2017/03/31 by William F. Braasch, William F. Braasch Jr., Oscar D. Friedman +4
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Anharmonicity #Bistability #Classical mechanics #Coherent states #Current (fluid) #Harmonic oscillator #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Phase space #Physics #Quantum #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum mechanics #Quantum system #Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Studies #Wigner distribution function #cond-mat.mes-hall #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.100.012124
published as Phys. Rev. A 100, 012124 (2019) · Revised, published version
openalex publication_date 2019/07/23 · arxiv created 2021/07/18 · arxiv updated 2021/07/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
We extend the Wigner current vector field (Wigner current) construct to single bosonic mode quantum systems interacting with an environment. In terms of the Wigner function quasiprobability density and associated Wigner current, the open system quantum dynamics can be concisely expressed as a continuity equation. Through the consideration of the harmonic oscillator and additively driven Duffing oscillator in the bistable regime as illustrative system examples, we show how the evolving Wigner current vector field on the system phase space yields useful geometric insights concerning how quantum states decohere away due to interactions with the environment, as well as how they may be stabilized through the counteracting effects of the system anharmonicity (i.e., nonlinearity).