Impact of independent reservoirs on the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects

TL;DR

This paper investigates how a two-reservoir environment influences the quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects in a two-level system, revealing that a strongly coupled reservoir can suppress decay caused by a weakly coupled one.

Contribution

It introduces a model with two independent reservoirs with different coupling strengths and types, analyzing their combined impact on quantum decay dynamics using a polaron transformation.

Findings

Strongly coupled reservoir reduces decay rate from weak reservoir

Presence of two reservoirs alters quantum Zeno and anti-Zeno effects

Polaron transformation effectively analyzes reservoir interactions

Abstract

In this paper, we look into what happens to a quantum system under repeated measurements if it interacts with two independent reservoirs. In particular, we look at the behavior of a two-level system interacting with reservoirs consisting of harmonic oscillators. The interaction with one reservoir is weak with a dissipative-type coupling, while the interaction with the other reservoir is strong with a dephasing-type coupling. Using a polaron transformation, we show that the presence of the strongly coupled reservoir can actually reduce the decay rate of the quantum system due to the effect of the weakly-coupled reservoir.