Stimulated Raman adiabatic passage in an open quantum system: Master equation approach

TL;DR

This paper develops a master equation approach to analyze environmental effects on adiabatic population transfer in three-state quantum systems, revealing differences from non-Hermitian methods especially under strong damping, and highlighting the efficiency of counterintuitive sequences via quantum Zeno dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a master equation framework for open quantum systems in STIRAP, comparing it with existing approaches and elucidating the role of quantum Zeno effects in strong damping regimes.

Findings

In weak coupling, master equation and non-Hermitian approaches agree.

In strong damping, counterintuitive sequences are more efficient than previously thought.

Quantum Zeno dynamics explains the improved efficiency in strong damping.

Abstract

A master equation approach to the study of environmental effects in the adiabatic population transfer in three-state systems is presented. A systematic comparison with the non-Hermitian Hamiltonian approach [N. V. Vitanov and S. Stenholm, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 56}, 1463 (1997)] shows that in the weak coupling limit the two treatments lead to essentially the same results. Instead, in the strong damping limit the predictions are quite different: in particular the counterintuitive sequences in the STIRAP scheme turn out to be much more efficient than expected before. This point is explained in terms of quantum Zeno dynamics.