Dynamical localization of a particle coupled to a two-level system thermal reservoir

Abstract

Using the functional-integral method, we investigate the effect of a two-level systems thermal reservoir on the single particle dynamics. We find that at low temperatures, within the sub-ohmic regime, the particle becomes ``dynamically'' localized at long times due to an effective potential generated by the particle-reservoir interaction. This behavior is different from the one obtained for the usual bath of harmonic oscillators and is fundamentally related with the non-Markovian character of the dissipative process.