Bringing Schrödinger’s cat to life with non-equilibrium respiration

Abstract

In this study, we have proposed a method based on non-equilibrium effects to generate the superposition of macroscopically distinguishable quantum states, known as Schrödinger cat states, by using a Mach–Zehnder interferometry type experiment. The interaction of the input number state with a Kerr medium in the presence of a couple of heat baths in different temperatures in the interaction picture and without imposing a Markov assumption is considered. We have shown that the study of dynamics of the cat states under non-equilibrium condition opens up a way for the robustness of quantum features against the destructive role of the environment, even at high temperature limits. It is verified that the mutual influence of the environments, far from equilibrium, on the open system, makes it possible to revive quantum beats for longer time intervals. Moreover, we have probed how the traits of the environment, like its temperature and the Ohmic, super-Ohmic or sub-Ohmic functionality of the spectral density, may affect the pattern of the oscillation between alive or dead states of the cat.