Exact decoherence dynamics of a single-mode optical field Original Research Article

We apply the influence-functional method of Feynman and Vernon to the study of a single-mode optical field that interacts with an environment at zero temperature. Using the coherent-state formalism of the path integral, we derive a generalized master equation for the single-mode optical field. Our analysis explicitly shows how non-Markovian effects manifest in the exact decoherence dynamics for different environmental correlation time scales. Remarkably, when these are equal to or greater than the time scale for significant change in the system, the interplay between the backaction-induced coherent oscillation and the dissipative effect of the environment causes the non-Markovian effect to have a significant impact not only on the short-time behavior but also on the long-time steady-state behavior of the system.