Relaxation of a two-level system strongly coupled to a reservoir: Anomalously slow decoherence

A. G. Kofman

Published 2001-06-04Version 1

Relaxation of a two-level system (TLS) into a resonant infinite-temperature reservoir with a Lorentzian spectrum is studied. The reservoir is described by a complex Gaussian-Markovian field coupled to the nondiagonal elements of the TLS Hamiltonian. The theory can be relevant for electromagnetic interactions in microwave high-$Q$ cavities and muon spin depolarization. Analytical results are obtained for the strong-coupling regime, $\Omega_0\gg\nu$, where $\Omega_0$ is the rms coupling amplitude (Rabi frequency) and $\nu$ is the width of the reservoir spectrum. In this regime, the population difference and half of the initial coherence decay with two characteristic rates: the most part of the decay occurs at $t\sim\Omega_0^{-1}$, the relaxation being reversible for $t\ll(\Omega_0^2\nu)^{-1/3}$, whereas for $t\gg(\Omega_0^2\nu)^{-1/3}$ the relaxation becomes irreversible and is practically over. The other half of the coherence decays with the rate on the order of $\nu$, which may be slower by orders of magnitude than the time scale of the population relaxation. The above features are explained by the fact that at $t\ll\nu^{-1}$ the reservoir temporal fluctuations are effectively one-dimensional (adiabatic). Moreover, we identify the pointer basis, in which the reduction of the state vector occurs. The pointer states are correlated with the reservoir, being dependent on the reservoir phase.