Dissipative quantum systems with a potential barrier. III. Steady state nonequilibrium flux and reaction rate

We study the real time dynamics of a dissipative quantum system in a metastable state which may decay by crossing a potential barrier. Starting from an initial state where the system is in thermal equilibrium on one side of the barrier, the time evolution of the density matrix is evaluated analytically in the semiclassical approximation for coordinates near the barrier top. In a region about a critical temperature T_c large quantum fluctuations render the harmonic approximation of the potential insufficient and anharmonicities become essential. Accounting for non-Gaussian fluctuation modes, we show that the density matrix approaches a quasistationary state with a constant flux across the barrier. This extends our earlier results [Phys. Rev. E 51, 4267 (1995)] on the quantum generalization of the Kramers flux state to the region about T_c. By matching the flux state onto the equilibrium state on one side of the barrier, we determine the decay rate out of the metastable state. The rate constant shows a changeover from thermally activated decay to quantum tunneling for temperatures below T_c.