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Elementary quantum systems out of thermal equilibrium: From quantum thermalization to entanglement

Mauro Antezza

Published Jul 30, 2013• 0 citations
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Abstract

We study the internal dynamics, the quantum thermalization and the entanglementof elementary quantum systems (one or two atoms) placed close to a body held at atemperature different from that of the surrounding radiation.Concerning the single atom dynamics [1,2], we derive general expressions for lifetimeand density matrix valid for bodies of arbitrary geometry and dielectric permittivity.Out of equilibrium, the thermalization process and steady states become both qualitativelyand quantitatively significantly different from the case of radiation at thermalequilibrium. For the case of a three-level atom close to a slab of finite thickness, wepredict the occurrence of population inversion and an efficient cooling mechanism forthe quantum system, whose effective internal temperature can be driven to values muchlower than both involved temperatures. Our results show that non-equilibrium configurationsprovide new promising ways to control the state of an atomic system.We also consider two two-level atomic quantum systems (qubits) [3]. While at thermalequilibrium the two-qubit dynamics is characterized by not entangled steady thermalstates, we show that absence of thermal equilibrium may bring to the generationof entangled steady states. Remarkably, this entanglement emerges from the two-qubitdissipative dynamic itself, without any further external action on the two qubits, suggestinga new protocol to produce and protect entanglement which is intrinsically robustto environmental effects.======================[1] Bruno Bellomo, Riccardo Messina, and Mauro Antezza, Europhys. Lett. 100, 20006(2012).[2] Bruno Bellomo, Riccardo Messina, Didier Felbacq, and Mauro Antezza, Phys. Rev.A 87, 012101 (2013).[3] Bruno Bellomo, and Mauro Antezza, arXiv:1304.2864 (2013).

