Non-Markovian coherence and entanglement transfer in a quantum version of Newton's cradle

In this paper, we investigate the quantum excitations and coherence transfer among several coupled quantum harmonic oscillators embedded in a non-Markovian common bath. The energy and coherence can be symmetrically transferred from one end of the array to the other end, reminiscent of momentum and energy transfer in a classical Newton's cradle. The energy transfer in this "quantum cradle" exhibits the same pattern as the classical case. However, a fully quantized environment can significantly affect the transfer process in this "quantum cradle." Particularly, the non-Markovian properties of the environment play a crucial role, manifested by the fact that memory effect can enhance the coherence transfer. Interestingly, the memory effect can also induce a transfer even if there are no direct couplings among harmonic oscillators. Last, it is also found that a higher central frequency of the environment may be helpful to entanglement transfer in the "quantum cradle." (C) 2017 Optical Society of America