Influence of dissipation on the Landau-Zener transition

Abstract

The quantum dynamics of the Landau-Zener transition in a dissipative environment is studied and analytical results for the transition probability are given in terms of temperature, coupling strength, and the Landau-Zener time. For short Landau-Zener time there is no effect of dissipation. In the oppotise limit we distinguish various temperature regimes: The adiabatic limit is shown to be restricted to low temperatures and no effect of dissipation is present at zero temperature. At intermediate temperatures thermal transitions dominate for weak coupling and high temperatures correspond to the strong-coupling limit.