arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R. F. O'Connell.
Small systems (of interest in the areas of nanophysics, quantum information, etc.) are particularly vulnerable to environmental effects. Thus, we determine various thermodynamic functions for an oscillator in an arbitrary heat bath at arbitrary temperatures. Explicit results are presented for the most commonly discussed heat bath models: Ohmic, single relaxation time and blackbody radiation.
The first in a long series of papers by John T. Lewis, G. W. Ford and the present author, considered the problem of the most general coupling of a quantum particle to a linear passive heat bath, in the course of which they derived an exact formula for the free energy of an oscillator coupled to a heat bath in thermal equilibrium at temperature T. This formula, and its later extension to three dimensions to incorporate a magnetic field, has proved to be invaluable in analyzing problems in quantum thermodynamics. Here, we address the question raised in our title viz. Nernst's third law of thermodynamics.
Anomalous diffusion is discussed in the context of quantum Brownian motion with colored noise. It is shown that earlier results follow simply and directly from the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The limits on the long-time dependence of anomalous diffusion are shown to be a consequence of the second law of thermodynamics. The special case of an electron interacting with the radiation field is discussed in detail. We apply our results to wave-packet spreading.
An apparent violation of the second law of thermodynamics occurs when an atom coupled to a zero-temperature bath, being necessarily in an excited state, is used to extract work from the bath. Here the fallacy is that it takes work to couple the atom to the bath and this work must exceed that obtained from the atom. For the example of an oscillator coupled to a bath described by the single relaxation time model, the mean oscillator energy and the minimum work required to couple the oscillator to the bath are both calculated explicitly and in closed form. It is shown that the minimum work always exceeds the mean oscillator energy, so there is no violation of the second law.
We discuss the origin of the Schott energy in the Abraham-Lorentz version of electrodynamic radiation theory and how it can be used to explain some apparent paradoxes. We also derive the generalization of this quantity for the Ford-O'Connell equation, which has the merit of being derived exactly from a microscopic Hamiltonian for an electron with structure and has been shown to be free of the problems associated with the Abraham-Lorentz theory. We emphasize that the instantaneous power supplied by the applied force not only gives rise to radiation (acceleration fields), but it can change the kinetic energy of the electron and change the Schott energy of the velocity fields. The important role played by boundary conditions is noted.
The free energy of a quantum oscillator in an arbitrary heat bath at a temperature T is given by a "remarkable formula" which involves only a single integral. This leads to a corresponding simple result for the entropy. The low temperature limit is examined in detail and we obtain explicit results both for the case of an Ohmic heat bath and a radiation heat bath. More general heat bath models are also examined. This enables us to determine the entropy at zero temperature in order to check the third law of thermodynamics in the quantum regime
It is generally accepted that a system undergoing uniform acceleration with respect to zero-temperature vacuum will thermalize at a finite temperature (the so-called Unruh temperature) that is proportional to the acceleration. However, the question of whether or not the system actually radiates is highly controversial. Thus, we are motivated to present an exact calculation using a generalized quantum Langevin equation to describe an oscillator (the detector) moving under a constant force and coupled to a one-dimensional scalar field (scalar electrodynamics). Moreover, our analysis is simplified by using the oscillator as a detector. We show that this system does not radiate despite the fact that it does in fact thermalize at the Unruh temperature. We remark upon a differing opinion expressed regarding a system coupled to the electromagnetic field.
A wide variety of dissipative and fluctuation problems involving a quantum system in a heat bath can be described by the independent-oscillator (IO) model Hamiltonian. Using Heisenberg equations of motion, this leads to a generalized quantum Langevin equation (QLE) for the quantum system involving two quantities which encapsulate the properties of the heat bath. Applications include: atomic energy shifts in a blackbody radiation heat bath; solution of the problem of runaway solutions in QED; electrical circuits (resistively shunted Josephson barrier, microscopic tunnel junction, etc.); conductivity calculations (since the QLE gives a natural separation between dissipative and fluctuation forces); dissipative quantum tunneling; noise effects in gravitational wave detectors; anomalous diffusion; strongly driven quantum systems; decoherence phenomena; analysis of Unruh radiation and entropy for a dissipative system.
The measurement of spin effects in general relativity has recently taken centre stage with the successfully launched Gravity Probe B experiment coming toward an end, coupled with recently reported measurements using laser ranging. Many accounts of these experiments have been in terms of frame-dragging. We point out that this terminology has given rise to much confusion and that a better description is in terms of spin-orbit and spin-spin effects. In particular, we point out that the de Sitter precession (which has been mesured to a high accuracy) is also a frame-dragging effect and provides an accurate benchmark measurement of spin-orbit effects which GPB needs to emulate.
