Non-Markovian dynamics revealed at the bound state in continuum

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to control quantum decay processes by leveraging bound states in continuum, enabling suppression of exponential decay and observation of coherent effects in optical systems.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach to manipulate decay dynamics using bound states in continuum, demonstrated through optical waveguide array models.

Findings

Suppression of exponential decay in favor of inverse power law dynamics.

Robustness of the method against detuning from the bound state.

Feasibility of observing coherent effects in experiments.

Abstract

We propose a methodical approach to controlling and enhancing deviations from exponential decay in quantum and optical systems by exploiting recent progress surrounding another subtle effect: the bound states in continuum, which have been observed in optical waveguide array experiments within this past decade. Specifically, we show that by populating an initial state orthogonal to that of the bound state in continuum, it is possible to engineer system parameters for which the usual exponential decay process is suppressed in favor of inverse power law dynamics and coherent effects that typically would be extremely difficult to detect in experiment. We demonstrate our method using a model based on an optical waveguide array experiment, and further show that the method is robust even in the face of significant detuning from the precise location of the bound state in continuum.