Dynamics of a quantum particle interacting with a thermal bath and subject to an oscillating asymmetric bistable potential

Abstract

Exploiting the approach of the Feynman-Vernon influence functional [1] within the framework of the discrete variable representation (DVR) [2], we consider a quantum particle described by the Caldeira-Leggett model [3]. The particle, “moving” in an asymmetric bistable potential and subject to a periodical driving, interacts with a thermal bath of harmonic oscillators. In this conditions we study the dynamics of the particle by analyzing the time evolution of the populations in the DVR. Specifically we focalize on the position eigenstate located in the shallower well, i.e. metastable state, finding a non-monotonic behaviour of the corresponding population as a function of the frequency. Moreover, for different values of the coupling strength with the thermal bath, we obtain the equilibrium energy of the particle as a function both of the amplitude and frequency of the driving force.