The low temperature solution of the exact master equation for an oscillator coupled to a linear passive heat bath is known to give rise to serious divergences. We now show that, even in the high temperature regime, problems also exist, notably the fact that the density matrix is not necessarily positive.
We discuss various definitions of decoherence and how it can be measured. We compare and contrast decoherence in quantum systems with an infinite number of eigenstates (such as the free particle and the oscillator) and spin systems. In the former case, we point out the essential difference between assuming "entanglement at all times" and entanglement with the reservoir occuring at some initial time. We also discuss optimum calculational techniques in both arenas.
Recent studies suggest that both the quantum Zeno (increase of the natural lifetime of an unstable quantum state by repeated measurements) and anti-Zeno (decrease of the natural lifetime) effects can be made manifest in the same system by simply changing the dissipative decay rate associated with the environment. We present an {\underline{exact}} calculation confirming this expectation.
The recent discovery of a double-pulsar PSR J0737-3039A/B provides an opportunity of unequivocally observing, for the first time, spin effects in general relativity. Existing efforts involve detection of the precession of the spinning body itself. However, for a close binary system, spin effects on the orbit may also be discernable. Not only do they add to the advance of the periastron (by an amount which is small compared to the conventional contribution) but they also give rise to a precession of the orbit about the spin direction. The measurement of such an effect would also give information on the moment of inertia of pulsars.
Motivated by recent experiments, we consider a Schrödinger cat superposition of two widely separated coherent states in thermal equilibrium. The time development of our system is obtained using Wigner distribution functions. In contrast to our discussion for a two-Gaussian wave packet [Phys. Lett. A 286 (2001) 87], we find that, in the absence of dissipation, the interference term does not decay rapidly in time, but in common with the other two terms, it oscillates in time and persists for all times
While agreeing with our exact expression for the time dependence of the motion of a free particle in an initial superposition state, corresponding to two identical Gaussians separated by a distance $d$, at temperature $T$, Gobert et al., in the preceding Comment [Phys. Rev. A xxx], dispute our conclusions on decoherence time scales. However, the parameters they used to generate their figures are outside the regime of validity of our interpretation of the results and, moreover, are not of physical interest in that they correspond to $T\approx 0$. The point is that in their figures they have chosen the thermal de Broglie wavelength $λ_{th}=\hbar \sqrt{mkT}$ to be equal to slit spacing \emph{d}, whereas we have clearly stated [in the paragraph preceding Eq. (21) of our paper] that decoherence occurs and that our expression for the decoherence time applies only in the limit where \emph{d} is large compared not only with the slit width $σ$ but also with the thermal de Broglie wavelength, $d\gg λ_{th},σ$.
Decoherence phenomena are pervasive in the arena of nanostructures but perhaps even more so in the study of the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and quantum computation. Since there has been little overlap between the studies in both arenas, this is an attempt to bridge the gap. Topics stressed include (a) wave packet spreading in a dissipative environment, a key element in all arenas, (b) the definition of a quantitative measure of decoherence, (c) the near zero and zero temperature limit, and (d) the key role played by initial conditions: system and environment entangled at all times so that one must use the density matrix (or Wigner distribution) for the complete system or initially decoupled system and environment so that use of a reduced density matrix or reduced Wigner distribution is feasible. Our approach utilizes generalized quantum Langevin equations and Wigner distributions.
We first review the usefulness of the Wigner distribution functions (WDF), associated with Lindblad and pre-master equations, for analyzing a host of problems in Quantum Optics where dissipation plays a major role, an arena where weak coupling and long-time approximations are valid. However, we also show their limitations for the discussion of decoherence, which is generally a short-time phenomenon with decay rates typically much smaller than typical dissipative decay rates. We discuss two approaches to the problem both of which use a quantum Langevin equation (QLE) as a starting-point: (a) use of a reduced WDF but in the context of an exact master equation (b) use of a WDF for the complete system corresponding to entanglement at all times.
The claim by Rohrlich that the Abraham-Lorentz-Dirac equation is not the correct equation for a classical point charge is shown to be incorrect and it is pointed out that the equation which he proposes is the equation {\underline{derived}} by Ford and O'Connell for a charge with structure. The quantum-mechanical case is also discussed.