Networks of dissipative quantum harmonic oscillators: A general treatment

Abstract

We present a general treatment of a bosonic dissipative network: a chain of coupled dissipative harmonic oscillators whatever its topology---i.e., whichever the way the oscillators are coupled together, the strength of their couplings, and their natural frequencies. Starting with a general more realistic scenario where each oscillator is coupled to its own reservoir, we also discuss the case where all the network oscillators are coupled to a common reservoir. We obtain the master equation governing the dynamic of the network states and the associated evolution equation of the Glauber-Sudarshan $P$ function. With these instruments we briefly show how to analyze the decoherence and the evolution of the linear entropy of general states of the network. We also show how to obtain the master equation for the case of distinct reservoirs from that of a common one.