Effect of temperature on non-Markovian dynamics in Coulomb crystals

In this paper we generalize the results reported in Phys. Rev. A 88, 010101 (2013) and investigate the flow of information induced in a Coulomb crystal in presence of thermal noise. For several temperatures we calculate the non-Markovian character of Ramsey interferometry of a single 1/2 spin with the motional degrees of freedom of the whole chain. These results give a more realistic picture of the interplay between temperature, non-Markovianity and criticality.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Special Issue of the International Journal of Quantum Information devoted to IQIS2013 conferenc

Controlling entropic uncertainty bound through memory effects

One of the defining traits of quantum mechanics is the uncertainty principle which was originally expressed in terms of the standard deviation of two observables. Alternatively, it can be formulated using entropic measures, and can also be generalized by including a memory particle that is entangled with the particle to be measured. Here we consider a realistic scenario where the memory particle is an open system interacting with an external environment. Through the relation of conditional entropy to mutual information, we provide a link between memory effects and the rate of change of conditional entropy controlling the lower bound of the entropic uncertainty relation. Our treatment reveals that the memory effects stemming from the non-Markovian nature of quantum dynamical maps directly control the lower bound of the entropic uncertainty relation in a general way, independently of the specific type of interaction between the memory particle and its environment.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Interaction of bimodal fields with few-level atoms in cavities and traps

The spectacular experimental results of the last few years in cavity quantum electrodynamics and trapped ions research has led to very high level laboratory performances. Such a stimulating situation essentially stems from two decisive advancements. The first is the invention of reliable protocols for the manipulation of single atoms. The second is the ability to produce desired bosonic environments on demand. These progresses have led to the possibility of controlling the form of the coupling between individual atoms and an arbitrary number of bosonic modes. As a consequence, fundamental matter-radiation interaction models like, for instance, the JC model and most of its numerous nonlinear multiphoton generalizations, have been realized or simulated in laboratory and their dynamical features have been tested more or less in detail. This topical paper reviews the state of the art of the theoretical investigations and of the experimental observations concerning the dynamical features of the coupling between single few-level atoms and two bosonic modes. In the course of the paper we show that such a configuration provides an excellent platform for investigating various quantum intermode correlation effects tested or testable in the cavity quantum electrodynamics and trapped ion experimental realms. In particular we discuss a mode-mode correlation effect appearing in the dynamics of a two-level atom quadratically coupled to two bosonic modes. This effect, named parity effect, consists in a high sensitivity to the evenness or oddness of the total number of bosonic excitations.Comment: Topical Review. To appear on J. Mod. Op

Sudden transition between classical and quantum decoherence

We study the dynamics of quantum and classical correlations in the presence of nondissipative decoherence. We discover a class of initial states for which the quantum correlations, quantified by the quantum discord, are not destroyed by decoherence for times t<t¯ . In this initial time interval classical correlations decay. For t>t¯ , on the other hand, classical correlations do not change in time and only quantum correlations are lost due to the interaction with the environment. Therefore, at the transition time t¯ the open system dynamics exhibits a sudden transition from classical to quantum decoherence regime

The rotating wave system-reservoir coupling: limitations and meaning in the non-Markovian regime

This paper deals with the dissipative dynamics of a quantum harmonic oscillator interacting with a bosonic reservoir. The Master Equations based on the Rotating Wave and on the Feynman-Vernon system--reservoir couplings are compared highlighting differences and analogies. We discuss quantitatively and qualitatively the conditions under which the counter rotating terms can be neglected. By comparing the analytic solution of the heating function relative to the two different coupling models we conclude that, even in the weak coupling limit, the counter rotating terms give rise to a significant contribution in the non--Markovian short time regime. The main result of this paper is that such a contribution is actually experimentally measurable and thus relevant for a correct description of the system dynamics.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figure