonstrates several interesting properties of optomechanical entanglement that are associated with environment memory effects. It is evident that the effective environment central frequency can be used to modulate the optomechanical entanglement. In addition, we show that the maximum entanglement may be achieved by properly choosing the effective detuning, which is significantly dependent on the strength of the memory effect of the environment.
Environment-induced steady-state quantum coherence (SSQC) is a captivating phenomenon that challenges conventional understandings of decoherence. In this article, we delve into the foundational aspects of environment-induced SSQC, shedding light on its emergence within the framework of system-bath interactions. Starting from a microscopic system-bath-coupled model, we investigate the dependence of SSQC on environmental memory effects, the bath temperature, the system-bath coupling strength, and squeezing parameters. Our findings reveal that the environment not only acts as a generator but also as a disruptor of SSQC. A peak will exist for a non-Markovian bath, which is a result of competition between these two mechanisms. Interestingly, the peak disappears in the Markovian case. Additionally, we observe that the generated SSQC can be further amplified through environment squeezing.