Quantum Tunnelling and Thermally Driven Transitions in a Double Well Potential at Finite Temperature

Abstract

We explore dissipative quantum tunnelling, a phenomenon central to various physical and chemical processes, using a double-well potential model. This paper aims to bridge gaps in understanding the crossover from thermal activation to quantum tunnelling, a domain still shrouded in mystery despite extensive research. We study a Caldeira-Leggett-derived model of quantum Brownian motion and investigate the Lindblad and stochastic Schr\"{o}dinger dynamics numerically, seeking to offer new insights into the transition states in the crossover region. Our study has implications for quantum computing and understanding fundamental natural processes, highlighting the significance of quantum effects on transition rates and temperature influences on tunnelling. Additionally, we introduce a new model for quantum Brownian motion which takes Lindblad form and is formulated as a modification of the widely known model found in Breuer and Petruccione. In our approach, we remove the zero-temperature singularity resulting in a better description of low-temperature quantum Brownian motion near a potential minima.