2003/07/18 by Sh. Matsumoto, M. Yoshimura
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #hep-ph #stochastic dynamics and bifurcation
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevd.69.123514
published as Phys.Rev. D69 (2004) 123514 · 29 pages, 13 figures
arxiv created 2003/07/18 · openalex publication_date 2004/06/18 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Time evolution of tunneling phenomena proceeding in a thermal medium is studied using a standard model of environmental interaction. A semiclassical probability formula for the particle motion in a metastable state of a one-dimensional system put in a thermal medium is combined with the formula of the quantum penetration factor through a potential barrier to derive the tunneling rate in the medium. The effect of environment, its influence on time evolution in particular, is clarified in our real-time formalism. A nonlinear resonance effect is shown to enhance the tunneling rate at finite times of order 2/\ensuremathη, with \ensuremathη the friction coefficient unless \ensuremathη is too small. In the linear approximation this effect has relevance to the parametric resonance. This effect enhances the possibility of early termination of the cosmological phase transition much prior to the typical Hubble time.