Quantum Dynamics of a Dissipative and Confined Cyclotron Motion

Abstract: We study the dissipative dynamics of a charged oscillator in a magnetic field by coupling (a la Caldeira and Leggett) it to a heat bath consisting of non-interacting harmonic oscillators. We derive here the auto-correlation functions of the position and momentum and study its behavior at various limiting situations. The equilibrium (steady state) dispersions of position and momentum are obtained from their respective autocorrelation functions. We analyse the equilibrium position and momentum dispersions at low and high temperatures for both low and high magnetic field strengths. We obtain the classical diffusive behavior (at long times) as well as the equilibrium momentum dispersion of the free quantum charged particle in a magnetic field, in the limit of vanishing oscillator potential {\omega}_0 . We establish the relations between the reduced partition function and the equilibrium dispersions of the dissipative and confined cyclotron problem.