What question did this study set out to answer?

Determine how environmental dissipation, characterized by linear friction, affects the zero-temperature quantum tunneling rate out of a metastable state.

January 26, 1981Physical Review Letters

Influence of Dissipation on Quantum Tunneling in Macroscopic Systems

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Determine how environmental dissipation, characterized by linear friction, affects the zero-temperature quantum tunneling rate out of a metastable state.
Modeled a macroscopic quantum system tunneling out of a metastable state at zero temperature ($T=0$).
Represented the environmental coupling in the classically accessible region using a phenomenological friction coefficient $\eta$ under a linear response assumption.
Dissipation multiplies the tunneling probability by an exponential suppression factor of $\exp[-A\eta(\Delta q)^2/\hbar]$.
The degree of suppression scales linearly with the friction coefficient $\eta$ and quadratically with barrier distance $\Delta q$, where $A$ is a numerical factor of order unity.

Authors

ACA. O. CaldeiraUniversidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)ALA. J. LeggettUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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Implication

Theoretical analysis shows friction exponentially suppresses tunneling rates in macroscopic quantum systems, indicating dissipation directly hinders quantum barrier penetration.

Cite This Study

Caldeira et al. (1981) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69df0ff8d85e58e37b7a11a3 https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.46.211

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Implication

Theoretical analysis shows friction exponentially suppresses tunneling rates in macroscopic quantum systems, indicating dissipation directly hinders quantum barrier penetration.

Influence of Dissipation on Quantum Tunneling in Macroscopic Systems

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Influence of Dissipation on Quantum Tunneling in Macroscopic Systems

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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