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•Sep 29, 2015•0 citations
We study the internal dynamics, the quantum thermalization and the entanglementof elementary quantum systems (one or two atoms) placed close to a body held at atemperature different from that of the surrounding radiation.Concerning the single atom dynamics [1,2], we derive general expressions for lifetimeand density matrix valid for bodies of arbitrary geometry and dielectric permittivity.Out of equilibrium, the thermalization process and steady states become both qualitativelyand quantitatively significantly different from the case of radiation at thermalequilibrium. For the case of a three-level atom close to a slab of finite thickness, wepredict the occurrence of population inversion and an efficient cooling mechanism forthe quantum system, whose effective internal temperature can be driven to values muchlower than both involved temperatures. Our results show that non-equilibrium configurationsprovide new promising ways to control the state of an atomic system.We also consider two two-level atomic quantum systems (qubits) [3]. While at thermalequilibrium the two-qubit dynamics is characterized by not entangled steady thermalstates, we show that absence of thermal equilibrium may bring to the generationof entangled steady states. Remarkably, this entanglement emerges from the two-qubitdissipative dynamic itself, without any further external action on the two qubits, suggestinga new protocol to produce and protect entanglement which is intrinsically robustto environmental effects.======================[1] Bruno Bellomo, Riccardo Messina, and Mauro Antezza, Europhys. Lett. 100, 20006(2012).[2] Bruno Bellomo, Riccardo Messina, Didier Felbacq, and Mauro Antezza, Phys. Rev.A 87, 012101 (2013).[3] Bruno Bellomo, and Mauro Antezza, arXiv:1304.2864 (2013).
We study the internal dynamics of an elementary quantum system placed close to a body held at a temperature different from that of the surrounding radiation. We derive general expressions for lifetime and density matrix valid for bodies of arbitrary geometry and dielectric permittivity. Out of equilibrium, the thermalization process and steady states become both qualitatively and quantitatively significantly different from the case of radiation at thermal equilibrium. For the case of a three-level atom close to a slab of finite thickness, we predict the occurrence of population inversion and an efficient cooling mechanism for the quantum system, whose effective internal temperature can be driven to values much lower than both involved temperatures. Our results show that non-equilibrium configurations provide new promising ways to control the state of an atomic system.
We will discuss the behavior of an elementary quantum system (atom, quantum dot, …) interacting with an environment out of thermal equilibrium. We show how the internal atomic dynamics can be deeply affected by the non equilibrium configuration leading to unexpected phenomena like a spontaneous inversion of population, new cooling mechanisms obtained by heating the system, and the possibility to create and protect entanglement in a stationary and robust way [1,2,3].----------------References: [1] B. Bellomo, R. Messina, and M. Antezza, Europhys. Lett. 100, 20006 (2012); Phys. Rev. A 87, 012101 (2013).[2] B. Bellomo and M. Antezza, New Journal of Physics 15, 113052 (2013); Europhys. Lett. 104, 10006 (2013).[3] R. Messina and M. Antezza, Europhys. Lett. 95, 61002 (2011); Phys. Rev. A 84, 042102 (2011); Phys. Rev. A in press, arXiv:1402.2506 (2014).
We study two two-level atomic quantum systems (qubits) placed close to a body held at a temperature different from that of the surrounding walls. While at thermal equilibrium the two-qubit dynamics is characterized by non-entangled steady thermal states, we show that the absence of thermal equilibrium may bring to the generation of entangled steady states. Remarkably, this entanglement emerges from the two-qubit dissipative dynamic itself, without any further external action on the two qubits, suggesting a new protocol to create and protect entanglement which is intrinsically robust to environmental effects.
We discuss how the thermalization of an elementary quantum system is modified when the system is placed in an environment out of thermal equilibrium. To this aim we provide a detailed investigation of the dynamics of an atomic system placed close to a body of arbitrary geometry and dielectric permittivity, whose temperature TMT_MTM​ is different from that of the surrounding walls TWT_WTW​. A suitable master equation for the general case of an NNN-level atom is first derived and then specialized to the cases of a two- and three-level atom. Transition rates and steady states are explicitly expressed as a function of the scattering matrices of the body and become both qualitatively and quantitatively different from the case of radiation at thermal equilibrium. Out of equilibrium, the system steady state depends on the system-body distance, on the geometry of the body and on the interplay of all such parameters with the body optical resonances. While a two-level atom tends toward a thermal state, this is not the case already in the presence of three atomic levels. This peculiar behavior can be exploited, for example, to invert the populations ordering and to provide an efficient cooling mechanism for the internal state of the quantum system. We finally provide numerical studies and asymptotic expressions when the body is a slab of finite thickness. Our predictions can be relevant for a wide class of experimental configurations out of thermal equilibrium involving different physical realizations of two or three-level systems.
We discuss how the thermalization of an elementary quantum system is modified when the system is placed in an environment out of thermal equilibrium. To this aim we provide a detailed investigation of the dynamics of an atomic system placed close to a body of arbitrary geometry and dielectric permittivity, whose temperature TM{T}_{\mathrm{M}}TM​ is different from that of the surrounding walls TW{T}_{\mathrm{W}}TW​. A suitable master equation for the general case of an NNN-level atom is first derived and then specialized to the cases of a two- and three-level atom. Transition rates and steady states are explicitly expressed as a function of the scattering matrices of the body and become both qualitatively and quantitatively different from the case of radiation at thermal equilibrium. Out of equilibrium, the system steady state depends on the system-body distance, on the geometry of the body, and on the interplay of all such parameters with the body optical resonances. While a two-level atom tends toward a thermal state, this is not the case already in the presence of three atomic levels. This peculiar behavior can be exploited, for example, to invert the populations ordering and to provide an efficient cooling mechanism for the internal state of the quantum system. We finally provide numerical studies and asymptotic expressions when the body is a slab of finite thickness. Our predictions can be relevant for a wide class of experimental configurations out of thermal equilibrium involving different physical realizations of two- or three-level systems.
We will discuss the behavior of one or more elementary quantum system (atom, molecules, quantum dot, …) interacting with a stationary, simple and rich electromagnetic environment out of thermal equilibrium: The electromagnetic field is produced by a simple configuration of macroscopic objects held at thermal equilibrium at different temperatures. We will show how the internal atomic dynamics can be deeply affected by the non equilibrium configuration leading to unexpected phenomena like a spontaneous inversion of population, new cooling mechanisms obtained by heating the system, and the possibility to create and protect entanglement in a stationary and robust way. Finally, we will discuss how this system may directly allow the realization of atomic quantum thermal machines, with high efficiency and a genuine quantum behavior.