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arXiv:quant-ph/0508008 · Physical Review E

Quantum-classical transition of photon-Carnot engine induced by quantum decoherence

H. T. Quan, Peng Zhang, C. P. Sun

Published Mar 21, 2006• 147 citations
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Abstract

We study the physical implementation of the photon-Carnot engine (PCE) based on the cavity quantum electrodynamics system [M. O. Scully, M. Suhail Zubairy, G. S. Agarwal, and H. Walther, Science 299, 862 (2003)]. Here we analyze two decoherence mechanisms for the more practical systems of PCE, the dissipation of photon field, and the pure dephasing of the input atoms. As a result we find that (i) the PCE can work well to some extent even in the existence of the cavity loss (photon dissipation) and (ii) the short-time atomic dephasing, which can destroy the PCE, is a fatal problem to be overcome.

DOI
10.1103/physreve.73.036122

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We study the physical implementation of the photon-Carnot engine (PCE) based on the cavity quantum electrodynamics system [M. O. Scully, M. Suhail Zubairy, G. S. Agarwal, and H. Walther, Science 299, 862 (2003)]. Here we analyze two decoherence mechanisms for the more practical systems of PCE, the dissipation of photon field, and the pure dephasing of the input atoms. As a result we find that (i) the PCE can work well to some extent even in the existence of the cavity loss (photon dissipation) and (ii) the short-time atomic dephasing, which can destroy the PCE, is a fatal problem to be overcome.
We investigate scaling of work and efficiency of a photonic Carnot engine with a number of quantum coherent resources. Specifically, we consider a generalization of the "phaseonium fuel" for the photonic Carnot engine, which was first introduced as a three-level atom with two lower states in a quantum coherent superposition by M. O. Scully, M. Suhail Zubairy, G. S. Agarwal, and H. Walther [Science 299, 862 (2003)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.1078955], to the case of N+1 level atoms with N coherent lower levels. We take into account atomic relaxation and dephasing as well as the cavity loss and derive a coarse-grained master equation to evaluate the work and efficiency analytically. Analytical results are verified by microscopic numerical examination of the thermalization dynamics. We find that efficiency and work scale quadratically with the number of quantum coherent levels. Quantum coherence boost to the specific energy (work output per unit mass of the resource) is a profound fundamental difference of quantum fuel from classical resources. We consider typical modern resonator set ups and conclude that multilevel phaseonium fuel can be utilized to overcome the decoherence in available systems. Preparation of the atomic coherences and the associated cost of coherence are analyzed and the engine operation within the bounds of the second law is verified. Our results bring the photonic Carnot engines much closer to the capabilities of current resonator technologies.
We investigate the phenomenon of sudden transition between classical and quantum decoherence in the study of quantum discord for a dissipative cavity QED system, which consists of two noninteracting two-level atoms, each trapped in a dissipative cavity. It is found that the quantum discord between the two atoms, which are prepared initially in the X-type quantum states, is not destroyed by the dissipation of the cavities for a finite time interval, and the stationary quantum discord can arise in the interaction of atoms with cavities as the time approaches infinity. The transition time is sensitive to the initial state parameter of the two atoms and the mean photon number of the coherent field. Interestingly, the quantum discord between the two atoms is completely unaffected by the dissipation of the cavities if we choose the suitable value of the ratio, which depends on the decay rate of the two cavities and the atom-field coupling constant.
The robustness of quantum synchronization induced by the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE) is analyzed within a circuit quantum electrodynamics (cQED) architecture consisting of two superconducting qubits coupled to a shared, parametrically driven cavity. Using a Lindblad master equation approach, this study evaluates the impact of various decoherence channels (including photon loss, relaxation, thermal excitation, and pure dephasing) on the resulting synchronization dynamics. The results demonstrate that DCE-induced synchronization persists under dissipation rates achievable in state-of-the-art superconducting platforms, confirming its experimental feasibility. Among the studied mechanisms, pure dephasing is identified as the dominant factor limiting the fidelity of the synchronized state. Furthermore, it is shown that in strongly dissipative regimes, the Pearson correlation coefficient may overestimate the degree of quantum synchronization, as environmental relaxation can generate classical correlations that mimic synchronized behavior. These findings establish the parameter regimes necessary for observing genuine DCE-induced quantum synchronization and provide practical guidelines for future cQED experiments.
The influence of pure dephasing on the dynamics of the coupling between a two-level atom and a cavity mode is systematically addressed. We have derived an effective atom-cavity coupling rate that is shown to be a key parameter in the physics of the problem, allowing to generalize the known expression for the Purcell factor to the case of broad emitters, and to define strategies to optimize the performances of broad emitter-based single-photon sources. Moreover, pure dephasing is shown to be able to restore lasing in presence of detuning, a further demonstration that decoherence can be seen as a fundamental resource in solid-state cavity quantum electrodynamics, offering appealing perspectives in the context of advanced nanophotonic devices. We propose experimental strategies to develop a versatile device that can be operated either as a single-photon source or as a laser, based on the control by decoherence of the coupling between a single quantum dot and a solid-state cavity.
This paper renders two main results. One is a unified quantum master equation, which satisfies the detailed-balance relation and can serve as a convenient starting formulation to study the dissipative dynamics in a variety of systems in quantum optics and solid-state physics. Another is based on the proposed quantum master equation to study cavity quantum electrodynamics in the presence of T1{T}_{1}T1​ energy relaxation and pure T2{T}_{2}T2​ dephasing. Demonstrated in detail is also the effect of cavity field--absorber interaction on dissipation, which is neglected in the conventional theory.
We consider a dissipative evolution of a parametrically driven qubit-cavity system under the periodic modulation of coupling energy between two subsystems, which leads to the amplification of counter-rotating processes. We reveal a very rich dynamical behavior of this hybrid system. In particular, we find that the energy dissipation in one of the subsystems can enhance quantum effects in another subsystem. For instance, optimal cavity decay assists the stabilization of entanglement and quantum correlations between qubits even in the steady state and the compensation of finite qubit relaxation. On the contrary, energy dissipation in qubit subsystems results in enhanced photon production from vacuum for strong modulation but destroys both quantum concurrence and quantum mutual information between qubits. Our results provide deeper insights to nonstationary cavity quantum electrodynamics in the context of quantum information processing and might be of importance for dissipative quantum state engineering.