Decoherence Strength of Multiple Non-Markovian Environments

TL;DR

This paper introduces a way to compare the decoherence strength of multiple non-Markovian environments using a perturbative measure, extending the concept beyond Markovian cases to low-temperature and non-equilibrium environments.

Contribution

It proposes a partial ordering method for environment-induced irreversibility in non-Markovian environments within a perturbative framework, generalizing existing Markovian measures.

Findings

A natural ordering of decoherence strength exists for non-Markovian environments.

The measure applies to low-temperature and non-equilibrium environments.

The approach extends decoherence characterization beyond Markovian assumptions.

Abstract

It is known that one can characterize the decoherence strength of a Markovian environment by the product of its temperature and induced damping, and order the decoherence strength of multiple environments by this quantity. We show that for non-Markovian environments in the weak coupling regime there also exists a natural (albeit partial) ordering of environment-induced irreversibility within a perturbative treatment. This measure can be applied to both low-temperature and non-equilibrium environments.