Non-linear dynamics of a driven two-level tunnelling defect

Abstract

With increasing external-field amplitude the dynamics of a driven two-level system shows a cross-over from the weak-coupling or linear-response behaviour to a non-linear regime which is characterised by the appearance of Rabi oscillations, a field-dependent dynamical susceptibility, saturation of energy dissipation and additional frequencies in the correlation function. The system any initial distribution will relax towards a stationary state with a time-dependent polarisation vector. These features are derived from the propagator of the two-level system which is calculated using a perturbative scheme with a well-defined small parameter; the roatating-wave approximation of the Bloch equations is avoided. the dynamical behaviour is discussed by means of correlation and response functions.