Non-Markovianity of a quantum emitter in front of a mirror
Abstract
We consider a quantum emitter ("atom") radiating in a one-dimensional (1D) photonic waveguide in the presence of a single mirror, resulting in a delay differential equation for the atomic amplitude. We carry out a systematic analysis of the non-Markovian (NM) character of the atomic dynamics in terms of refined, recently developed notions of quantum non-Markovianity such as indivisibility and information back-flow. NM effects are quantified as a function of the round-trip time and phase shift associated with the atom-mirror optical path. We find, in particular, that unless an atom-photon bound state is formed a finite time delay is always required in order for NM effects to be exhibited. This identifies a finite threshold in the parameter space, which separates the Markovian and non-Markovian regimes.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1312.3920,
title = {Non-Markovianity of a quantum emitter in front of a mirror},
author = {Tommaso Tufarelli and M. S. Kim and Francesco Ciccarello},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1312.3920},
year = {2014}
}
Comments
7 pages, 4 figures. Fig. 3 featured in Phys. Rev. A Kaleidoscope Images: July 2014