Inhomogeneous quantum diffusion and decay of a meta-stable state

TL;DR

This paper investigates how inhomogeneous dissipation due to nonlinear system-bath interactions affects quantum diffusion and the decay rate of a particle from a meta-stable state, revealing that decay can be hindered by such inhomogeneity.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of quantum stochastic dynamics with nonlinear system-bath coupling and demonstrates the impact of space-dependent dissipation on decay rates.

Findings

Inhomogeneous dissipation can hinder the decay rate from a meta-stable state.

Nonlinear system-bath coupling influences quantum diffusion behavior.

Space-dependent friction modifies the decay dynamics significantly.

Abstract

We consider the quantum stochastic dynamics of a system whose interaction with the reservoir is considered to be linear in bath co-ordinates but nonlinear in system co-ordinates. The role of the space-dependent friction and diffusion has been examined in the decay rate of a particle from a meta-stable well. We show how the decay rate can be hindered by inhomogeneous dissipation due nonlinear system-bath coupling strength.