title: Decoherence, tunneling, and noise-induced activation in a double-potential well at high and zero temperature.
abstract: We study the effects of the environment on tunneling in an open system described by a static double-well potential. We describe the evolution of a quantum state localized in one of the minima of the potential at t = 0, in both the limits of high and zero environment temperature. We show that the evolution of the system can be summarized in terms of three main physical phenomena--namely, decoherence, quantum tunneling, and noise-induced activation--and we obtain analytical estimates for the corresponding time scales. These analytical predictions are confirmed by large-scale numerical simulations, providing a detailed picture of the main stages of the evolution and of the relevant dynamical processes.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QJ, United Kingdom. n.d.antunes@sussex.ac.uk
authors.forename: Nuno D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: Fernando C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Lombardo
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Monteoliva
authors.forename: Paula I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Villar