Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: We show that strong parametric driving of a quantum harmonic oscillator coupled to a thermal bath allows one to distinguish between different microscopic models for the oscillator-bath coupling. We consider a bath with an Ohmic spectral density and a model where the system-bath interaction can be tuned continuously between position and momentum coupling via the coupling angle $\ensuremath{\alpha}$. We derive a master equation for the reduced density operator of the oscillator in Born-Markov approximation and investigate its quasisteady state as a function of the driving parameters, the temperature of the bath and the coupling angle $\ensuremath{\alpha}$. We find that the driving introduces a strong dependence of the time-averaged variance of position and momentum on these parameters. In particular, we identify parameter regimes that maximize the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ dependence and provide an intuitive explanation of our results.
Source: Physical Review A
Language: English
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2790097352