Physical Review Letters · 1982 · 408 citations · 13 references
Natural SciencesPhysicsMathematical PhysicsQuantum MechanicsTheoretical PhysicsDissipative SystemsQuantum DecoherenceQuantum TunnelingQuantum WellsSymmetry BreakingFinite-temperature EffectsNon-equilibrium Quantum DynamicsQuantum DissipationQuantum Mechanical TunnelingQuantum Tunneling DynamicsQuantum Tunneling In Double-well PotentialsSpontaneous Symmetry BreakingTemperature Dependence Of Tunneling
A quantum mechanical particle which moves in a symmetric double-well potential, and whose interaction with the environment is described in the classical regime by a phenomenological friction coefficient $\ensuremath{\eta}$, is considered. It is shown that, provided $\frac{\ensuremath{\eta}{{q}_{0}}^{2}}{\ensuremath{\hbar}}$ exceeds a critical value of order unity ($\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{q}_{0}$ are the locations of the potential minima), the mean rate of tunneling between the degenerate minima decreases with temperature, leading at $T=0$ to spontaneous symmetry breaking.
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