Aspects of the dynamics and thermodynamics of the intrinsic decoherence model

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study the intrinsic decoherence model proposed by G J Milburn in 1991. One of its particularities is that the decoherence process is generated by intrinsic properties of the system — the Hamiltonian itself — through the discretization of Von Neumann equation and the introduction of a stochastic behaviour to the dynamics. These ingredients generate a Lindbladian-like master equation, while inducing decoherence in the energy eigenbasis. The evolution of the Wigner function is notably described by a non-local partial differential equation. Further aspects of the evolution are considered, such as the freezing phenomenon that happens for some values of Bohr frequencies of the Hamiltonian. The thermodynamics of a system throughout the evolution is described taking into account gauge aspects of the Lindblad evolution and equilibrium states are described. Since the model relies on an intrinsic mechanism of decoherence, it is designed without necessarily considering the action of a thermal bath, which distinguishes it from the majority of open systems found in the literature and suggests the questioning of whether it describes an open or a closed quantum system.