Limit of maximum entropy for the damped Jaynes Cummings model

Abstract

Employing projection methods from kinetic theory, we study the non-Markovian quantum evolution of a two-level atom that is coupled to a single mode of the electromagnetic field. The interaction between the atom and field mode is described by the damped Jaynes–Cummings model. The general case is considered, in which dissipation is generated by both a photonic and an atomic reservoir of finite temperature. Only one special choice is made. The frequencies of the atom and field mode are in the same ratio as the temperatures of the atomic and the photonic reservoirs. Making use of Laplace transformation, we show that the atomic density matrix evolves to the state of maximum von Neumann entropy if the time, the cube of the initial electromagnetic energy density, the inverse of the photonic damping parameter and the inverse of the atomic damping parameter tend to infinity equally fast. We propose a large class of states from which the full density operator for the atom and field may start. This class includes entangled states. Expansion of the time-dependent exponential of the Laplace backtransform enables us to derive the limit of maximum entropy directly, without explicit evaluation of the atomic density matrix. We interchange limits and sums without proof, so our derivation is not entirely rigorous. Next, we remove the photonic reservoir. Then the damping process gets a sequential character. The field mode is assumed to start from a photon-number state. For the special choice of zero temperature and detuning we verify that the limit of maximum entropy survives the qualitative modification of the model. The only consequence is a slightly different scaling between the parameters that become large. Finally, we argue that our case study could be of value in finding out to what extent quantum dissipative processes obey the general principles of thermodynamics.