Paper detail

Dynamics of Non-classicality Measures in the Decohering Harmonic Oscillator

We show that eigenstates |n> of the harmonic oscillator coupled to a linear Markovian bath demonstrate a non-trivial behavior in the dynamics of measures of non-classicality. Specifically, as the system undergoes decoherence, a time-dependent peak in non-classicality as a function of n emerges. We find this effect studying the dynamics of several non-classicality measures previously presented in the literature which compare quantum states to the set of all classical states. In studying these measures we introduce a novel set of classical states for the purpose of calculations which improve upon the results obtainable using these measures. In addition, following in the footsteps of Kenfack and Źyczkowski, we show that the negative volume of the Wigner function agrees well with all the non-classicality measures while being otherwise calculationally significantly more tractable. Finally, we explore the dynamics of non-classicality of several other states.