Role of phase coherence in the transition dynamics of a periodically driven two-level system

Abstract

Some aspects of quantum tunneling of a particle in a double-well potential periodically driven by an external force are studied within the two-level approximation. A closed expression for the temporal evolution of the occupation probability is obtained in the limit of large-amplitude oscillation by the transfer-matrix formalism. The mechanism of coherent destruction of tunneling found by Grossmann et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 516 (1991)] is made clear from a viewpoint of interference at periodic level crossings.