Non-Markovian dynamics, nonlocality, and entanglement in quantum Brownian motion

The dynamical aspects of quantum Brownian motion at low temperatures are investigated. Exact calculations of quantum entanglement among two Brownian oscillators are given without invoking the Born-Markov or Born approximation widely used for the study of open systems. Nonlocality due to finite oscillator separation is studied. Our approach is applicable for arbitrary time scale, in particular suitable to probe the short-time regime at cold temperatures where many experiments on quantum information processing are performed. We study separability criteria based on the uncertainty relation, negativity, and entanglement of formation. We found a crossover behavior in a disentanglement process between quantum- and thermal-fluctuation-dominated regimes. The fluctuation-dissipation theorem is violated for two Brownian particles interacting with a common environment. The deviation from the relation originates in the interaction mediated by the environment, which drives two particles into a steady oscillatory state, preventing the system from thermalizing. Consequently there is a residual entanglement at low temperatures for arbitrary coupling strength. This entanglement is generated from the environment nonperturbatively even when two modes are not entangled initially. When the distance between two oscillators is varied, competition between entanglement induced from the environment and modified decoherence due to finite separation leads to the characteristic distance where entanglement is minimized.