Non-Markovian thermalization of entangled qubits

We study the decoherence properties of an entangled bipartite qubit system, represented by two two-level atoms that are individually coupled to non-Markovian reservoirs. This coupling ensures that the dynamical equations of the atoms can be treated independently. The non-Markovian reservoirs are described by a model which leads to an exact non-Markovian master equation of the Nakajima-Zwanzig form [J. Salo, S. M. Barnett, and S. Stenholm, Optics Commun. 259, 772 (2006)]. We consider the evolution of the entanglement of a two-atom state that is initially completely entangled, quantified by its concurrence. Collapses and revivals in the concurrence, induced by the memory effects of the reservoir, govern the dynamics of the entangled quantum system. These collapses and revivals in the concurrence are a strong manifestation of the non-Markovian reservoir.